About
From photography...
My first “proper” picture was of a set of wrought iron gates taken as part of a 6th form general studies lesson. A somewhat random choice of aperture gave focused detail of the rusty iron while the blurred background added to, but did not dominate the image. So here we are years later having moved through darkrooms and film choices to pixels and histograms. The tools (and subject matter!) are different but the enjoyment is the same. Today my some what over grown hobby sits alongside my "proper" job and adds highlight and focus to my world.
Flowers and details are my thing and through books, magazine articles and workshops I have learned to produce images which I am proud to display. Again a busy life style intercepts and these are not images of exotic plants from far flung places. All have been taken over the years in my own gardens shared with children, swings, slides and two large dogs (who it has to be said have little consideration for pretty flowers). The regular use of conservatories has allowed me to keep out the wind and the four footed helpers!
I am a great fan of the International Garden Photographer of the Year competition which provides a superb platform for all garden photographers to showcase their work. Some stunning images are selected in the winning categories and act as an inspiration for me in my own work.
On several occasions I have been very proud to have one of my images selected in the winning line ups.
2012: Textures - Commended
2013: Macro Art - Commended
2016: Monochrome Art - Finalist
2017: Monochrome Art - Commended
2017: Square crop - Third place
I also exhibit once a year at Sir Harold Hillier Gardens along with fellow photographers and artists. For more information see the news page.
...to emerging artist
The arrival of Covid brought limitations in travel and a sharp increase in screen time as my ‘day job’ moved online. No longer did I want to sit and edit photographs so my previous efforts in painting became more serious and the physical act of painting provided freedom from the 'home office'.
In both media I find I am fascinated by strong shapes, bold colours and using abstraction to find my own story to tell.
In photography I use abstraction in several ways. Using a shallow depth of field to limit focus and draw attention to selected details, converting to black and white to remove all usual colour references and getting close-up to a subject to remove clues to the wider environment.
With painting I can take this further. I can compose elements which may not be real, I can choose colours which may or may not be realistic. I can create ‘disruption’ and ‘lost edges’ to allow the viewer to fill in the blanks and add their own narrative to a shape.
Some of my artworks can be found on in the Emerging Artist gallery or Instagram @RachelInTheShed click here .
My first “proper” picture was of a set of wrought iron gates taken as part of a 6th form general studies lesson. A somewhat random choice of aperture gave focused detail of the rusty iron while the blurred background added to, but did not dominate the image. So here we are years later having moved through darkrooms and film choices to pixels and histograms. The tools (and subject matter!) are different but the enjoyment is the same. Today my some what over grown hobby sits alongside my "proper" job and adds highlight and focus to my world.
Flowers and details are my thing and through books, magazine articles and workshops I have learned to produce images which I am proud to display. Again a busy life style intercepts and these are not images of exotic plants from far flung places. All have been taken over the years in my own gardens shared with children, swings, slides and two large dogs (who it has to be said have little consideration for pretty flowers). The regular use of conservatories has allowed me to keep out the wind and the four footed helpers!
I am a great fan of the International Garden Photographer of the Year competition which provides a superb platform for all garden photographers to showcase their work. Some stunning images are selected in the winning categories and act as an inspiration for me in my own work.
On several occasions I have been very proud to have one of my images selected in the winning line ups.
2012: Textures - Commended
2013: Macro Art - Commended
2016: Monochrome Art - Finalist
2017: Monochrome Art - Commended
2017: Square crop - Third place
I also exhibit once a year at Sir Harold Hillier Gardens along with fellow photographers and artists. For more information see the news page.
...to emerging artist
The arrival of Covid brought limitations in travel and a sharp increase in screen time as my ‘day job’ moved online. No longer did I want to sit and edit photographs so my previous efforts in painting became more serious and the physical act of painting provided freedom from the 'home office'.
In both media I find I am fascinated by strong shapes, bold colours and using abstraction to find my own story to tell.
In photography I use abstraction in several ways. Using a shallow depth of field to limit focus and draw attention to selected details, converting to black and white to remove all usual colour references and getting close-up to a subject to remove clues to the wider environment.
With painting I can take this further. I can compose elements which may not be real, I can choose colours which may or may not be realistic. I can create ‘disruption’ and ‘lost edges’ to allow the viewer to fill in the blanks and add their own narrative to a shape.
Some of my artworks can be found on in the Emerging Artist gallery or Instagram @RachelInTheShed click here .