Silent Exchange: The Landscape Photography Of Charlie Waite

Fuji, Japan; Charlie Waite Photography

Do you aim to record beautiful images? I imagine the answer for many photographers is 'yes' for many of the subjects we take and by saying 'yes' you have something in common with Charlie Waite. At the opening of his latest exhibition at the national gallery next to Waterloo bridge he said we should 'seek out and touch beauty with our photography. To demonstrate the point he’d that morning found a discarded Wren's nest whose intricacy and delicate nature was beautiful to him and he asked us to consider that ourselves. I believe the point was that all around us are amazing images waiting to be captured and shared if only we can have the eyes to see them.

Photo © Stuart Fawcett

The exhibition 'Silent Exchange: the Landscape Photography of Charlie Waite' runs until Saturday 16 August 2014 so there is plenty of time to drop into the Lyttelton Exhibition Space and have a look at over 50 worldwide images that are superbly inspiring with their clear beauty and cover his lifetime's work as a famous landscape photographer. John Langley is the organiser of this exhibition and was strongly thanked by Charlie for his work at the National Theatre for putting on 260 previous exhibitions with 60% of the exhibition being for photography.

The Manger, Birkshire; Charlie Waite Photography

So if we are to go out as photographers and capture our own interpretations of beauty then perhaps we should look around us, perhaps not too far from you is the White Horse of Uffington and nearby is what’s called ‘The Manger’ which is said to be the supernatural feeding place of the white horse. It’s also a cheese rolling venue when Health and Safety allow.

Wiltshire, England; Charlie Waite Photography

Almost all around the UK are fields in the Autumn which can have beautiful round bales of hay if you are there at the right time. Charlie tries to make friends with the locals all around the world to find the ‘right times’ for his pictures. So we should too to get the best times, or maybe if you are a farmer you could sell organised photo tours for a few weeks a year?

What I loved in the exhibition was small groups of item that formed patterns and this is one I’m allowed to share with you on the web, but there are many more to view at the exhibition. A personal favourite was the black and white shot of three deck chairs with the wind blowing them inside out, it was taken in the 70’s in the Serpentine in London. Another super pattern example is of four Chinese girls on bicycles in traditional hats of their region. Always look for patterns and groups was a hint I took away from the exhibition.

One last photo I want to mention as I believe we all can potentially find and see this beauty in our own bedroom was one of a small red curtain tucked up in the corner of a room in Italy with hard sunlight streaming in to pick out the rough texture of the wall. This picture is beautifully presented as if it's painted on a canvas. This painterly quality is often seen in Charlie’s work in the exhibition and adds an extra enchanting edge to the images.

For more information on the 'Silent Exchange: the Landscape Photography of Charlie Waite' exhibition, visit the National Theatre website.

Words and first picture by Stuart Fawcett (JackAllTog)