This image has a very high level of contrast and I like the way he has uses line in this image. The subject matter is of a docked boat. I like the way the water is very dramatic and looks almost foreboding. The image almost looks as if it is created in layers and constructed from different photographs.
This is my favourite image of all of them. I like the contrast of lines going horizontal and vertical of the plants and the landscape and how this coincides with the contrast of tones. This image is very easy to look at and peaceful and all of the tones work very well for example the rushes look very dark against the sky but very light near the bottom against the ground.
I like this image because it has a lot of texture, it also has varied tones which make the picture as a whole very aesthetically pleasing. He has also captured light in this image and used the reflections to his advantage, it seems he must have waited a while for this image as at another time of day it may not have worked as well.
This image is quite different from the others as it is darker and has a grainier texture. I think this actually adds to the image and it is very atmospheric and appealing. The sky looks very dramatic and intense and I like the positions of light and dark in this image, the darker areas seem to frame the image and the strip of light which is the reflection on the river draws your eye up the image.
This photograph also uses contrasting levels of tone and texture. He has filled the bottom two thirds of the image with rocks which are in focus and use a huge array of tones and textures. I like the tones of the sky and the small patch of sunlight which highlights the building in the background. You do not notice this at first but it adds a nice characteristic to the photograph.
"John Lowings was born in Cambridge, England of an Irish mother and an English father. He studied photography at the London College of Printing and has worked in the fields of graphic design, print, freelance commercial photography, motor-cycle dispatch-riding, farm labouring, agricultural research, aid work in Southern India, mental-health support and group-facilitation.
His photographic work is in collections in the USA, UK and Ireland - including that of the Ballinglen Arts Foundation, of which he is a Fellow. He has exhibited at venues in Ireland and the UK, including the Royal Photographic Society in Bath. A collection of his landscape photographs from County Mayo was published as a book entitled At the Edge of the World in 1998, (Henry Holt, New York). Several of these images were used as I-Max sized backdrops for a new ballet by Christopher Wheeldon commissioned by the San Francisco Ballet and performed in the 2000 spring programme at the Opera House in that city (review).
John’s landscape work is informed by his sense of the spiritual in nature. In the modern world we live our lives inside our heads driven by our ambitions, obsessions, anxieties, wants. In the natural world we can feel truly a part of the great continuum of life on our generous planet. At the same time we must acknowledge that any image we make of nature is always as much a reflection of ourselves as it is about the world it represents, and this understanding is intrinsic to John’s work."
http://www.mnlg.com/jl/biog.html
John Lowings is a photographer who specialises in black and white photography. He photographes landscapes and has published a book of Irish landscapes illustrating folk stories. All of his photographs are chemically developed and he creates a very nice contrast in his images. The content of his work is mostly landscapes and he focuses on aspects such as the sky. I like his images because they all have a story behind them, he captures this quite nicely in his pictures especially in his book where he uses them to illustrate stories. He uses different techniques to develop his pictures such as carboro developing, coloured inks and coloured filters. Coloured inks allow you to add colour to the top of your image, they blend very well and give a nice coour splash effect. He does not like to use digital photography which means that he has less of an opportuinty to get the perfect image as each shot in more valuable and risky. This method of photography allows you to focus more on the image you are taking in terms of composition and the amount of skill is a lot more than in digital photography. As the level of exposure in each photograph is controlled primarily by you Lowings uses the technique of taking three images, one at the correct exposure and one above and below the perfect exposure this means that he is sure one of them will be correct as once the moment has passed you will rarely get it back. you get a feel of this spontanaety in his images as if it was a once in a life-time chance to get the image. this makes the photograph very special and unique.
The book Lowing's wrote was to illustrate photographs he had taken and explain the Celtic myths and legends that surround the area. the book itself is intruiging as myths and legends often come from runour but seem to stick to a certain area. This means each image he takes has a meaning and a story behind it.
Lowing's said that the most important aspect of putting on a show was the funding. You can get various funds or grants by applying to arts councils or a charity. Another way of gaining funds is to just ask, he said you can gain a lot from asking a company for a favour when it comes to materials or frames etc and in return you could put their logo on your leaflets or posters. In terms of advertising he said to just invite as many people as you could from family and friends to other art galleries. A press release is also important and you should invite magazine journalists to come and review your work as this is also good for publicity.
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