John Davies

In his response to my submission for DPP Assignment 3 my tutor suggested that I look at the work of John Davies "whose B & W images of the natural and man-made British landscape have become fully iconic". So I did.

Most of them are well worth the effort as the composition, lighting and finish combine to produce some stunning images. As a personal choice my favourite was Birmingham New St Station where the combination of the variety of roof lines and the curves of the rails  produce a fascinating almost surrealistic picture. I was not too sure about the later picture of Easington Colliery that looks on first glance to be a rather bland picture of an open space. It only makes sense when one remembers the picture of Easington Colliery before the impact of the virtual closure of the mining industry.

In the majority of the photographs the sky is bland and perhaps uninteresting. I assume that this was deliberate because it forces the eye to return to the main subject and helps bring out the detail and tonal range in that part. Something worth remembering.

Overall the lesson learnt by me was that the best images are those where the subtlety of tones and the use of varying contrast bring out the very best in the image.