Capturing the experience of walking through a cathedral of nature

Made with the camera by Mal Leyland

Malcolm Leyland applies the painter’s process to the art of photography.

Experience is a continuum, to ‘capture the moment’ is a limited mode in representing it. Leyland cuts, pastes, layers and composes images in order to reclaim some of the contemplative headspace enjoyed by artists working with mutable media.

‘As I move around the scene taking photos I’m making several decisions each time, and capturing them. Then in the studio I am reassembling them to make a relatively cohesive object but reordering the time sequence within the scene, shot by shot, as a painter may do. The final picture may or may not resemble the scene, it becomes a reconstruction of the scene or object.

When I put the shots together I look for visual connections it terms of line or idea but which inevitably results in a new dynamic.’

'From the Forest' results from Leylands attempt to capture the experience of walking through a forest. 

‘A daily walk that takes me through a forest during every seasonal change inspired me to work out how to capture this magnificent experience. How do you capture a feeling similar to entering the grand spectacle of a cathedral? Indeed, I have come to refer to the forest as a Cathedral of Nature. Taking a picture of dense growth, twisting vines and irregular branches always remains disappointing and fails miserably to present the forest in the way we truly experience it. ‘

Links for reference:

Youtube Channel: youtube.com/@MalcolmLeyland

Email: mal@malcolmleyland.co.uk

Instagram: malcolmleyland

Website: malcolmleyland.co.uk