From the Shut Your Aperture archive (2014): this gallery and contributor remarks belong to their original publication period.

Brecon Beacons Light by Chris Goddard

Brecon Beacons Light by Chris Goddard.

This landscape has been vital to me, not just the fact it is my nearest national park but, vital to my development as a photographer. Visiting this area has been something I have tried to do as often as possible, it has taught me many things about nature, the environment, and about myself. It is a relatively tame landscape but not without its dangers, much of it is agricultural although there are many pockets of untouched, natural woodland dotted throughout the landscape. It is a landscape that I have felt privileged to live relatively close to and be able to explore. It has a spectacular geological history and the character and appearance of the landscape reflects this with its relatively flat topped mountains of Old Red Sandstone and caves and pavements of Limestone. Large valleys have been carved out through glaciation leaving behind lakes and rivers, indeed water has played a huge part in shaping this landscape and I have explored the effects of this process with my camera extensively. I try to visit throughout the year and one of my joys is watching the seasons come and go, the differences year on year can be quite striking.

This small folio offers a closer view of some of the less visited areas of the Brecon Beacons. The obvious thing for many of us (myself included) is to photograph the distinctive mountains and waterfalls that this area is famous for, however, this is an escape from that. For me, this set of images is an exploration of the light I have encountered whilst there, sometimes overcast and subdued, full on and dramatic and everything in-between. I often find the light in these images quite fleeting, sometimes occurring whilst on my way to somewhere else, I am always glad during these times to have made the effort to stop and make a photograph (I must resist the temptation to keep travelling in the hope of something better around the corner). It would be insincere for me to say that I set out to deliberately make this small series, instead, they are more of a collection of chance encounters which I hope will form a growing series of works over a much longer time period.

Trees in a misty Brecon Beacons fieldSave

Sunlight filtering through trees in monochromeSave

Sparse trees across a pale hillsideSave

Woodland trees beside a misty pathSave

Rolling fields and trees in black and whiteSave

See Chris Goddard’s photography site.

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