Simon McIlwaine
Changing views
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As a teenager obsessed with rock climbing, the camera was my natural companion. Journeys through the mountains, snow, ice and more often, rain, shaped my love of the outdoors and its ever-changing beauty. Capturing these challenging vistas in film could be frustrating, but in most cases, it was the journey and the experiences that shaped me as a photographer.
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In the later years, when I became very much involved in sailing, I found myself spending most of my time on the water as the official event photographer. This grew to be a challenging task, both for the photographer and the camera, where salt water is a mortal enemy. These were long days, shooting up to 5000 images, followed by the urgent task of processing, lasting well into the early hours of the next morning. Yet the skills gained over 10 years shooting on the water, allied with a developing appreciation for flow and light, brought a new dimension that led to my eventual return to landscape photography on a more frequent basis.
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I am very fortunate to be based close to the Mourne Mountains where I have an infinite palette of images, textures, and subject matter to work with. Sea, mountains, coastlines, rivers and forests all yield something exciting, especially when you look a little closer. No two shots are ever the same, and the subject matter is constantly changing. Often, using the captured image as a base, I will use mixed media, in the form of inks and paint, to embellish aspects of the composition. Focusing on the natural form and beauty that underlies the dominant subject matter, it is possible to unveil aspects of the image that would not otherwise be apparent, often in an abstract manner. This unexpected change in my perspective is not something I would have envisaged all those years ago when I started out on my photographic journey. What is still waiting to be uncovered simply keeps the adventure alive.
