As a research chemist, the chemical processes that are involved in the development of photographic film has always fascinated me and in no other branch of the arts does an understanding of the physical and chemical processes involved play such an important role as with photography. However, many aspects contribute to a final image and, striving for perfection at every point of the creative process, neither the motif itself, nor the format, and certainly not the atmosphere, the time of day or the resulting colours and their representation, are left to chance. My initial photographic work is represented by my trademark wide panoramas of cities or landscapes. These hand stitched works, which really invite you to ‘step in’ and walk through the image, have found their way into many private and business collections. Nevertheless, it has always been the colours and structures to be found in nature, as well as the underlying chemical processes that lie behind these, which has fascinated me. Although sometimes my images simply show this natural beauty as I find it, I always try and push the representation of an image to its artistic limits. Cropping tightly, contexts like shorelines and horizon are often removed allowing a creative focus on the details and sometimes vibrant colours that excite me. Just as a diamond needs light, so capturing the interplay of the subject with the light that surrounds and illuminates it, is often key to achieving the effect I am looking for. This is never more present than when looking at water in its many forms and as such this is very much a preferred motif.

Together with Ines (www.inesmondon.com), the woman and photographer at my side and a wonderfully constant source of the support and challenge, I explore passionately the whole year round the boundless reservoir of motifs that nature has to offer: What we see; what we think and feel about what we see; and how this, and these emotions, can be represented in a final image.

In 2012, I returned to film photography, working with 6 cm x 17 cm medium format slide films, and,. searching for a digital equivalent to film, I discovered the Foveon X3 Direct Image sensor from SIGMA and was immediately captivated by the colour and detail that this could deliver. I now own and use a range of cameras from the house SIGMA as well as lenses from SIGMA, Carl Zeiss, Mamiya and Meyer-Optik-Görlitz. I am a reference photographer for SIGMA Deutschland, and my work is regularly published in magazines and exhibited on the international stage.

www.markjamesford.photography

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