“The Sea, once it casts its spell, holds one in its net of wonder forever”
- Jacques Cousteau
Seventy percent of the world’s surface is water and most of what lies beneath its surface remains largely undiscovered, unmapped, unknown and, all too often, sadly taken for granted. The water’s surface is the line that divides our everyday existence, experience and knowledge from the wonders of what exists beneath.
Diving below the surface is an immersive experience, both physically and mentally, in which your eyes meet a world of wonder in the diversity of species, form, function, habitat...... and colour. So why do I choose to make black and white photographs? Colour images, whilst beautiful, captivating and amazing, and clearly offering an accurate record of the subject, can at the same time distract from its essential beauty. Advances in techniques and equipment enabling underwater photography have led to an explosion in images taken by professionals and amateurs alike, the vast majority in colour, documenting and cataloguing as well as capturing behaviour and emotion, and increasingly also appearing as works of art.
In adopting black and white, my intention is to offer a different perspective, where minimalist representation presents the essential beauty of the subject to the viewer in its simplest form, devoid of other distractions, allowing the viewer to establish a personal interpretation and connection with the subject. Many will disagree and, as is the case with any photograph or artwork, it will not be to everyone's liking. But I hope that some of these photographs will succeed in illustrating my point and highlight the beauty, peace and serenity of life underwater.
‘It is held by some that this word ‘Venetia’ signifies ‘Veni Etiam’, that is, come again, and again, for however oft you come, you will always see new things, and new beauties.’
- Jacopo Sansovino 1581
A major focus of my attention as a photographer has been Venice, unsurprisingly perhaps given my origins. My love of Venice was kindled in those very first visits made with my artist uncle, who introduced me to a city that contrasted markedly with the one typically visited by tourists. These early experiences laid the foundations to my enduring love of this extraordinary city, built on stilts and paved with trachyte stone slabs mined from the hills close to the town of my birth. So much has been written about this living museum and so many photographs made by amateurs and professional alike, what can I offer that is different or even unique? Through the eyes of a native returning now as an artist, reconnecting with my cultural roots and the place that holds strong emotions and memories, I am calling on those very personal experiences to make photographs that help build an alternative vision of the city to that commonly presented. In combining immediately recognisable subjects with quiet, mysterious places “off the beaten track” that may go unnoticed or overlooked, my aim is to capture the soul of the city that exists within the gradual, but unrelenting erosion that appears to be its sad fate. The minimalist, monochrome style is deliberately chosen to convey a sense of quiet, calm reflection as a counterpoint to the busy, chaotic almost claustrophobic vision of Venice that tends to be the norm.
“Photography is an art of observation. It has little to do with the things you see and everything to do with the way you see them”
- Elliott Erwitt
“Abstraction in photography reveals what's beyond the surface, capturing the essence of reality”
- Minor White
“The fleeting hour of life of those who love the hills is quickly spent, but the hills are eternal. Always there will be the lonely ridge, the dancing beck, the silent forest; always there will be the exhilaration of the summits. These are for the seeking, and those who seek and find while there is still time will be blessed both in mind and body.”
- Alfred Wainwright
“Lake, islands, promontories, gleaming bays, / A universe of Nature’s fairest forms / Proudly revealed with instantaneous burst, / Magnificent, and beautiful, and gay.”
- William Wordsworth
“I try to photograph what I feel, not what I see.”
- Michael Kenna
“Landscape photography is the supreme test of the photographer’s interpretation, not just of the scene, but of their own emotional response to it.”- Charlie Waite
“Black and white photography is a way of seeing the world that strips away the distractions of color and focuses on light, texture, and emotion.”
- Clyde Butcher
An eclectic mix of subjects unassociated with any particular theme or project that caught my eye and prompted me to capture the moment….
“A place of rest for the soul, and of memory for the world.”
- attributed to Winston Churchill
“I sit at the edge of the lake, where the water and the sky seem to blend into one thought.”
- Franz Kafka
