Graham Perryman – portfolio

Contact the artist

https://dragonflyframing.co.uk
03301 181218

Exhibition information

Wildlife and Landscape Photography around Oxfordshire and the home counties, Northumberland, Skye and Iceland.

Framed and mounted photography, Cards.

This year several artists from the Bicester Art Network will be exhibiting at All Saints Church, Middleton Stoney. This is a new venue on the Oxfordshire Artweeks trail and promises to be a great event. 

North & West Oxfordshire 9 -17 May

ART IN THE PARK – ALL SAINTS CHURCH – MIDDLETON STONEY

Saturday 9-Sunday 10 & Thursday 14- Sunday 17 May

Opening hours: 11am – 5pm daily

Preview Evening Friday 8 May – 6.30pm onwards
Join us for a friendly launch event with fizz  — family and friends welcome!

Artist information

My photography journey began at an early age with dad and my elder brother developing and enlarging prints in their makeshift darkroom in the loft of our house in Purely. My first camera was a Kodak instamatic 33, that took many 60x60mm shots of family holidays and scout camps. As the digital age dawned I relished the idea of instantly seeing the result on screen and on the PC thereby being able to choose the best photographs to print. It allowed for more creativity and the ability to learn more about techniques at little or no cost.

I have experimented with animation, product photography, weddings and christenings, landscapes and lots more in the past, but more recently the challenges of wildlife photography have really inspired me. With regular visits to Otmoor RSPB Reserve, Farmoor Reservoir now a regular routine.

To capture a still photograph of even the most common of garden birds or a dragonfly at close quarters is both very technical and skillful and required a supreme level of patience. Learning about the species habitats and habits helps put you in the right space and time and even predict their movements.

My love of Dragonflies began 9 years ago and I was fortunate to be able to spend one spring back in 2015 surveying the Common Club Tail on the Thames at Eynsham for the British Dragonfly Society. Watching and filming emerging larvae as they crawl up a reed, and attach themselves before they burst out of their juvenile jackets is truly miraculous. Whilst the spread their wings in a sunny spot to strengthen themselves for their short time as an adult, they are at their most vulnerable, but easiest to photograph! The most challenging of all is photographing adults in flight, these agile predators are however creature of habit an often patrol their territories over and over and again along the same paths, often darting away to snatch their next midgy snack before returning to their patrol. Hours of fun.

I’m a proud member of Nature First: The Alliance for Responsible Nature Photography and I’m dedicated to following the Nature First Principles:

• Prioritize the well-being of nature over photography

• Educate yourself about the places you photograph

• Reflect on the possible impact of your actions

• Use discretion if sharing locations

• Know and follow rules and regulations

• Always follow Leave No Trace principles and strive to leave places better than you found them

• Actively promote and educate others about these principles

My photography was my inspiration to become a framer, to place my work on the wall for all to see, rather than stuck on a hard drive, invisible and lost in the ether.

My second career as a picture framer has taught me that the presentation of my photography is most important. Framing must compliment and enhance the hero of the wall hanging, the photograph or artwork. The framing should neither dominate or diminish the importance of the image, it’s there to draw you in, to capture your attention and allow the viewer to discover the details and subtleties within, to push forward the image.

I will be showing a collection of my trip to Iceland where I was fortunate enough to capture some great scenery alongside some work in the Isle of Skye and dragonflies and a few of my favourite local landscapes.