So, what's with the return to SingleShot monochromes?
Over the last few months Chris' work has shown a distinct (though until now not specifically acknowledged) return to "SingleShot" monochrome images. We say "return" because although there is little evidence in the collections here, Chris - like many older photographers - began his photographic work in the black and white darkroom. We asked him what prompted the shift:

"The short answer is that I don't know. Or rather: I'm not at all clear why now especially. All I know is that I recently became much more conscious of the act of looking through the camera viewfinder again. Really looking I mean. It is a largely instinctive process of arranging the picture elements in the viewfinder rectangle that will ultimately frame the finished image. The panoramic work doesn't work like that as the overall look of the image only fully emerges after the process of recombining many dozens of individual shots into the envisioned super-wide view".

"Anyway, suddenly the viewfinder thing was preoccupying me more than anything else. Hence more Single Shot images".

And the black and white part of it?

"Well... stripping the colour out seems to bring extra emphasis to the carefully arranged picture elements that I alluded to: the shapes, lines and textures that distil the instant - and presise position and angle - that the image was made. Oh, and tone too - mostly tone in fact: The subtle nuances of tone are what is exciting me with black and white at the moment and colour can, sometimes, seem a distraction to that so right now I'm choosing to discard it. The next shot though might cry out for it to be retained however. Nothing is written in concrete. It's on a shot by shot basis". 

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Exhibitions... Next Up:
Following the fine looking exhibition at Reginald Ballum,the next up-coming (and rather larger) show will be at Arundel Museum. This three man show is part of the Arundel Gallery Trail (which is itself a part of the highly regarded Arundel Festival).

Fuller details are to be found on the Exhibitions page.