I am an explorer. My themes are beauty, simplicity and truth. My tool is my camera. My photographs are the maps I make. Welcome to my world.
Platinum Prints
These platinum prints are made entirely by hand using historic photographic processes: wooden cameras, film negatives or glass plates, and traditional darkroom printing.
Words I Never Said
Have you ever tried to stay inside a dream? It’s a good dream and you want it to continue, but no matter how much you try it quietly slips away. Soon, all you have left are half-remembered fragments and the feeling that those moments were important.
These visual poems are about those moments.
Glimpses
Back in 2006 I visited a Rodin exhibition at the Royal Academy in London. The raw, sensuous power of his sculptures inspired me to start this long-term project.
I like to think that Rodin opened the door for me, Edward Weston and Imogen Cunningham put my feet on the path, but it's the wonderful women I've worked with who showed me the story.
What you see here is a small selection from a collection of over 80 photographs.
Botanicals
I prefer making photographs of ideas to taking photos of things. My still lifes are no different. They are portraits, metaphors and symbols, rather than pictures of pears.
Here are some of my favourites.
Craft and Technique
Light Counter System
Configuring Your Light Counter System
Upgrading the Firmware on an LC5
Historical Sources
The Platinotype / Die Platinotypie: Pizzighelli and von Hübl, 1883
Hand-Sensitized Platinum Paper by Paul L. Anderson, 1937
Articles
Letters from my Studio
This is where I share what I’m working on, thinking about, or discovering in my practice. Expect new work, behind-the-scenes glimpses, and reflections on the creative process. I write whenever I have something worth sharing, usually once a month.
If you're not ready to sign-up for emails, then why not follow me on Instagram where I share my new work: @ian.leake