Stephen Whitehead
Fine Art Photographer
Specialising in Architecture Landscape and nature
I have been interested in photography for more than 30 years beginning with my first camera in 1964 which cost 10 shillings and the top off a Weetabix packet, the camera was all plastic including the lens and not suitable for colour film. This was my introduction to black and white photography. Since then I have used a variety of cameras including medium format folding cameras and an MPP Microflex a TLR based on the Rollieflex . I am currently using a Canon Ftb and have a range of FD lenses which give me the best possible results for the 35mm format. Currently all of my photography is on film, at some stage Digital Colour may follow.
The photographic subjects that have most interested me over the years has been Landscape,
Nature and Architecture, I have been influenced by many different photographers including
Edward Weston, Ansel Adams, Julia Margaret Cameron, Bill Brant and the Photo-secessionists
generally. These influences are of a general nature as I have never sought to imitate
the work of any other photographer and yet similarities are inevitable, by the nature
of the photograph one mans picture will bear a resemblance to any other photographers
picture, it is difficult to come up with something absolutely unique or that is different
from anything that anyone else has done. It is not possible to look at a photograph
in the same way as a painting by Turner and say “Oh this photograph is by .........”
and lets face it, experts frequently cannot do it with paintings either!
Photographs from the first 50 to 60 years were frequently toned brown, the toning
process was to prevent the photographic image from fading, my own preference has
always been for the toned photograph, in these days of printed ink images (Ink-jet)
toning has no archival relevance and is just a matter of visual preference, my photographic
images are therefore mostly of toned appearance often referred to as Sepia Toned
which is not strictly correct as a true sepia toned photograph was of a soft-ish
tone no black and not a very dark brown tone either, you will notice that some of
my own photo’s go to a very dark brown to full black.
My negative files contain many photographs taken in the various parts of England that I have lived or travelled to, from which I am actively selecting the best to produce Fine Art Photographs from, something I have long wanted to do. I enjoy the creative process of photography and producing the final print.
