Thumbing through my first Oxfordshire Art Weeks’ amazing catalogue I noticed that photography didn't feature large in the near 650 artists exhibiting that year. If I remember correctly I think there were less than 30, in fact visitors would come across a photographer by accident rather than by design. The next year I suggested to Watlington’s organising committee that we get all the photographers in Watlington showing together. Watlington Photographers Collective is the result; this will be our 3rd year, here’s a quick round up of what you can expect;
Having been part of Oxfordshire Art Weeks for over a decade, John Hailstone returns to Watlington with his exhibition MORE THAN TWO SIDES which shows a wider portfolio than his passions of Nature and live music.
Andrew Kerr is primarily a social documentary photographer and will be presenting his take on England, Ireland and Scotland.
Dee Robinson, I'll be showing the start of a project on the abandoned or not, boats along the our East coast.
Mark Batchelor is a photographer interested in monochrome and alternative processes and will be presenting his cyanotype prints.
Maria Mademyr is drawn to details involving colours, shapes and patterns found in nature and objects. She will be presenting a variety of works including such attributes.
Spending much of my youth near the sea and much of that time being near boats that today would be thought of as quaint! To me they are objects of beauty, elegant of line yet practical. Wandering along the sea shore recently and seeing these beautiful boats beached appearing to be abandoned unloved and gently decaying I needed to somehow preserve them, at least on paper not only on my computer.
I have been taking photographs for more years than I care to think about. Photography is a solitary vice, to have a day just me and my camera is a real treat. Originally it was a hobby now I have more time I'm more serious about it taking on commissions. I class myself as a documentary photographer that occasionally goes off piste enjoying portraiture and photographic projects especially locally.