Rabbit Warren Woods

Peter Atkinson

Talking with a good friend made me realise how long I have enjoyed cameras, but only in the last decade have I discovered photography, learning, and a style. I was lucky to have been dragged up hills as a child and this has given me a gift of the love of landscapes; my parents are also responsible for my love of beer, and the realisation that life can bring opportunities if you seek them.
My brother is a photographer by occupation and lives in Seattle and one day we will develop that joint website that we have talked much of doing.

To the pure of heart, lockdown was a chance to grow, be it spiritually, physically, and educationally. Unfortunately, I’m not pure of heart and lockdown continues to be difficult. Rabbit Warren Woods, a small pocket of trees close to home gave me a place to reclaim positivity.

I’m not naturally introverted, and normally my moments of isolation are when I choose to be on my own, usually in the hills, often camping, these are times of reflection and times of simply being somewhere that makes my heart soar. I have spent years trying to take photographs that I am happy with, that capture my emotions of where I am and what I am feeling, and this seldom occurs, mainly because I lose interest and have been incapable of (seemingly) complex post-processing techniques. So in many ways what follows is the way I have found a path through these blocks, and in a big part, this is due to the year that just was.

I’m optimistic by nature and seek goodness and fun in people and places, but I won’t falsely seek a silver lining because I’m told to; the Woods strangely brought me emotional support, a place of solitude and discovery and imagination, and lockdown would have been harder without them, a lot harder. I can’t say that they are a silver lining, I can say that their discovery was a good thing for me.

With the onset of lockdown, I thought I would try and learn some new skills that combined the things that provide me escape fun and peace. Other than family, the main sources of peace and joy are probably Scotland and beer; beer has been easy to source but of course, travelling has been much more difficult. My love of Scotland centres around the Highlands, being able to enjoy its landscape through hiking, camping on summits, and exploring glens, in all seasons. And for me, photography is a way of being part of the landscape, and a calm happy mind. Sometimes the process is more important than the outcome, and sometimes the outcome isn’t important at all.