View allAll Photos Tagged Ravilious,
The English Winter Fair 2012, Staffordshire County Showground, Stafford, Staffordshire. 18th November 2012.
Photograph by Lee William Hughes © The Rural Eye.
Simon Wragg, press officer for The English Winter Fair, supplied me with a press pass for this event and I am very grateful to him for that.
This was a huge event including the tasting of cooked food, a carcass hang, all manner of cattle and a huge show ring where animals were presented at their best for prizes. I had never been to such an event before and it was great to see many familiar faces there, people I have met at Leek and Market Drayton livestock auctions on previous shoots. While I was aware of the 'showing' of cattle, in a similar vein to a dog show really, I was still surprised to see young people brushing and even blow-drying their prize cattle, spraying them with glitter and taking a real pride in their animals.
This was a coming together of hundreds of local producers, as well as some farmers from around the country, even from Scotland. There was a festival atmosphere and again the social aspect was very evident. I am now going to pursue more such events for the archive, including ones in Shropshire, Cheshire, Derbyshire and possibly even further afield if the opportunity presents.
To purchase prints, please click the link below and then select 'The Rural Eye Archive' folder...
The English Winter Fair 2012, Staffordshire County Showground, Stafford, Staffordshire. 18th November 2012.
Photograph by Lee William Hughes © The Rural Eye.
Simon Wragg, press officer for The English Winter Fair, supplied me with a press pass for this event and I am very grateful to him for that.
This was a huge event including the tasting of cooked food, a carcass hang, all manner of cattle and a huge show ring where animals were presented at their best for prizes. I had never been to such an event before and it was great to see many familiar faces there, people I have met at Leek and Market Drayton livestock auctions on previous shoots. While I was aware of the 'showing' of cattle, in a similar vein to a dog show really, I was still surprised to see young people brushing and even blow-drying their prize cattle, spraying them with glitter and taking a real pride in their animals.
This was a coming together of hundreds of local producers, as well as some farmers from around the country, even from Scotland. There was a festival atmosphere and again the social aspect was very evident. I am now going to pursue more such events for the archive, including ones in Shropshire, Cheshire, Derbyshire and possibly even further afield if the opportunity presents.
To purchase prints, please click the link below and then select 'The Rural Eye Archive' folder...
Leek Livestock Auction, Leek, Staffordshire. October 2012.
Photograph by Lee William Hughes © The Rural Eye.
The first trip out and the beginning of what became 'The Rural Eye' archive project. I wanted to engage with a traditional documentary practice, something far from my usual studio and commercial photography work that would get me out in the countryside and meeting a whole section of society that I knew little about. I feel that there is a strong disconnect between food production and public perception, and my desire was to show farming life in an entirely positive manner.
There was in truth a lot of understandable suspicion directed towards me, as the farming community has been targeted in the past by animal rights groups, but talking to people about my work and aims has led to acceptance and a lot of help along the way. Perhaps I am an activist, but an activist for the promotion of agriculture, seeking to show their world to others and build an appreciation for their toil and their own desire to rear healthy cattle in a safe and compassionate manner.
To purchase prints, please click the link below and then select 'The Rural Eye Archive' folder...
Dairy Cottage Farm, Apedale, Staffordshire. January 2013.
Photograph by Lee William Hughes © The Rural Eye.
Dairy Cottage, despite the name, is a large beef farm which also produces feed (silage and haylage) for their own cattle and for sale to other local farms. With a mixture of modern and very old building as well as some antique farm machinery, this was a wonderful place to spend a day and the family really made me feel welcome and were happy to take part in The Rural Eye project.
The weather was very poor on this day and all the cattle were of course in for the winter, but I will be returning in the next season to photograph again and catch the farm under different conditions.
Many thanks to Tracey, Royston and Tom Pepper.
To purchase prints, please click the link below and then select 'The Rural Eye Archive' folder...
The English Winter Fair 2012, Staffordshire County Showground, Stafford, Staffordshire. 18th November 2012.
Photograph by Lee William Hughes © The Rural Eye.
Simon Wragg, press officer for The English Winter Fair, supplied me with a press pass for this event and I am very grateful to him for that.
This was a huge event including the tasting of cooked food, a carcass hang, all manner of cattle and a huge show ring where animals were presented at their best for prizes. I had never been to such an event before and it was great to see many familiar faces there, people I have met at Leek and Market Drayton livestock auctions on previous shoots. While I was aware of the 'showing' of cattle, in a similar vein to a dog show really, I was still surprised to see young people brushing and even blow-drying their prize cattle, spraying them with glitter and taking a real pride in their animals.
This was a coming together of hundreds of local producers, as well as some farmers from around the country, even from Scotland. There was a festival atmosphere and again the social aspect was very evident. I am now going to pursue more such events for the archive, including ones in Shropshire, Cheshire, Derbyshire and possibly even further afield if the opportunity presents.
To purchase prints, please click the link below and then select 'The Rural Eye Archive' folder...
Leek Livestock Auction, Leek, Staffordshire. October 2012.
Photograph by Lee William Hughes © The Rural Eye.
The first trip out and the beginning of what became 'The Rural Eye' archive project. I wanted to engage with a traditional documentary practice, something far from my usual studio and commercial photography work that would get me out in the countryside and meeting a whole section of society that I knew little about. I feel that there is a strong disconnect between food production and public perception, and my desire was to show farming life in an entirely positive manner.
There was in truth a lot of understandable suspicion directed towards me, as the farming community has been targeted in the past by animal rights groups, but talking to people about my work and aims has led to acceptance and a lot of help along the way. Perhaps I am an activist, but an activist for the promotion of agriculture, seeking to show their world to others and build an appreciation for their toil and their own desire to rear healthy cattle in a safe and compassionate manner.
To purchase prints, please click the link below and then select 'The Rural Eye Archive' folder...
Leek Livestock Auction, Leek, Staffordshire. October 2012.
Photograph by Lee William Hughes © The Rural Eye.
The first trip out and the beginning of what became 'The Rural Eye' archive project. I wanted to engage with a traditional documentary practice, something far from my usual studio and commercial photography work that would get me out in the countryside and meeting a whole section of society that I knew little about. I feel that there is a strong disconnect between food production and public perception, and my desire was to show farming life in an entirely positive manner.
There was in truth a lot of understandable suspicion directed towards me, as the farming community has been targeted in the past by animal rights groups, but talking to people about my work and aims has led to acceptance and a lot of help along the way. Perhaps I am an activist, but an activist for the promotion of agriculture, seeking to show their world to others and build an appreciation for their toil and their own desire to rear healthy cattle in a safe and compassionate manner.
To purchase prints, please click the link below and then select 'The Rural Eye Archive' folder...
Market Drayton Livestock Auction, Shropshire. January 2013.
Photograph by Lee William Hughes © The Rural Eye.
Another engaging trip to Market Drayton, albeit on a very cold day. I took a large number of prints from the other visits up with me and gave them to Bob Oakes and the staff as a thank you for their help. It was nice to see him take them around and show them to people who were featured and I will need to ask him to put some names to those faces in a future visit.
I was planning to leave the cattle out for the most part, and so I concentrated on the people and again with a mixture of formalised portraits and reportage. There is something very beautiful about the background interiors at this site, particularly in black and white, the tonal values seem to all compliment the people and their own clothing too. I did however visit the back of the building and photograph some of the animals as it was so cold that I wanted to get that across. I also photographed at the very back where I hadn't previously realised that there was an area for washing out trailers and cleaning everything off, presumably for disease control rather than pure aesthetics.
Each trip to Market Drayton Auctions leaves me inspired to keep going and gives me the belief that there are always more ways to show, to present and to make photographs, while all the time giving me such a rich subject matter in a welcoming environment.
To purchase prints, please click the link below and then select 'The Rural Eye Archive' folder...
The English Winter Fair 2012, Staffordshire County Showground, Stafford, Staffordshire. 18th November 2012.
Photograph by Lee William Hughes © The Rural Eye.
Simon Wragg, press officer for The English Winter Fair, supplied me with a press pass for this event and I am very grateful to him for that.
This was a huge event including the tasting of cooked food, a carcass hang, all manner of cattle and a huge show ring where animals were presented at their best for prizes. I had never been to such an event before and it was great to see many familiar faces there, people I have met at Leek and Market Drayton livestock auctions on previous shoots. While I was aware of the 'showing' of cattle, in a similar vein to a dog show really, I was still surprised to see young people brushing and even blow-drying their prize cattle, spraying them with glitter and taking a real pride in their animals.
This was a coming together of hundreds of local producers, as well as some farmers from around the country, even from Scotland. There was a festival atmosphere and again the social aspect was very evident. I am now going to pursue more such events for the archive, including ones in Shropshire, Cheshire, Derbyshire and possibly even further afield if the opportunity presents.
To purchase prints, please click the link below and then select 'The Rural Eye Archive' folder...
Leek Livestock Auction, Leek, Staffordshire. October 2012.
Photograph by Lee William Hughes © The Rural Eye.
The first trip out and the beginning of what became 'The Rural Eye' archive project. I wanted to engage with a traditional documentary practice, something far from my usual studio and commercial photography work that would get me out in the countryside and meeting a whole section of society that I knew little about. I feel that there is a strong disconnect between food production and public perception, and my desire was to show farming life in an entirely positive manner.
There was in truth a lot of understandable suspicion directed towards me, as the farming community has been targeted in the past by animal rights groups, but talking to people about my work and aims has led to acceptance and a lot of help along the way. Perhaps I am an activist, but an activist for the promotion of agriculture, seeking to show their world to others and build an appreciation for their toil and their own desire to rear healthy cattle in a safe and compassionate manner.
To purchase prints, please click the link below and then select 'The Rural Eye Archive' folder...
Dairy Cottage Farm, Apedale, Staffordshire. January 2013.
Photograph by Lee William Hughes © The Rural Eye.
Dairy Cottage, despite the name, is a large beef farm which also produces feed (silage and haylage) for their own cattle and for sale to other local farms. With a mixture of modern and very old building as well as some antique farm machinery, this was a wonderful place to spend a day and the family really made me feel welcome and were happy to take part in The Rural Eye project.
The weather was very poor on this day and all the cattle were of course in for the winter, but I will be returning in the next season to photograph again and catch the farm under different conditions.
Many thanks to Tracey, Royston and Tom Pepper.
To purchase prints, please click the link below and then select 'The Rural Eye Archive' folder...
The English Winter Fair 2012, Staffordshire County Showground, Stafford, Staffordshire. 18th November 2012.
Photograph by Lee William Hughes © The Rural Eye.
Simon Wragg, press officer for The English Winter Fair, supplied me with a press pass for this event and I am very grateful to him for that.
This was a huge event including the tasting of cooked food, a carcass hang, all manner of cattle and a huge show ring where animals were presented at their best for prizes. I had never been to such an event before and it was great to see many familiar faces there, people I have met at Leek and Market Drayton livestock auctions on previous shoots. While I was aware of the 'showing' of cattle, in a similar vein to a dog show really, I was still surprised to see young people brushing and even blow-drying their prize cattle, spraying them with glitter and taking a real pride in their animals.
This was a coming together of hundreds of local producers, as well as some farmers from around the country, even from Scotland. There was a festival atmosphere and again the social aspect was very evident. I am now going to pursue more such events for the archive, including ones in Shropshire, Cheshire, Derbyshire and possibly even further afield if the opportunity presents.
To purchase prints, please click the link below and then select 'The Rural Eye Archive' folder...
The English Winter Fair 2012, Staffordshire County Showground, Stafford, Staffordshire. 18th November 2012.
Photograph by Lee William Hughes © The Rural Eye.
Simon Wragg, press officer for The English Winter Fair, supplied me with a press pass for this event and I am very grateful to him for that.
This was a huge event including the tasting of cooked food, a carcass hang, all manner of cattle and a huge show ring where animals were presented at their best for prizes. I had never been to such an event before and it was great to see many familiar faces there, people I have met at Leek and Market Drayton livestock auctions on previous shoots. While I was aware of the 'showing' of cattle, in a similar vein to a dog show really, I was still surprised to see young people brushing and even blow-drying their prize cattle, spraying them with glitter and taking a real pride in their animals.
This was a coming together of hundreds of local producers, as well as some farmers from around the country, even from Scotland. There was a festival atmosphere and again the social aspect was very evident. I am now going to pursue more such events for the archive, including ones in Shropshire, Cheshire, Derbyshire and possibly even further afield if the opportunity presents.
To purchase prints, please click the link below and then select 'The Rural Eye Archive' folder...
Happened upon this old oak on a very gusty fall afternoon in October. It immediately reminded me of the "Ravilious Oak" photo James Ravilious, although this tree is much smaller, the branches are not as twisted or complex and the lighting is wrong. The Ravilious Oak is one of my favorite photos of all time. Mr. Ravilious titled his oak photo "After Mondrian", a reference to Piet Mondrian, who is famous for painting a series of trees that became more abstract over time. So, I guess this is "After Ravilious, After Mondrian". Actually, one of the best photos of the "Ravilious Oak" was done by Thor Beverley... see link below.
Anyway... this is my version, for October 23, 2010. You might call it "The Ravilious Oak (of Arkansas)".
See: www.fotothing.com/ThorBeverley/photo/4ae7548e09b35c6bf1e8...
Olympus E-P2, Oly 9-18mm (lens)
[REF: A230790_DRKM1_LGTP1_MIDM0_tonemapped]
The English Winter Fair 2012, Staffordshire County Showground, Stafford, Staffordshire. 18th November 2012.
Photograph by Lee William Hughes © The Rural Eye.
Simon Wragg, press officer for The English Winter Fair, supplied me with a press pass for this event and I am very grateful to him for that.
This was a huge event including the tasting of cooked food, a carcass hang, all manner of cattle and a huge show ring where animals were presented at their best for prizes. I had never been to such an event before and it was great to see many familiar faces there, people I have met at Leek and Market Drayton livestock auctions on previous shoots. While I was aware of the 'showing' of cattle, in a similar vein to a dog show really, I was still surprised to see young people brushing and even blow-drying their prize cattle, spraying them with glitter and taking a real pride in their animals.
This was a coming together of hundreds of local producers, as well as some farmers from around the country, even from Scotland. There was a festival atmosphere and again the social aspect was very evident. I am now going to pursue more such events for the archive, including ones in Shropshire, Cheshire, Derbyshire and possibly even further afield if the opportunity presents.
To purchase prints, please click the link below and then select 'The Rural Eye Archive' folder...
Market Drayton Livestock Auction, Shropshire. October 2012.
Photograph by Lee William Hughes © The Rural Eye.
The Rural Eye archive project was designed to give me the opportunity to engage with a very traditional documentary practice and to be able to get out and shoot as often as I could. With 2 shoots done at Leek Auctions, I realised that Market Drayton's own livestock auction was the same distance from home in the opposite direction, and so it seems a very logical next step to go there and move the project forward.
Arriving at Market Drayton Market, I had my usual walk around the whole site, something that I always do when possible to kind of feel the place out and get an idea of the function of the site. I then visited the office and spoke directly to Mark Jones, one of the auctioneers, just to explain what I am doing and why. Mark really understood the nature of the project and was happy for me to get on the camera out and do whatever I needed.
I have to say that I was immediately welcomed in a way that was surprising and heart warming. The farmers at this site were interested in what I was doing in a positive way, and while I was still often asked whether I was 'with animal rights or not', it was not a problem at all, in fact it just gave me that window of opportunity to talk to people and explain my motivations.
To purchase prints, please click the link below and then select 'The Rural Eye Archive' folder...
Market Drayton Livestock Auction, Shropshire. January 2013.
Photograph by Lee William Hughes © The Rural Eye.
Another engaging trip to Market Drayton, albeit on a very cold day. I took a large number of prints from the other visits up with me and gave them to Bob Oakes and the staff as a thank you for their help. It was nice to see him take them around and show them to people who were featured and I will need to ask him to put some names to those faces in a future visit.
I was planning to leave the cattle out for the most part, and so I concentrated on the people and again with a mixture of formalised portraits and reportage. There is something very beautiful about the background interiors at this site, particularly in black and white, the tonal values seem to all compliment the people and their own clothing too. I did however visit the back of the building and photograph some of the animals as it was so cold that I wanted to get that across. I also photographed at the very back where I hadn't previously realised that there was an area for washing out trailers and cleaning everything off, presumably for disease control rather than pure aesthetics.
Each trip to Market Drayton Auctions leaves me inspired to keep going and gives me the belief that there are always more ways to show, to present and to make photographs, while all the time giving me such a rich subject matter in a welcoming environment.
To purchase prints, please click the link below and then select 'The Rural Eye Archive' folder...
Farmstock or Cockstock, a weekend camping and enjoying farm life (private event and location), Cheshire. January 2013.
Photograph by Lee William Hughes © The Rural Eye.
Boys only, surviving at camp in the depths of winter. Actually a wonderful weekend with great people, driving tractors, getting stuck, building fires, shootings guns and going to the toilet in the great outdoors. An annual farm based experience weekend for a select group of guys.
To purchase prints, please click the link below and then select 'The Rural Eye Archive' folder...
Market Drayton Livestock Auction, Shropshire. October 2012.
Photograph by Lee William Hughes © The Rural Eye.
The Rural Eye archive project was designed to give me the opportunity to engage with a very traditional documentary practice and to be able to get out and shoot as often as I could. With 2 shoots done at Leek Auctions, I realised that Market Drayton's own livestock auction was the same distance from home in the opposite direction, and so it seems a very logical next step to go there and move the project forward.
Arriving at Market Drayton Market, I had my usual walk around the whole site, something that I always do when possible to kind of feel the place out and get an idea of the function of the site. I then visited the office and spoke directly to Mark Jones, one of the auctioneers, just to explain what I am doing and why. Mark really understood the nature of the project and was happy for me to get on the camera out and do whatever I needed.
I have to say that I was immediately welcomed in a way that was surprising and heart warming. The farmers at this site were interested in what I was doing in a positive way, and while I was still often asked whether I was 'with animal rights or not', it was not a problem at all, in fact it just gave me that window of opportunity to talk to people and explain my motivations.
To purchase prints, please click the link below and then select 'The Rural Eye Archive' folder...
Map of North-West England in what was the children's playroom (now a function room) designed by artist Eric Gill and painted by his son-in-law, Denis Tegetmeier.
Designed in Streamline Moderne style by architect Oliver Hill, with sculptures by Eric Gill, the hotel was built by the London Midland & Scottish Railway and opened in 1933. It finally closed in 1998 and lay derelict until it was restored in 2006-2008 and reopened as a hotel again.
Market Drayton Livestock Auction, Shropshire. November 2012.
Photograph by Lee William Hughes © The Rural Eye.
A second, and really engaging visit to Market Drayton livestock auction. Being the second week in a row, I've now been seen or spoken to by a large percentage of their regular customers which is helping to spread the word about what I'm doing and why. The staff at Market Drayton have been wonderful and today they were asking me what I want to photograph, answering my questions about local farmers, goat farms, events and more, even coming up to me to let me know there's someone I should meet.
Today was very much about the people, with me asking to make formalised portraits of those I talked to or found visually interesting. These are such a stoic and friendly group of people who I am gaining a huge respect for through this project.
To purchase prints, please click the link below and then select 'The Rural Eye Archive' folder...
Market Drayton Livestock Auction, Shropshire. November 2012.
Photograph by Lee William Hughes © The Rural Eye.
A second, and really engaging visit to Market Drayton livestock auction. Being the second week in a row, I've now been seen or spoken to by a large percentage of their regular customers which is helping to spread the word about what I'm doing and why. The staff at Market Drayton have been wonderful and today they were asking me what I want to photograph, answering my questions about local farmers, goat farms, events and more, even coming up to me to let me know there's someone I should meet.
Today was very much about the people, with me asking to make formalised portraits of those I talked to or found visually interesting. These are such a stoic and friendly group of people who I am gaining a huge respect for through this project.
To purchase prints, please click the link below and then select 'The Rural Eye Archive' folder...
Illustration by Eric Ravilious. He was killed during WW2 so this must have been done for a previous publication.
Farmstock or Cockstock, a weekend camping and enjoying farm life (private event and location), Cheshire. January 2013.
Photograph by Lee William Hughes © The Rural Eye.
Boys only, surviving at camp in the depths of winter. Actually a wonderful weekend with great people, driving tractors, getting stuck, building fires, shootings guns and going to the toilet in the great outdoors. An annual farm based experience weekend for a select group of guys.
To purchase prints, please click the link below and then select 'The Rural Eye Archive' folder...
Market Drayton Livestock Auction, Shropshire. October 2012.
Photograph by Lee William Hughes © The Rural Eye.
The Rural Eye archive project was designed to give me the opportunity to engage with a very traditional documentary practice and to be able to get out and shoot as often as I could. With 2 shoots done at Leek Auctions, I realised that Market Drayton's own livestock auction was the same distance from home in the opposite direction, and so it seems a very logical next step to go there and move the project forward.
Arriving at Market Drayton Market, I had my usual walk around the whole site, something that I always do when possible to kind of feel the place out and get an idea of the function of the site. I then visited the office and spoke directly to Mark Jones, one of the auctioneers, just to explain what I am doing and why. Mark really understood the nature of the project and was happy for me to get on the camera out and do whatever I needed.
I have to say that I was immediately welcomed in a way that was surprising and heart warming. The farmers at this site were interested in what I was doing in a positive way, and while I was still often asked whether I was 'with animal rights or not', it was not a problem at all, in fact it just gave me that window of opportunity to talk to people and explain my motivations.
To purchase prints, please click the link below and then select 'The Rural Eye Archive' folder...
Market Drayton Livestock Auction, Shropshire. January 2013.
Photograph by Lee William Hughes © The Rural Eye.
Another engaging trip to Market Drayton, albeit on a very cold day. I took a large number of prints from the other visits up with me and gave them to Bob Oakes and the staff as a thank you for their help. It was nice to see him take them around and show them to people who were featured and I will need to ask him to put some names to those faces in a future visit.
I was planning to leave the cattle out for the most part, and so I concentrated on the people and again with a mixture of formalised portraits and reportage. There is something very beautiful about the background interiors at this site, particularly in black and white, the tonal values seem to all compliment the people and their own clothing too. I did however visit the back of the building and photograph some of the animals as it was so cold that I wanted to get that across. I also photographed at the very back where I hadn't previously realised that there was an area for washing out trailers and cleaning everything off, presumably for disease control rather than pure aesthetics.
Each trip to Market Drayton Auctions leaves me inspired to keep going and gives me the belief that there are always more ways to show, to present and to make photographs, while all the time giving me such a rich subject matter in a welcoming environment.
To purchase prints, please click the link below and then select 'The Rural Eye Archive' folder...
New sewn boards binding with blue bookcloth and orange paper with a pattern designed by Eric Ravilious.
These cakes were cooked and transported from Norfolk to London so it is no wonder they are a little squashed.
Market Drayton Livestock Auction, Shropshire. October 2012.
Photograph by Lee William Hughes © The Rural Eye.
The Rural Eye archive project was designed to give me the opportunity to engage with a very traditional documentary practice and to be able to get out and shoot as often as I could. With 2 shoots done at Leek Auctions, I realised that Market Drayton's own livestock auction was the same distance from home in the opposite direction, and so it seems a very logical next step to go there and move the project forward.
Arriving at Market Drayton Market, I had my usual walk around the whole site, something that I always do when possible to kind of feel the place out and get an idea of the function of the site. I then visited the office and spoke directly to Mark Jones, one of the auctioneers, just to explain what I am doing and why. Mark really understood the nature of the project and was happy for me to get on the camera out and do whatever I needed.
I have to say that I was immediately welcomed in a way that was surprising and heart warming. The farmers at this site were interested in what I was doing in a positive way, and while I was still often asked whether I was 'with animal rights or not', it was not a problem at all, in fact it just gave me that window of opportunity to talk to people and explain my motivations.
To purchase prints, please click the link below and then select 'The Rural Eye Archive' folder...
'그림책의 모든 것'에 나온 에릭 레빌리어스(Eric Ravilious)의 "'High Street'":https://www.google.co.kr/search?q=eric+ravilious+high+street&newwindow=1&hl=ko&espv=1&sboxchip=%EC%9D%B4%EB%AF%B8%EC%A7%80&tbm=isch&source=lnt&tbs=isz:l&sa=X&ei=Eb6_UoXsBsjDkgXmuoDgDg&ved=0CBcQpwUoAQ&dpr=2&biw=1024&bih=672# (미투북 동화)posted by yuna
Farmstock or Cockstock, a weekend camping and enjoying farm life (private event and location), Cheshire. January 2013.
Photograph by Lee William Hughes © The Rural Eye.
Boys only, surviving at camp in the depths of winter. Actually a wonderful weekend with great people, driving tractors, getting stuck, building fires, shootings guns and going to the toilet in the great outdoors. An annual farm based experience weekend for a select group of guys.
To purchase prints, please click the link below and then select 'The Rural Eye Archive' folder...
... I.O.S.A.G ... N.R. A 21 ... 24.9.18.9 ... Rye & Camber Tramway running in the background ... you can just make out Eric Ravilious. He’s slightly hidden by a very large sketch book …
Market Drayton Livestock Auction, Shropshire. October 2012.
Photograph by Lee William Hughes © The Rural Eye.
The Rural Eye archive project was designed to give me the opportunity to engage with a very traditional documentary practice and to be able to get out and shoot as often as I could. With 2 shoots done at Leek Auctions, I realised that Market Drayton's own livestock auction was the same distance from home in the opposite direction, and so it seems a very logical next step to go there and move the project forward.
Arriving at Market Drayton Market, I had my usual walk around the whole site, something that I always do when possible to kind of feel the place out and get an idea of the function of the site. I then visited the office and spoke directly to Mark Jones, one of the auctioneers, just to explain what I am doing and why. Mark really understood the nature of the project and was happy for me to get on the camera out and do whatever I needed.
I have to say that I was immediately welcomed in a way that was surprising and heart warming. The farmers at this site were interested in what I was doing in a positive way, and while I was still often asked whether I was 'with animal rights or not', it was not a problem at all, in fact it just gave me that window of opportunity to talk to people and explain my motivations.
To purchase prints, please click the link below and then select 'The Rural Eye Archive' folder...
Market Drayton Livestock Auction, Shropshire. October 2012.
Photograph by Lee William Hughes © The Rural Eye.
The Rural Eye archive project was designed to give me the opportunity to engage with a very traditional documentary practice and to be able to get out and shoot as often as I could. With 2 shoots done at Leek Auctions, I realised that Market Drayton's own livestock auction was the same distance from home in the opposite direction, and so it seems a very logical next step to go there and move the project forward.
Arriving at Market Drayton Market, I had my usual walk around the whole site, something that I always do when possible to kind of feel the place out and get an idea of the function of the site. I then visited the office and spoke directly to Mark Jones, one of the auctioneers, just to explain what I am doing and why. Mark really understood the nature of the project and was happy for me to get on the camera out and do whatever I needed.
I have to say that I was immediately welcomed in a way that was surprising and heart warming. The farmers at this site were interested in what I was doing in a positive way, and while I was still often asked whether I was 'with animal rights or not', it was not a problem at all, in fact it just gave me that window of opportunity to talk to people and explain my motivations.
To purchase prints, please click the link below and then select 'The Rural Eye Archive' folder...
Leek Livestock Auction, Leek, Staffordshire. October 2012.
Photograph by Lee William Hughes © The Rural Eye.
The first trip out and the beginning of what became 'The Rural Eye' archive project. I wanted to engage with a traditional documentary practice, something far from my usual studio and commercial photography work that would get me out in the countryside and meeting a whole section of society that I knew little about. I feel that there is a strong disconnect between food production and public perception, and my desire was to show farming life in an entirely positive manner.
There was in truth a lot of understandable suspicion directed towards me, as the farming community has been targeted in the past by animal rights groups, but talking to people about my work and aims has led to acceptance and a lot of help along the way. Perhaps I am an activist, but an activist for the promotion of agriculture, seeking to show their world to others and build an appreciation for their toil and their own desire to rear healthy cattle in a safe and compassionate manner.
To purchase prints, please click the link below and then select 'The Rural Eye Archive' folder...
Market Drayton Livestock Auction, Shropshire. October 2012.
Photograph by Lee William Hughes © The Rural Eye.
The Rural Eye archive project was designed to give me the opportunity to engage with a very traditional documentary practice and to be able to get out and shoot as often as I could. With 2 shoots done at Leek Auctions, I realised that Market Drayton's own livestock auction was the same distance from home in the opposite direction, and so it seems a very logical next step to go there and move the project forward.
Arriving at Market Drayton Market, I had my usual walk around the whole site, something that I always do when possible to kind of feel the place out and get an idea of the function of the site. I then visited the office and spoke directly to Mark Jones, one of the auctioneers, just to explain what I am doing and why. Mark really understood the nature of the project and was happy for me to get on the camera out and do whatever I needed.
I have to say that I was immediately welcomed in a way that was surprising and heart warming. The farmers at this site were interested in what I was doing in a positive way, and while I was still often asked whether I was 'with animal rights or not', it was not a problem at all, in fact it just gave me that window of opportunity to talk to people and explain my motivations.
To purchase prints, please click the link below and then select 'The Rural Eye Archive' folder...
The English Winter Fair 2012, Staffordshire County Showground, Stafford, Staffordshire. 18th November 2012.
Photograph by Lee William Hughes © The Rural Eye.
Simon Wragg, press officer for The English Winter Fair, supplied me with a press pass for this event and I am very grateful to him for that.
This was a huge event including the tasting of cooked food, a carcass hang, all manner of cattle and a huge show ring where animals were presented at their best for prizes. I had never been to such an event before and it was great to see many familiar faces there, people I have met at Leek and Market Drayton livestock auctions on previous shoots. While I was aware of the 'showing' of cattle, in a similar vein to a dog show really, I was still surprised to see young people brushing and even blow-drying their prize cattle, spraying them with glitter and taking a real pride in their animals.
This was a coming together of hundreds of local producers, as well as some farmers from around the country, even from Scotland. There was a festival atmosphere and again the social aspect was very evident. I am now going to pursue more such events for the archive, including ones in Shropshire, Cheshire, Derbyshire and possibly even further afield if the opportunity presents.
To purchase prints, please click the link below and then select 'The Rural Eye Archive' folder...
The English Winter Fair 2012, Staffordshire County Showground, Stafford, Staffordshire. 18th November 2012.
Photograph by Lee William Hughes © The Rural Eye.
Simon Wragg, press officer for The English Winter Fair, supplied me with a press pass for this event and I am very grateful to him for that.
This was a huge event including the tasting of cooked food, a carcass hang, all manner of cattle and a huge show ring where animals were presented at their best for prizes. I had never been to such an event before and it was great to see many familiar faces there, people I have met at Leek and Market Drayton livestock auctions on previous shoots. While I was aware of the 'showing' of cattle, in a similar vein to a dog show really, I was still surprised to see young people brushing and even blow-drying their prize cattle, spraying them with glitter and taking a real pride in their animals.
This was a coming together of hundreds of local producers, as well as some farmers from around the country, even from Scotland. There was a festival atmosphere and again the social aspect was very evident. I am now going to pursue more such events for the archive, including ones in Shropshire, Cheshire, Derbyshire and possibly even further afield if the opportunity presents.
To purchase prints, please click the link below and then select 'The Rural Eye Archive' folder...
The English Winter Fair 2012, Staffordshire County Showground, Stafford, Staffordshire. 18th November 2012.
Photograph by Lee William Hughes © The Rural Eye.
Simon Wragg, press officer for The English Winter Fair, supplied me with a press pass for this event and I am very grateful to him for that.
This was a huge event including the tasting of cooked food, a carcass hang, all manner of cattle and a huge show ring where animals were presented at their best for prizes. I had never been to such an event before and it was great to see many familiar faces there, people I have met at Leek and Market Drayton livestock auctions on previous shoots. While I was aware of the 'showing' of cattle, in a similar vein to a dog show really, I was still surprised to see young people brushing and even blow-drying their prize cattle, spraying them with glitter and taking a real pride in their animals.
This was a coming together of hundreds of local producers, as well as some farmers from around the country, even from Scotland. There was a festival atmosphere and again the social aspect was very evident. I am now going to pursue more such events for the archive, including ones in Shropshire, Cheshire, Derbyshire and possibly even further afield if the opportunity presents.
To purchase prints, please click the link below and then select 'The Rural Eye Archive' folder...
A comparatively early outing for Eric Fraser who went on to become a well known artist and illustrator, creator of Mr Therm for the gas industry. By 1927 he was not long established as a freelance artist and illustrator as well as beginning his teaching career. Seen here, reproduced on the contents page of Advertising Display for September 1927, are two drawings produced for a 'Savile Row' tailor and they are typical of the work Fraser would become famous for in advertising.
The style is remarkably fluid in comparison say with his later work, known for a degree of solidity and heft - this is more like his contemporaries such as Ravilious or Bawden. I cannot find any clue in the various books on Fraser's work as to who the 'Savile Row' tailor was who was selling 'that unique thing'.
The Ravilious Rotunda Bar of the Midland Hotel, Morecambe, UK - so named after the artist Eric Ravilious, whose murals (now lost) originally decorated the bar's interior walls.
Designed in Streamline Moderne style by architect Oliver Hill, with sculptures by Eric Gill, the hotel was built by the London Midland & Scottish Railway and opened in 1933. It finally closed in 1998 and lay derelict until it was restored in 2006-2008 and reopened as a hotel again.
Market Drayton Livestock Auction, Shropshire. October 2012.
Photograph by Lee William Hughes © The Rural Eye.
The Rural Eye archive project was designed to give me the opportunity to engage with a very traditional documentary practice and to be able to get out and shoot as often as I could. With 2 shoots done at Leek Auctions, I realised that Market Drayton's own livestock auction was the same distance from home in the opposite direction, and so it seems a very logical next step to go there and move the project forward.
Arriving at Market Drayton Market, I had my usual walk around the whole site, something that I always do when possible to kind of feel the place out and get an idea of the function of the site. I then visited the office and spoke directly to Mark Jones, one of the auctioneers, just to explain what I am doing and why. Mark really understood the nature of the project and was happy for me to get on the camera out and do whatever I needed.
I have to say that I was immediately welcomed in a way that was surprising and heart warming. The farmers at this site were interested in what I was doing in a positive way, and while I was still often asked whether I was 'with animal rights or not', it was not a problem at all, in fact it just gave me that window of opportunity to talk to people and explain my motivations.
To purchase prints, please click the link below and then select 'The Rural Eye Archive' folder...
Some of the final lingering traces of the heavy snow that hit Great Britain in early February, alongside the A15 road near Bourne, Lincolnshire, England. This picture and its subsequent treatment were partly inspired by a BBC documentary on the work of James Ravilious (1939-1999), a comparatively unknown British life and landscape photographer who recorded the changing world of rural North Devon in the 1970s and 80s and took some fabulous winter views of the region. Taken on February 10, 2009.
Market Drayton Livestock Auction, Shropshire. November 2012.
Photograph by Lee William Hughes © The Rural Eye.
A second, and really engaging visit to Market Drayton livestock auction. Being the second week in a row, I've now been seen or spoken to by a large percentage of their regular customers which is helping to spread the word about what I'm doing and why. The staff at Market Drayton have been wonderful and today they were asking me what I want to photograph, answering my questions about local farmers, goat farms, events and more, even coming up to me to let me know there's someone I should meet.
Today was very much about the people, with me asking to make formalised portraits of those I talked to or found visually interesting. These are such a stoic and friendly group of people who I am gaining a huge respect for through this project.
To purchase prints, please click the link below and then select 'The Rural Eye Archive' folder...