Martin Henson

http://www.martinhensonphotography.co.uk

Martin Henson is a Leeds based fine art landscape photographer, who has been practising in the photography medium since his early teen years. Starting at such an early age has given Henson plenty of experience in the field of photography and allowed him to experiment with plenty of different techniques and methods until he found his optimum medium, black and white film taken on medium and large format cameras and printed and developed at his studio.

As well as shooting black and white film Henson has also experimented with using digital cameras for several years, but always preferred film and so was drawn back to it. He says that 'digital was a steep learning curve, a real pull from film...' ' ...however the lure of film was always with me, it has a look, feel and dynamic range that digital does not personally give me...'. (Henson, M. Martinhensonphotography.co.uk) [Accessed 06/10/13]

Henson explains on his website that 90% of the photographs present on the site were taken within a 25 mile radius of where he lives, and says he's not done yet, that he intends to shoot more like it. This goes to show you don't need to travel far to get great landscape images, your local area will be full of photo opportunities you just have to explore, get out there and experiment with the different weather and lighting moments.

The philosophy behind Henson's images is as follows;

'Whilst trekking the hills, dales and moors I have become more aware of the landscape we live in. We don’t own it nor do we dictate to it, nature will do what it has to in the most spectacular ways, I am humbled by its power and beauty, I have witnessed amazing light shows, wondrous cloud formations, nature living in complete harmony equipped to cope with the elements, we as humans feel powerful in this technological age but out there we are just another part of life’s cycle a grain of sand in a vast arena. I try to capture this sense of power and scale in my images not as the camera sees it but my own interpretation through inspiration on being a witness to events I have been privileged to see.' (Henson, M. Martinhensonphotography.co.uk/about.html) [Accessed 06/10/13].

'Foggy Dream' By Michael Henson.

'Gentle Shadow' By Michael Henson.

'Snow Tree' By Michael Henson.

'Wall and Snow' By Michael Henson.

I find Henson's work to be quite inspiring. The stark contrast really makes the images stand out, and makes the photos quite appealing. All of Henson's images appear to follow this aesthetic trend and is a similar style as to what I like to try and achieve within my own work. Most of Henson's subjects, for his landscape work at least, appear to have no wildlife or human interference, it is just the bare landscape within the frame, this gives the landscape an isolated feeling, especially with the images being in black and white, it also makes the images feel quite calm and even tranquil. I think this look within the images really demonstrates the philosophy and thoughts Henson puts behind the images, that we are part of nature and that we can't change it.