Photographer - Ewen Merry - Death Valley and More

Ewen Merry is supporting three American master ceramists in The Gallery at Bevere's September Exhibition2009

Ewen says
"I started getting serious about photography in about 2001; I’d been showing a mate who was a very serious photographer and had got his ARPS years ago some photos. His critique made me realise I could do a lot better!
About the same time I saw the ‘Ansell Adams at 100’ exhibition in London - some of his work blew me away, so monochrome became my thing - I was very sniffy about colour back then. So I put together a darkroom at home and several 100 rolls of film later I have to say I’m not bad at hand printing!

I did my LRPS in 2004 (monochrome landscapes) and fully intended to do my ARPS, but I fell out with the RPS on a workshop day when I presented a panel of black and white images of Venice - ‘oh dear’ exclaimed the ancient rps panel judge, ‘Venice can really only be done in colour’. Even with my more recent conversion to colour I still think he was talking rubbish (polite version)

It was a trip to Scotland to photograph around Glencoe and Rannoch moor in January 2007 that changed my views - I got some fab colour shots on that trip.

I still like b&w, especially taking the whole process from image capture to print, there’s a purity about the process somehow.

That leads me to the ‘digital thing’, at the moment not for me as I like film and I’m happy that none of my prints, colour or b&w, have been near a computer - my aim is to try and get the exposure right in camera. Having said that I have just acquired a really neat digital compact (and its got a viewfinder!)- It’s going on holiday with me soon, which will be its first use in anger.


My film cameras are canon 35mm, but I may well move up to a large format camera in the future (just like the big boys use!)

At the moment the gallery is exhibiting my images of Death Valley as part of the
"Made in America" exhibition, I was chuffed to bits to be asked to exhibit with some amazing ceramics work and the whole exhibition looks fab.