James Dobson
He got his first taste for photography while on work experience at, what was then, Oxford Scientific Films. He was fascinated by the diversity of slides that would come into the photo library from all around the world. Inspired by this experience, he went on to study Biological Imaging at the University of Derby where he combined his love of images with that of human evolution and illustration. On leaving Derby, he worked as a Technical Illustrator in the Science and Medicine department at Oxford University Press, where he spent 5 years in digital image creation and manipulation. This proved an invaluable experience when he later took up the post of Scanning Co-ordinator in the National Trust Photo Library when it moved from London to Swindon in 2005. For the past 11 years, he photographed and experienced many of the amazing places that the Trust cares for; from woodland, coastline and mountains to tiny cottages, grand houses and vast estates. He covers the whole diversity of day-to-day life at Trust, and particularly enjoy photographing interiors and conservation work. He continues to be inspired by the stories that underpin Trust's purpose and by my fellow photographers, who help communicate such amazing and vital work.
National Trust Work:
This some of Dobson's work for the National Trust. The first location is Godolphin, Cornwall. In this set of images he has focused on photographing the garden, I was drawn to the first images as it shows people relaxing looking at the landscape, this is appealing as it suggests that the location is peaceful and calm. The second image is a portrait of a woman taking a photograph with her camera this shows that there is a variety of activities you can do in the landscape. The second location is Avebury, Wiltshire. The first image is of the sunset in a field, you can see a variety of different colours in the sky showing the beauty of the evening glow on the land. I was drawn to the second image as is show the stones in the field as well as the wildlife around it in the landscape. Overall, I like Dobson has captured the surroundings of the locations really well as you can see the people and wildlife.
(Flower Border in June at Godolphin, Cornwall and Stones at Avebury, Wiltshire)
Client work:
This is some of Dobson's client work. I was drawn to the first set of images as they look very ancient. The fact that there is no people in the images gives it a sense of silence. I like the compositions of the images as they are all take from a straight forward angle and they are all in the centre, this brings them together as a set. The images have a very calm and peaceful atmosphere. Dobson has put them in monochrome, I feel like this really highlights the structures of the ancient buildings, it also takes away any distractions like the colour of the background. The second set of images look as if they have been taking in a park or forest. In the first image you can see the whole landscape, I like the composition as there is an even amount of the ground and the sky. The second image is a close up of flowers on a branch, you can see that a shallow depth of field has been used so you can focus on the flowers at the front. The last image is is similar to the first image but it is brighter so you can see the ground clearly. You can see that it has been taken in the winter as the trees have no leaves and the ground looks quite frosty.
