Thursday 11 October 2012

The British Landscape - John Davies

The British Landscape by John Davies
ISBN 095468947X

The landscapes in this book are beautifully photographed in black & white. It is also quite large and the detail can really be appreciated. The composition of the images are quite graphical and feature mainly towns and semi rural spaces. The choice to shoot in black and white has been made to provide a harmony to scenes that could be quite discordant.

This book has a contemplative feel to it. The accompanying text provides insight into what has happened to the landscape before and after the images were taken. For instance power stations have been decommissioned and knocked down. This gives a sense of change to the images. The large scale of some of the buildings make them look like permanent fixtures in the landscape and the text makes the viewer ponder the nature of the ever changing British landscape.

Compelling compositions are made using strong diagonals and leading lines. Height is also used to gain an elevated viewpoint and the viewer feels almost like a bird floating just above the trees.

This book is a big contrast to the other two that were recommended for my assignment 4. There are no intimate details - all the shots are wide vistas. I have a feeling I will definitely be returning to this book for my Level 2 landscape course.

2 comments:

  1. Did you buy it? Or did you manage to get it from a library. The price seems a bit eye-watering!!

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  2. No! I use the inter library loan system for most of my books. I had one recently that was listed on Amazon at nearly £900! The librarian keeps them under lock and key as she said she dare not put them on the shelves...

    Michael

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