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Doug Chinnery
I am an artist working with images full of colour and movement in an attempt to express what I see around me. Inspired by artists, in particular the impressionists and abstract impressionists as well as Chris Friel and Valda Bailey, I work in abstraction trying to capture mood and emotion. I live in obscurity with my wife, Beth, and my buddy, Eddie.
Putting a set of four coherent images together is more of a challenge than I first thought, especially as it was at short notice and I didn't want them to be a collection grouped by a single location.
In fact, after almost an hour of puzzling over images in Lightroom and my deadline looming I decided to wimp out and take the easy option. Lone trees in the snow.
Easy because the images themselves are easily themed, just a single tree isolated by the snow, such a classic photographers subject. Easy also because so many of my lone tree images end up in the square format.
Grouping images, not only by subject, but also by frame type helps with coherence. The images "hang well"‚ together.
I am irresistibly drawn to the solitude of the lone tree, which is further emphasised by isolation of the snow. As a device it has long been used by artists and photographers because it resonates with us. I'm sure some clever psychologist could come up with something deep and meaningful about it being connected with feelings of loneliness and isolation, or something connected with the womb. Me, however, I just think they are beautiful.
So, I feel like a fraud submitting these images to the group, especially amidst such august company, but I couldn't help myself. Cliched? Perhaps. Too easy? Certainly. But I am a sucker for lone trees in the snow. Note to self. "Must try harder next time".
