Art and artists

Initially my photography centred on trains and railways and then with the advent of work and study I lost both the time and didn’t have the money to improve my equipment. It wasn’t until the late 1990’s that I took up photography again initially as a way of recording landscape change and my work as a Forester with the Forestry Commission in West Cumbria.

However with the increasing quality and ease of use of digital photography I started taking more and more photographs often hundreds in one afternoon. I started exploring the use of digital photography to produce wide panorama images and how computer manipulation could be used to blur the boundary between photography and painting. I’ve discovered that Photography is similar to painting in that you need to be able to visualise and be willing to experiment. Digital provides these opportunities at a fraction of the cost.

Gareth Browning

Exhibiting

Following many recommendations by friends, colleagues and family in 2004 I decided to start printing some of my work and entering exhibitions. This has been a very rewarding experience but also a steep and continuing learning curve. To date I have exhibited at the Eskdale Art Show, in Cockermouth, Maryport and at Upfront Gallery at Hutton-in-the-Forest. Currently a range of prints can be viewed at the Maritime Museum in Maryport and from Whinlatter Visitor Centre nr. Keswick. In addition my full collection is available to view on my website.

Last year I produced a series of sunsets and whilst I continue to look for opportunities to add to my collection of landscape views of Cumbria I am keen to explore a new idea trying to photograph the moon rising over the Lakeland Fells. I like to take and create moody atmospheric pictures which are often simplified and where colours are seen to merge.

Technicals

For those interested in the technical side I currently use a Canon Powershot G6, 7.1megapixel, digital camera and Photoshop Elements & addins for digital manipulation. I have no current desire to buy a digital SLR as I find the quality of the G6 is ideal for my work, equally Photoshop Elements has many more features than I currently use so why pay hundreds more for the latest version of Photoshop. 

I do all the printing myself using an Epson Photo RX1800 A3+ printer which uses a whopping 8 ink cartridges containing archival pigment ink which gives long lasting results in excess of 100 years on matt paper, that’s what Epson say.

For paper I prefer Somersett enhanced velvet which is a mould made paper from 100% cotton (not woodpulp) surprisingly for a Forester. I like it because as well as being available in sheets it is also available in 10m+ long rolls which is ideal for printing panoramas. This again an archival quality paper with a slight textured effect.

Words and pictures courtesy of Gareth Browning