The Stoneworks portfolio comprises photographs of rocks; mostly close-up, sometimes with a distinct hand of man, and often in a quarry environment. These deserve some comment. The photographs are made in slate quarries, and from a distance the rock face seems dull and brown but vibrant colours and tortured shapes become apparent as one approaches closely. This usually involves perching at the very top of a loose scree to achieve a viewpoint about two feet away from the rock face and a field about 8” across.

The compositions need selection with care, because at f16 we’re looking at depth of field of maybe an inch, and I need to position the camera to get as flat a field as possible. Working on film, a tripod is always necessary. I wear a helmet because there’s a constant fall of small stones and flakes from the rock face and one is constantly reminded that the large rocks forming the scree you stand on didn’t get there by magic.