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ByKate Davies

Ootlier issue 2: Range

Words and Photography by Tom Barr

Landscape photography can be an odd discipline. Its tempting for the photographer to seek out iconic subjects or locations, to travel far and wide in the hope of collecting that shot. But do we, in our hunt for the perfect capture, risk overlooking the visual interest of the spaces and stories that surround us every day? For me, the most fulfilling landscape photography often communicates a sense of intimacy, or familiarity: a distinctive personal connection, or a sense of place.

Rangeis an intimate document of Carbeth – an area of Scotland with proud associations with the outdoor movement and open access. Range is a meditation on an ever-changing local landscape and upon the movement of time itself.

This project has frequently seen me return to the same subjects time and time again; the same oak tree, golden with autumnal foliage, then stark with black bark against the white snow; the skies above the Campsie Fells, dark and starless one night, alive with the green glow of the Northern Lights the next. Occasionally, I am asked if I ever get bored of repeatedly photographing the same subjects. I reply that I do not, because such subjects are, in fact, never the same.

52 pp. Full colour. Printed by Bell & Bain in Glasgow.

My name is Kate Davies. I live by Scotlands West Highland Way where I love writing, knitting walking, and swimming in the wonderful landscapes that surround me. I find that each of these activities has a creative and a critical dimension and the best of possible worlds is one in which I productively combine them all.

Knitting is one of my greatest loves, and in 2010 (when a stroke at the age of 36 ended my academic career) I began Kate Davies Designs (KDD) creating digital patterns for hand knitters. The business lent me a platform to combine my skills in research, writing and design, and rapidly grew into a small publishing company through which I began to produce my own books.InColours of Shetland (2012), Yokes (2014),Buachaille: At Home in The Highlands (2015), The Book of Haps (2016), Shetland Oo (2016), Inspired by Islay(2017),Happit (2017), West Highland Way (2018) Shore (2018) and Milarrochy Heids (2018) I bring my passions for historical writing and practical creativity together. Nothing makes me happier than seeing knitters all over the world enjoying my books and making and wearing my designs.