This time, our “Featured” section is a little different. This Time we’re featuring local photographic artist Alison Hall. Alison is based in Northumberland, now retired from a career in office administration with the Open University. She enjoys being able to dedicate more time to her interest in photography and exhibits her work at various events around the North East and Yorkshire.
How did you become interested in photography?
I took up an interest about 20 years ago when I purchased my first digital Kodak camera with manual settings. It was 5 MP with a 300 mm optical zoom lens. I loved it, small enough to fit in a pocket it went everywhere with me. Subject interest has remained the same over the years covering landscape and nature. I love being outdoors, my work is done locally or on holiday in the UK. To improve my understanding of camera functions and settings I read photographic magazines and took a short 10 week course with the Open University which covered the basics.
“Baltic Moon” was probably my first image that generated some interest, taken from the Millennium Bridge with the sunset reflecting in the windows.
hotography gives me great pleasure, getting me out walking and observing the world around me, a time to switch off and become totally absorbed in my surroundings and the process. However I started to feel frustrated as so much traditional photography is based on planning the shot, using tripods, filters, remote shutter release etc. I like to be spontaneous and free of equipment. I felt confined.
In 2015 I read an article by Doug Chinnery on ‘intentional camera movement’ (ICM) in the Outdoor Photography magazine. Moving the camera while pressing the shutter release on a long exposure opens up a totally new artistic approach and I knew this was the way forward for me.
It took time for me to let go of rigid routines, so I attended a two day ‘Light and Land’ event in the Lake District (www.lightandland.co.uk/) led by Doug Chinnery and Valda Bailey (www.baileychinnery.com/). With no distractions and mixing with a group of people with a creative interest was just what I needed to start experimenting. I have not looked back. Over the past 6 years I’ve enjoyed the creative process of mixing Intentional camera movement, focus, blur and texture within multiple exposure images (referred to as ME).
My kit is simple; a Nikon D7100 with a 70–300 mm zoom lens. I always shoot in ‘raw’ format [an unprocessed image format] which enables more flexible editing in-camera and post production. Using the ME setting on my camera, I can take up to 3 exposures that the camera will then merge into one image. I also use the in-camera ‘image overlay’ setting that you can use as many times as you like on ME and single exposures.
My work is quite varied, I like to retain some reality and recognition of place although explore an abstract approach too. I am not in search of a style, I just like to go out and see what is out there.
Where do you find inspiration for your work?
When out walking, a scene or object of interest will appear to me, I look around at the immediate environment for texture, colour and pattern in stone, sand, plants, sky etc. I suppose capturing the ‘essence of place’, my experience. I visualise the composition as I take each exposure. Combining a landscape scene with close-up, blur or ICM brings interesting depth and painterly effects to the image. It takes practice and you never quite know what the result will be. I like the anticipation of viewing the result. If time is short, I take a number of single shots then use the ‘overlay’ function to create the ME. Depending what is light and dark in the image will determine what aspects appear strongest in the picture. The picture of Lindisfarne above illustrates this nicely. The castle was dark against a pale sky. The strongest textures appear in the dark castle area and foreground, they consist of a close-up through grasses and one of upside down boats with peeling paint and rusty water marks.
Every image is built up differently. Some only require a minor tweak in post-production to improve the contrast and bring out the best in the picture. Others, such as ‘Spring Blossom’ have a considerable amount of post-production time spent on them, experimenting with additional overlay, colour and blending modes. I use an old basic version of Adobe Elements 11.
How can we find out more about you and your work?
I post my pictures on Instagram (instagram.com/alisonhallphotography/) and I exhibit at various events. Past events include: Alnmouth Arts Festival, The Northern Art Fair (St John’s Chapel), Art in the Pen (Skipton) and Woodhorn Museum. I have a website: www.alisonhallphotography.co.uk/, and a Facebook page: facebook.com/AliHallPhoto/ too.
Do you have an upcoming events?
Yes, I will be showing at the Reeth Show, Bank Holiday 28 Aug (DL11 6JA reethshow.co.uk/) and at the Alwinton Show – 14 October (NE65 7BQ alwintonshow.co.uk/)
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