AT their latest meeting, the Norton Radstock Photography Society (NRPS) welcomed Ian Hargreaves, President of Bath Photographic Society, for a talk entitled “Into the Darkness.”

The presentation featured almost exclusively mono images of the highest calibre. Ian is an engineer by profession, who, after a long time experimenting with his camera in a range of genres, decided to specialise in capturing the essence of his personal passion for “brutal” architecture, and this was the subtitle of his talk.

Ian explained the nature of this form of architecture as being large in scale, often monolithic structures, made from raw, unrefined materials that emphasise functionality, geometric forms, and feature the outward display of decorative elements using construction materials such as metal and concrete in their basic forms.

As such, it has amazing potential for very stark, graphic, mono images that highlight the use of shape and space, unusual viewpoints, and creative use of light and shadow. Where humans feature in Ian’s images, they are often in the form of a lone figure, positioned where leading lines converge or at the juxtaposition of light and shade.

Ian’s talk was extremely well planned and featured images from several architects and photographers who have inspired his work, such as Bill Currie, Alan Schaller, Michael Kenna, and notably the late, great German-born photographer Bill Brandt, who specialised in capturing the beautiful and the sinister in his work.

Ian succinctly explained the simplicity of his photographic approach, with limited focal lengths and simple settings that rely heavily on the use of exposure compensation and the basic use of the histogram, as well as his use of the simple mobile phone. He explained how he seeks out patterns and symmetry, curves, and leading lines, whilst looking up and noting cloud formations and vapour trails.