AERIAL PHOTOS (2020)
Colin Aldred - Photographer
The Noodle Shed, Bolton, 28/02/2020 - 10/11/2022
Exhibition Statement
The aerial photographs in this exhibition were all taken in Cumbria, and many are of the Furness area where I live. The aim of my artwork is to celebrate the wonderful natural environment that is never very far away from us. It is so exciting to seek out landscapes, often in less well-known areas, and take photographs from heights and angles that no-one has ever taken photographs from before. I then endeavour to present them in unexpected and creative ways.
There are two different styles of photographs on display in this exhibition. The Little Planets are distorted circular worlds, developed from painstakingly constructed 360° photographs. The Panosquares are created by taking two panoramic aerial photographs – one looking to the horizon and one looking to the ground below – and merging them together. This creates a square image that is both a horizontal and vertical panorama.
Having previously used satelitte photographs as source images for my art work, in October 2014, I had a lightbulb moment when I realised that advances in drone technology would now allow me to take my own aerial photographs. So, after teaching Art & Design for 28 years, I founded Aerial Artwork. Since September 2015, with the legally required permission of the Civil Aviation Authority, I have been offering an aerial photography and filmmaking service to a wide range of clients across Cumbria and further afield.
Alongside this commercial work, my passion was always to develop my own artwork. Using a drone has allowed me to shoot from any height up to the legal maximum of 120 metres. I enjoy experimenting with the resulting digital photographs, using different software to manipulate the imagery before choosing my final prints.
The framed prints are made with archive quality ink on museum grade paper and, if looked after, should last a lifetime.
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AERIAL ARTWORK (2016)
Colin Aldred Artist/Photographer
The Forum, Barrow-in-Furness, 03/12/2016 - 31/01/2017
Exhibition Statement
I became fascinated by the colours and textures of the surface of the earth around 30 years ago, through an amazing book called Earthwatch. It featured satellite images of the earth seen from 570 miles high, predating Google Earth by 24 years. These images informed my own artwork of the time, and later inspired a school kite project where I challenged some of my pupils to take aerial photographs of their school by attaching a camera to a kite! Two years ago, I suddenly discovered that advances in drone technology would now allow me to do this for myself.
So, after teaching Art & Design for 28 years, I set up my first business. As “Aerial Artwork” I have been offering an aerial photography and video service to a wide range of clients, with the legally required permission of the Civil Aviation Authority.
Alongside my commercial work, my passion is to develop my own artwork. Using a drone allows me to take photographs from heights and angles that no-one has ever taken photographs from before. New technology and software allow me to experiment with how to capture and present these digital views, to create original and unusual prints.
My approach, as an artist/photographer, is to present a unique view of our world, to encourage reflection upon the beauty above, below and around us.
I currently have a choice of two Sony 12MP cameras to attach to the drone, which allows me to take aerial photographs from any height up to the legal maximum of 120 metres. I then use Adobe Lightroom to edit the photographs.
Most of the pictures on display are High Dynamic Range images created by merging three bracketed photographs together. Many images are a further merging of a view to the horizon with a downward photograph to create a vertical panoramic view. The Little Planet prints are created from as many as 60 photographs, using software called PT-Gui.
I create giclee (inkjet) open-edition signed photographic prints. They are individually produced on my Canon Pixma Pro-1 Printer. I use Lucia archival inks in a 12 colour system, on Canson Infinity Rag Photographique 310gsm paper. This is premium 100% cotton, acid-free, museum-grade watercolour paper. All mounting materials are acid-free. If proper care is taken, the prints should last a lifetime. The large canvases were produced for the exhibition by Photobox.com
The photographs in this exhibition were almost all taken in Cumbria within the last 12 months, and many are of the Furness area.
December 2016
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CORRELATIONS (1990)
Mixed Media Art Work by Adrian Pinckard and Colin Aldred
Derngate Foyer, Northampton 05/02/90 – 24/02/90
Brackley Library 07/04/90 – 28/04/90
Alfred East Gallery, Kettering 12/05/90 – 09/06/90
Corby Library 07/07/90 – 28/07/90
Duston Library 04/08/90 – 25/08/90
Burton Latimer Library 04/09/90 – 25/09/90
Desborough Library 02/10/90 – 23/10/90
Daventry Library 03/11/90 – 24/11/90
Exhibition Statement
My work has always been concerned with the rich variety of surfaces found in nature. The abstract forms, textures and colours in my early work were based largely on those observed on the urban surfaces of an old city; the marks and shapes created by decay and deterioration, both natural and man-made.
More recently, I have discovered two new sources of inspiration. Firstly I was excited by views of the earth’s surface recorded by satellite, and secondly by photographs, taken through a microscope, of sections of rock. Despite the widely different scale, the correlation of the surface textures and patterns is immediately apparent. It is fascinating, if a little disconcerting, that vast land masses can appear the same in photographs as a microscopic slice of rock. Is the earth’s surface as fragile, and is it as open to man’s abuse as the urban environment?
Most of the paintings and collages exhibited have been developed from these sources, manipulated and adapted through the materials and techniques I have used. I like the idea that although the surfaces are based quite literally on photographs, they may be mistaken for non-representational images. Ultimately the viewer chooses how to regard the picture, and any associations or equivalents suggested or discovered are an ever-present aspect of the work.
January 1990
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4 – 3 YEARS ON (1986)
(An exhibition by four fine art graduates who attended Nene College Foundation in 1981-82)
Colin Aldred / Sue Jacobs / Nicholas Moreton / Ruth Thomas
Northampton Museum and Art Gallery, 03/01/86 – 02/02/86
The abstract forms, textures and colours in my work are based largely on those observed on the urban surfaces of an old city. The marks and shapes created by: the decay and deterioration; man’s use, abuse and neglect; and the effects of time and weather are those I have endeavoured to find parallels for in my prints.
Any associations or equivalents the pictures subsequently suggest to the viewer are also an important aspect of the work.
December 1985
Other work from this period:
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FINE ART DEGREE SHOW (1985)
Humberside College of Higher Education, Hull 04/07/85 – 06/07/85
Student Exhibition Statement
I became interested in the natural combinations and interactions of shapes, textures and colours that occur everywhere in our surroundings. These effects and patterns are inherent in the natural landscape on many different scales; but they also appear in the urban landscapes in time, bringing man-made surfaces and structures to life.
These qualities are often perceived and enjoyed but are not normally regarded as anything other than background. I began to feel however that the interplay of lines and tones; the rhythms and patterns; the contrast of man-made and natural colours; were stimulating subjects in themselves. The imagery created by natural forces became more important than any other subject matter.
I was increasingly fascinated by the many varied marks and textures created by the combination of decay and deterioration; man’s use, abuse and neglect; and the tracings of time and the weather. I enjoyed reading these qualities as a rich story of each location’s past.
Once susceptible to these new impressions, numerous analogies and affinities demanded my attention. I was able to discern shapes within the sources that were equivalents for figures, faces or other images. Different viewers have found different associations suggested to them by the pictures.
Some forms that appeared suggested forms to be found in the natural landscape, as nature gradually reclaims each area. Not surprisingly some showed a resemblance to other art forms, particularly to non-representational art of this century. It occurred to me that it was primarily my exposure to modern abstract art that had enabled me to respond so readily to the abstract in the material world.
I felt that the occasional appearance of mysterious human forms, drawn by nature, evoked an uneasy balance between the forces of nature and the creations of man. I viewed this tension as an analogy for the lack of harmony between mankind and the natural environment throughout the world, of which we all should be aware.
I have used the surfaces recorded in my photographs as a starting point for my prints and studies. I have made parallels in printmaking for these qualities. The appreciation of these deteriorating surfaces is made easier by making them permanent in print and photograph.
Other work from this period:
