Water Works
Intimate Landscapes
by
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We are fascinated by water, we are drawn to it, we either find it threatening or soothing, we cannot escape our relationship with this element. The sound and movement of water are hypnotic, we get drawn into the spiritual world surrounding them. How often have you sat by running water and drifted off into a dream world, or old memories have inexplicable entered your consciousness? We see water as pure and refreshing, mountain streams are often used as backgrounds when advertisers want to make a product appear ‘fresh’. But what of the power of water? The pure, calming mountain stream has the power to move boulders, to carve a path through the land, to reshape rocks. Often our perceptions and reality are at odds with each other. In this book John Kiely explores the imagery produced by the contrast between the rapidly flowing water and the less transient structures that it flows around and over. The photographs are not the result of a passing flirtation with the theme, but from repeated visits to the same small stretches of stream over several years. By working in this manner the photographer builds up a relationship with the subject, they produce ‘intimate landscapes’. The majority of the photographs have been produced in Chew Brook in England’s Peak District National Park, and in Cwm Bychan in the Snowdonia National Park in North Wales. John continues to repeatedly visit locations over a period of years, with Afon Dwyer plus Cwm Orthin and Rhosydd, all in North Wales, featuring strongly in his new work.
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About the Book
We are fascinated by water, it attracts us both physically and emotionally. Throughout the history of art, water has featured heavily, from classical fountains to waterfalls being one of the main requirements in a romantic landscape. In this book John Kiely explores his relationship with water in motion, from rural landscapes through to intimate portraits of mountain streams. Over the past twenty years John has been photographing running water, both in colour and black and white, on a variety of cameras from large format film through to digital capture. The 61 photographs featured in this book are divided into two sections, the first in black and white and the second in colour. All have been produced in the UK in locations such as the Peak District and Lake District national parks in England, and the Snowdonia National Park in Wales. Many of the photographs included in this book have been displayed in exhibitions throughout the UK.
About the Author
John Kiely has been involved in photography in the UK all of his life, being encouraged from an early age by his mother. He bought his first camera at the age of 11. After attending an Art and Design Foundation Course at The Polytechnic, Wolverhampton he attended the Creative Photography course at Derby, under the tutorage of John Blakemore and Paul Hill. After three years in commercial photography John moved into his twin passions, Landscape Photography and Teaching. For the past twenty five years John has taught photography to groups from school children through to post graduates. He has been involved with writing and delivering courses for both educational establishments and the industry. In addition to teaching John has been a practicing landscape photographer, working primarily in black and white. Over the years he has developed skills in all formats of camera, using both film and digital capture. Currently he concentrates on 10x8 film and Hasselblad V series cameras, using film and 16 megapixel backs. His work has been exhibited widely throughout Britain and his prints have sold to individuals and collectors in Britain and on the continent. John’s ethos is that photography takes place in the eye and in the heart, the camera is a tool to help you capture your emotional response to a subject. As such he is happy to produce images, and teach people, using anything from camera phones through to high tech digital equipment.