29/12/2023
I am a Photographer living in Northamptonshire. The countryside here is mainly arable and vaguely undulating but bereft of any particularly spectacular scenery. However, in the winter months the landscape takes on graphic qualities, bleak but with some drama. Seeking out local stripped back monochromatic images with an aesthetic of tones, forms and lines is an ongoing project and will one day culminate in a collection of mid-winter shots all taken within Northamptonshire or on its borders with eight other counties in middle England. Here is a preview of some of the images taken with this project in mind. They are taken within 300 yards of each other on the Northamptonshire/Leicestershire border where a part of the boundary is loosely defined by the River Welland. The first is taken from the parapet of the bridge over the River Welland and the second in a flooded meadow looking down the disused London and North Western Railway line. The third images was taken from the Leicestershire side of the river, looking towards the redundant Ashley & Weston Railway Station on the left (you can just see the spire of Ashley Church).
The decision was made to make images during Storm Gerrit. So, leaving tripod and bag behind, I ventured into the flooded pastures in a small break in the weather and captured exactly the mood of this part of the world while these conditions prevail. To photograph in my neck of the woods in the winter you mostly need wet weather boots and clothes, but also a vision. Credit to the Leica Q2, which also held up well.
