End Frame: Paved path above Lumbutts, near Todmorden, West Yorkshire by Fay Godwin

Stewart Gregory

I am a commercial property lawyer who originally trained as an architect; during that training my parents bought me a Minolta X-300 to assist with my studies. I became more serious about my photography about ten years ago and today consider myself an enthusiastic amateur. I concentrate mainly on landscape images and am equally happy whether by the coast or out on the hills.

I know from reading end frame articles over the years that many contributors have expressed difficulty in deciding which image they wish to write about. I didn’t have that problem as Fay Godwin’s “Paved path above Lumbutts, near Todmorden, West Yorkshire” is an image that has stayed with me since I first picked up a copy of the book Elmet.

Elmet is a later (1994) republication of the book of work by poet Ted Hughes first published in 1979 under the title Remains of Elmet. Most of the poems in Elmet were written by Hughes in collaboration with Fay Godwin, who provided the stunning black and white photographs of this part of Yorkshire where Hughes grew up. When the work was first published Hughes called it a “Pennine sequence” and one that responds to the landscape and people of the Calder Valley, where Hughes spent his early childhood. In Hughes’ preface to the original edition of the book, he expands on the subject of this work:

Do you have an image you'd like to write an end frame article on? Take a read of our previous end frame articles for inspiration! We are looking for contributions for forthcoming issues. Please get in touch with Charlotte Britton directly.