© Doug Chinnery
An exhibition of monochrome images by professional photographer and Outdoor Photography columnist Doug Chinnery is now on display at the Peak District Photography Gallery at Bakewell visitor centre.
A Walk in the Woods is a collection of images taken from a much larger, ongoing project based around a small, unremarkable and unkempt woodland close to Doug Chinnery’s home.
‘Although the woods are scruffy and small, I love them’, says Doug. ‘I wanted to record what their beauty meant to me. Initially I took classic style landscape images of the place – sharp images, carefully composed – but they disappointed me; they were just record shots with no soul and could have been photographed anywhere. Then came the epiphany. One day I decided to abandon my usual techniques, de-focusing my lens and paying much less attention to composition. I left my tripod behind and switched to monochrome mode. Gradually the images began to form. Here were photographs that, when I looked at them, were not so much about what the woods looked like but more about what they felt like.’
Doug has been visiting his local woodland for over two years, with Stan his cocker spaniel, in all weathers, all seasons and at all times of the day (and night); a Walk in the Woods is a selection of some of his favourite images.
The free-to-enter exhibition is open every day from 9.30am to 5pm, until Wednesday 31 August 2016. Sales from the gallery benefit the Peak District National Park.
For more details, visit peakgallery.co.uk
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