Our Work

Blackwater

Atlas Gallery, 49 Dorset Street, London W1U 7NF
Until 24 April 2010

Recently opened at Atlas Gallery is Scottish photographer Steve Macleod’s debut exhibition, ‘Blackwater’. Metro have particular interest in this exhibition as Steve is our current Creative Director and has been a professional printer since the early 1990s working with some of the world’s leading photographers such as David Bailey and Mario Testino. He has gained an international reputation in this area and published several books on the subject.

This is an exhibition taken from a 2 year project shot on large format transparency, which was then scanned at Metro and output as large c-types, framed by John Jones. The prints depict the seasonal landscape around the River Blackwater. Steve methodically visited the same sites along the river course, repetitively shooting the same subjects through the seasons over a period of 2 years, through seasonal changes and fluctuating light. The woodland in his images waver between a place of chaotic disorientation and a place of serene calm; the landscape becoming a vehicle through which he explored his shifting state of mind, translating his emotional state through the lens.
In Steve’s own words: “The river, a timeless symbol of the journey that we take through life. Trees, metaphors for a window on the human condition, life; growth; decay; collapse."

Working in a traditional way, he used a weighty 5×4 Field camera & used early 1950s lenses, which are uncoated and lead to small aberrations, this created a softness in the image with elements of flare. He took advantage of all the movements in the camera such as back-plate shift and lens tilt to abstract the composition, which created ambiguities of scale. Large areas of the composition are blurred producing a sense of movement and an experience more akin to human memory and visual experience.

“I was a photographer/printer long before becoming my current position and have always practiced photography so that it can create an understanding and empathy with our client base. As a client I experience the same issues they encounter when creating work.”

Opening Hours: Monday to-Friday 10:00am - 6:00pm, Saturday 11:00am - 5:00pm, ends Apr 24

For details on the exhibition click on this link: Atlas Gallery
Click here to view all the images.
To read an interview with Steve about the project click here