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Damian Ward
I have been a keen landscape photographer for almost fifteen years. I live on the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire border, close to the Chiltern Hills. I started mainly photographing woodlands in colour. I have since progressed to work predominantly in black and white on various subjects, but trees still feature heavily in my work.
Michéla Griffith
In 2012 I paused by my local river and everything changed. I’ve moved away from what many expect photographs to be: my images deconstruct the literal and reimagine the subjective, reflecting the curiosity that water has inspired in my practice. Water has been my conduit: it has sharpened my vision, given me permission to experiment and continues to introduce me to new ways of seeing.
For this issue, Damian Ward talks about how his photography has evolved over the past seven years. Stepping away for a while allowed a creative reawakening and inspired a shift away from increasingly popular woodland scenes to more personal, monochrome images capturing smaller scenes and embracing imperfection. We touch on the joys of working locally and how revisiting familiar places continually offers a new perspective, as well as the books that Damian has recently made.
Looking back, I was surprised find that it’s been seven years since we featured you in On Landscape. Time flies, as they say. What has given you most enjoyment, or satisfaction, in the intervening period?
During and around COVID, I took a little break from photography. I was starting to feel that my work was not evolving and was becoming predictable. At this time, there was also a growing trend amongst photographers to photograph woodland like myself. I just felt that I was not producing anything special that could not be seen by one of the many other photographers who were doing the same. Taking some time out gave me the opportunity to recompose and figure out what direction I wanted to take.
Last time we spoke, we talked about a project of mine called Entangled. The images in this project were more intimate and all shot in black and white. The black and white element must have planted a seed that grew into the new direction I chose to take with my photography.
Starting again, I felt refreshed and eager to begin my new path.
Have your tastes in photography changed at all, or what you find inspiration in? Either in terms of your own work, or what you enjoy looking at.
I like to think my photographic style has broadened and developed. I tend to enjoy making images of small scenes rather than wider vistas. I also think I tend to do a lot more close-up work now too. Woodland scenes now feature less in my work, even though I do still enjoy photographing them, albeit in a different style.
The landscape and natural world continue to inspire me, but I am also comfortable making images in urban environments and places where you might not expect to find inspiration. There is beauty all around; you just have to look for it. I think I now try to embrace imperfection a bit more. To me, imperfections add character and realism. I think my taste in music has influenced me here, as the music I like is full of imperfections.