Assignment 5 - Feedback

I was delighted to receive my feedback on Assignment Five from my tutor. I had gone to great lengths to do Fay Godwin justice in putting together my photographs for this assignment. My work covered a wide geographic area including the Ridgeway in Southern England, the English Lake District, Calderdale in West Yorkshire, Stonehenge and numerous plant nurseries with glasshouses.

My tutor's report was very positive and it is great to have my efforts recognised. I will quote her summary in full:

"Gosh, what a lot of ground you have covered for this assignment! It was well worth the effort. This is a lovely body of work that gives a deep level of understanding of Fay Godwin's work an many layers"


There was only one photograph which my tutor felt was slightly off track and that was one of Didcot Power Station which is situated close to the Ridgeway. She felt that the misty conditions in which I captured my photograph was perhaps too romanticised given that it is meant to be expressing environmental concerns - this is a fair criticism. Here is the photograph:

Didcot Power Station from the Ridgeway

I have included two more images from my assignment below to illustrate my work:

Blea Tarn and Blencathra, English Lake District

Yorkshire Sculpture Park, near Barnsley 

Assignment Four a critical review of Fay Godwin

I have now completed my review of Fay Godwin and submitted my full text to my tutor. I enjoyed this assignment. It was interesting to study a landscape photographer who was also a documentarist. I also learned quite a bit about developing a style. I have included part of the text from my assignment below. This deals with a description of her work.

For the purposes of this review I have focused on Godwin's landscapes. This is consistent with scope of the Photography 2: Landscape course. As such I have not commented on her early literary portrait and later colour documentary work around West Yorkshire.

To familiarise myself with Godwin's early landscape work, I have reviewed her first guidebook to the Ridgeway. The reproduction of the images in the book is quite poor, but her abilities as a documentary landscape photographer are nevertheless clear. Many of the images might be regarded as workmanlike, but some are atmospheric photographs in the style that became her trademark.

Moonlight Avebury 1974

 Moonlight Avebury 1974 from the guide has become one of her best-known images, of which critic Philip Stokes said "…of all Fay Godwin's photographs there is none which more quintessentially represents longstanding British tradition of viewing the land while manifesting the appearance of its subject at the moment of taking". 

Her images are known for their clarity, careful composition and control over tonal values. I have witnessed this first hand by visiting two current exhibitions of her work: 'Paul Nash and Fay Godwin' at the Graves Gallery Sheffield  and  'Land Revisited' at the National Media Museum.  

The former exhibits her work from 'Remains of Elmet' and her photographs are displayed alongside the poems of Ted Hughes. As Ian Jeffrey states in his introduction to this book, Godwin  "…registers the long prospects, low curves, abrupt escarpments of the Pennines…". The work also shows how the Industrial Revolution has shaped the landscape of the Calder Valley as in the photograph of Colne, Lancashire 1970.

Colne Lancashire 1970

'Land Revisited' shows many of the original prints from the 'Land' exhibition of 1985. Britain is represented as a place of standing stones, ruined castles and industrial relics - a mysterious place of broad vistas moody skies with desolate and threatening landscapes.

Seeing the original prints was a revelation. The tonal range and detail are just perfect. It is clear that Godwin placed great importance on the printing process. 'Land Revisited' also had some of her contact prints and notebooks giving her directions for printing on display, along with excerpts from the 1986 South Bank Show.

Godwin was tenacious when going after a photograph. The video footage shows her working in the field. From this it is clear that she revisited locations on many occasions to seek out the perfect light and climatic conditions and that once at a location she would spend a great deal of time with a handheld viewfinder searching for just the right composition.

In my view the emotional depth of her black and white landscapes is created by a combination of factors: her photographic skills - use of composition, tone, rhythm and harmony; her tenacity in waiting for just the right time and in particular the right light; and her choice of subject matter - mythic landscapes echoing ancient times.

Path and Resevoir Lumbutts Yorkshire 1977

These elements are illustrated clearly in the photograph Path and Reservoir, Lumbutts, Yorkshire, 1977. The path leads the eye into the picture from the bottom left, a stone wall picks up the path and leads to the reservoir. The reservoir is highlighted, the path and surrounding grass are of medium tone, and the surrounding hills are dark, as is the sky, other than a sunburst on the horizon. This image has a strong composition, makes excellent use of light and depicts a subject showing the influence of man on the landscape and the power and beauty of nature.

Curiously in 'Land' Godwin excluded humans completely from her photographs.  However, as one follows the sequence of the book and head south from the remote glens of Scotland to the more populated southern counties of England the intervention of humans on the landscape becomes increasingly apparent. Towards the end of the book Godwin includes images such as one of an abandoned car rising from a lagoon, which might be seen as a warning shot of what was to come in 'Our Forbidden Land'.

The photographs in 'Our Forbidden Land' retain all of the power and technical strength of her earlier work but are also overtly documentary in nature.  They tackle a wide range of issues including:

·      The adverse effects of overusing pesticides and fertilizers, 

·      The pollution of waterways, lakes and rivers,

·      The restrictions on access to land being imposed by farmers, the Forestry Commission, Water privatization, and MOD acquisition,

·      Inadequate transport planning with the consequent overuse of cars,

·      Over-marketing of our national heritage, and restricting access to photographers with limited resources to locations such as Stonehenge.

For the first time Godwin was both writer and photographer. Her strong politics and sympathies on the issues are clearly articulated. I was particularly taken by the way she invites the reader to admire and wonder at the British landscape by presenting a photograph of great beauty, and then reveals with another photograph on an nearby page how it is being abused. Here are two such images of the Scottish highlands:

Meall Mor Glencoe 1988

 Stob dubh Glen Etive Glencoe 1988

Godwin maintained the momentum of her crusade with a further book, five years later, titled 'On the Edge of the Land', in which she explored the environmental, economic and social issues facing Britain's coastal regions.

During the late 80's Godwin had been able to explore colour photography during her fellowship with the National Museum of Photography in Bradford. She had created a significant body of documentary work at that time. By the 90's she had begun to use colour in some of her landscapes. Her colour work in Bradford seems to have been the genesis of this but also in 1979/80 she had started taking small colour photographs of gardens with a Polaroid sx70 camera. These experiments were to bear full fruit in her later work in 'Glassworks and Secret Lives'.

Untitled from Pioneer Glassworks 1989

The photographs in 'Glassworks and Secret Lives' are intimate landscapes in colour. They are characterized by the use of soft or differential focus with layers of intervening glass, plastic, netting and such like adding to the intrigue and mystery. Untitled, from Pioneer Glassworks, 1989 is  an example .

Throughout her photographic career Godwin maintained a sense of humour and was often drawn to images that she called 'Snapshots'. These were amusing images often taken in the landscape.

Simon Roberts, one of Britain's best known photographers today has said of her work:  "While I appreciate Godwin’s landscape photographs, the images I’m really drawn to are those which present a dry humour and, much like Tony Ray Jones, a keen eye for the quietly absurd." 

Leaping Lurcher, 1972 is one of her best-remembered 'Snapshots'.

Leaping Lurcher 1972

Land Revisited Exhibition Fay Godwin - National Media Museum

The National Media Museum has be staging a repeat of the seminal 'Land' exhibition by Fay Godwin to celebrate the 25th aniversary of the original event. The Museum holds many of the original prints from the first exhibition. The museum introduces the exhibition as follows : "Fay Godwin (1931 - 2005) was one of Britain's greatest landscape photographers. She is best known for her 1985 exhibition and accompanying book, Land – a very personal celebration of the British landscape that enjoyed enormous popular and critical success. To mark the 25th anniversary of this exceptional project, we are displaying a selection of prints from the original exhibition, drawn from our Collection."

On Monday 22nd November I had the great pleasure of visiting the exhibition. I was one of very few visitors on that morning and so I had time and a peaceful environment to give the wonderful photographs full consideration. Here are my thoughts on the exhibition:

• What impressed me the most was the pure quality of the original prints on display. The images are fantastic. Technically they are excellent - the compositions are strong, focus is sharp from back to front, and no detail is lost in the shadows and highlights. The prints themselves are superb. They are generally quite high in contrast and wonderfully detailed. However, what distinguishes the images more than anything else is the way the light expresses itself on the landscape. Areas of light and dark draw out the shape of the landscape and highlight the key points of interest. 
• Her compositions are very carefully thought out. She often uses repetitive elements such as in the image below where the marker stone pointing to the right is echoed by the wall to top left of the frame. The triangle of the marker stone, wall and rock also makes a strong compositional design and depth is created by diminishing scale.

Marker stone, old London to Harlech road by Fay Godwin

• Looking at her workbooks and contact prints it is abundantly clear that having found her subject Godwin would capture a series of images, varying the exposures once she had settled on a composition. Just like Ansell Adams she regarded the negative as a starting point. She devoted a great deal of time, thought and effort to the process of producing a perfect print.
• The exhibition showed an old video clip from the South Bank Show in 1986, in which Fay was interviewed and was filmed working in the field. From this it is clear that she revisited locations on many occasions to seek out the perfect light and climatic conditions. It is also clear that once at a location she would spend a lot of time with a handheld viewfinder searching for the right composition. A National Media Museum video of Roger Taylor discussing Fay Godwin's work can be found on this link National Media Museum - Fay Godwin Video .
• The sky is very often a major feature of her compositions and when it is there is always great interest in the clouds. Very rarely are these clouds fluffy cumulus. Storm clouds appear with greater regularity. I have heard it said that the best time to capture dramatic landscape images is when bad weather is leaving (Charlie Waite quote). Fay Godwin seems to have believed in a similar dictum. She clearly went out in poor conditions and waited for breaks in the weather when the drama of the landscape would be greatly enhanced. Below is one of her images where bad weather is a major feature. This image also illustrates how the light is so important in her images. The dark sky overhead adds drama and as does storm over the hills to the back left. The path in the front left is lit up whereas the middle ground is in shadow. As we move further into the landscape both the lake and the far valley are again lit up. So cleverly Godwin has managed to ensure that the key elements of her composition are lit, whilst providing a dramatic backcloth for their presentation. What is not easy to judge is how much the light conditions have been enhanced by dodging and burning in the darkroom??

Path and reservoir, Lumbutts, Yorkshire, 1977

• I was also intrigued to hear how much time she spent in determining the sequence of images for display in Land. Her final choice was to present the photographs in a geographic sequence, starting in the north of Scotland working south towards the end of the book.

It was a great day and very timely given my decision to study Fay Godwin's work for my next assignment.

Assignment Four - a critical review

For the next assignment I have to conduct a critical review of a well known landscape photographer. I have decided to select Fay Godwin as my subject for this review. My reasons for selecting Godwin are listed below:

• Godwin's work is very varied. Her early landscape works were classic images of the British countryside. She went on to produce a body of work showing how major companies and landowners were restricting use of the countryside and abusing its natural beauty - a strong documentary series of images. The first two series were all in black and white and fitted the classic landscape genre. During her later life however she made two series of intimate landscapes in colour. I felt that this variety would provide great learning opportunities.
• All of my assignments so far have been based on colour images. I am looking forward to working in black and white "in the style of" Fay Godwin.
• Her work was based on the British landscape, often in poor but dramatic weather. As I shall be shooting in the UK and during the winter, I will have greater opportunity to produce images in her style, rather than for example in the style of Galen Rowell, where great mountains and exotic locations abound.
• I admire her work greatly. Whilst at first sight her images appear a little understated, her photographs are powerful and evocative and capture the mood of the British countryside wonderfully.

Here is one of my favourite Godwin Photographs:

Flooded Tree, Derwentwater 1981 by Fay Godwin

Landscape Photography Influences - Fay Godwin

At first sight I was not impressed with the work of Fay Godwin. It appeared very understated and frankly dull. The fact that she concentrated on the British countryside and worked largely in black and white, contributed to this impression.  I decided to get hold of her best known books and give some more time to understanding her work. This proved that first impressions are not always the right ones. I have come to admire her work greatly.

Her seminal work Land is a collection of photographs from her first ten years work as a landscape photographer. It is a celebration of the British countryside. Her style is a documentary one, but there is a mystical quality to her work also. Very few of her photographs depict the cliche view of the British countryside with puffy white clouds and a sunny aspect. Rather she has most often captured the landscape in more dramatic circumstances with foreboding clouds and dramatic light. She is not prone to using tricks to accentuate her images.... they are presented in a documentary way. Many of her images are in square format - she frequently used a medium format camera. This lends a graphic quality to her work, which is accentuated by her trully excellent compositional skills.

In Our Forbidden Land, her use of landscape photography in a documentary manner is most highly developed. The work depicts man's influence on the landscape - generally man's adverse influence. Large roads cut into beautiful mountains, unattractive buildings and telegraph posts obscure the views, fences block the way, and forestry work despoils the landscape. The quality of the photography is of the same high standard but the message is not a celebration of the landscape, more a condemnation of man's abuse of it. Godwin was a long time member and President of the Ramblers Association and was active in the contemporary campaigns to keep the countryside open. Our Forbidden Land makes a strong case for a more sensitive approach to the landscape on behalf of the landowners - it is a powerful work.

I have learned quite a bit from my brief look at Fay Godwin. First it is clear that there is beauty all around us, you just have to open your eyes to see it. Second, timing is important - dramatic climatic conditions make for dramatic images. Third and perhaps most importantly, landscape photography is not just about pretty images, it can also be a powerful documentary force for change.

Here are a few of Fay Godwin's images: