Robert Hendry | | Robert Hendry Photography

Puffins galore! – Isle of May

Puffins galore! – Isle of May

I was privileged to visit the Isle of May off the east coast of Scotland for a three day photographic study during the breeding season. It was not my first time as I had travelled to the island for a short two hour venture the previous year and that had whetted my appetite to study the amazing bird life on this national nature reserve. Access to the island is very limited as it is home to what is now the largest Puffin colony in Britain, some 55,000 pairs, as well as having prolific numbers of Razorbills and Guillemots.

As you land on the island you are immediately greeted with the noise of swooping Arctic Terns, keen to protect their chicks and the sight of puffins flying in all directions in a very businesslike manner. There are no trees on the island and it is almost […]

Robert Hendry2019-01-02T23:43:59+00:00

Dereliction – scenes from the past

Dereliction – scenes from the past

An old byre/milking house provided the scene for these dereliction shots. Inside the building – almost devoid of content, was a small armchair and fireplace.

“The beauty is in the detail … ” Robert Hendry

The background for this minimalist image was a once whitewashed rough sandstone wall; now algae-laden with damp; the floor of tightly-laid, glazed brick with a central channel and covered in detritus of time passed. The detail tells a story… the chair, now a crippled wreck with leg missing and innards bare is a mere representation of it’s former self.

The next shot of the larger scene is somewhat strange. Why would a fireplace be in a byre/milking house along with an armchair? The photographic story can be difficult to represent.

“The beauty is in the detail … but the detail must not be a distraction” Robert Hendry

Less is often best and a minimalist approach allows the eye to ‘rest’ […]

Robert Hendry2018-12-27T18:58:15+00:00

Dereliction photography part II

Dereliction photography part II

Imagine a scene depicting an old run-down cottage in a tranquil meadow or an old decayed fishing boat on a beach stretching into the distance – it does not really matter if the image is attractive or not, the point is that dereliction photography is about what you decide to record as a photograph. How you go about taking the photograph to stimulate the viewer is the challenge… the normal rules of photography such as rule of thirds and leading lines always apply, but what about breaking the rules? Ansel Adams said ‘There are no rules for photographs, only good photographs’.

Some scenes cry out to be photographed and I am sure we have all seen these and know that there is a photograph there somewhere, but the photograph cannot be ‘pictured’ in your imagination or in the camera despite using an array of different focal length lenses. My personal approach […]

Robert Hendry2016-12-09T10:10:56+00:00

Dereliction photography part I

Dereliction photography part I

Some people may question the purpose of dereliction photography. Unlike landscape photography most of the images are not ‘beautiful’ or ‘pleasing’, so why waste time taking these images at all?

In the past, famous war photojournalists have produced iconic images that were evocative for their gritty documentary style depicting the mood and feelings of their subjects. Their images also conveyed what was happening and provided an important historical record. These were certainly not pretty images but they stimulated thought and feelings within the viewer.

Although not as dangerous, (but sometimes not without some element of danger) dereliction photography can be considered a difficult genre of photography because as stated earlier, there is usually nothing pretty or pleasant about the subject. The key is to identify features from the subject material that can be interesting or unusual and this can often be the difficult part. When you look at a photograph of a […]

Robert Hendry2016-12-09T10:10:56+00:00

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