Trevor McClintock’s Thoughtful Spaces

In this slideshow Trevor McClintock describes the thoughts and feelings behind some of his favourite recent shots as well as his techniques.

These photos were created to provoke contemplation in viewers and are included under his ‘Spaces’ collection.

St Paul’s at dusk by Trevor McClintock

This photo is one of Trevor McClintock’s favourites of the cathedral. Taken in the evening, just as the sun was setting, the angle was chosen to give it an omnipotent, rising to the heavens feel. Despite being a magnificent building overall, Trevor McClintock felt that to just take the upper most dome, surrounded by clouds would be a powerful image. The lighting makes the clouds glow in the background, in stark contrast to the dark, sandy stone of the cathedral. Trevor McClintock used his old favourite SLR for these shots and you can see the rather deliciously grainy texture of the shot as a result. No additional editing was needed post capture, the cleverly chosen angle and the beautiful natural lighting were enough. For budding photographers, dusk lighting can be the most magical of all and it’s something that you can rarely recreate in Photoshop. It certainly is Trevor McClintock’s favourite time of day to take photos and you should try it too!

Here Trevor McClintock shows the heart and soul of the cathedral. In a slightly unusual approach, he almost fills the photograph with the building, with little framing or background. This is to achieve a more powerful effect by demanding that the viewer studies its beauty at the very forefront of the photograph.Again Trevor McClintock used his very favourite evening glow of natural light, unedited, undisturbed, the slowly setting sun lights up the West side of the dome and the balcony with golden flames of light. The beauty of the architecture also speaks for itself and provides enough subject matter without too much accompanying background. Of course, to those who aren’t cathedral experts, this could be any in the world yet we are just reminded by the peeping London Eye wheel in the background of where we are.

The main body by Trevor McClintock

Sad tree by Trevor McClintock captures its tone perfectly. The heavy use of lighting contrast means that, although taken in colour, this photo appears to be in black and white. It is only on looking more closely that we can pick out the blue hue of the sky.Trevor McClintock is a master of contrast and the most powerful of the photographs in his portfolio demonstrate this. It is such a simple technique, yet can produce incredible results. This piece is filled with an overwhelming sense of grief and sadness and has a very heavy quality to it.Trevor McClintock favours this sort of impactful artwork, wishing to provoke emotion and reaction in the viewer.

Sad tree by Trevor McClintock

In the cool of the evening by Trevor McClintock is one of his all time favourites. A photograph that captures serenity, calm and peace, it perfectly captures that awe inspiring moment in the evening when the sun just drops behind the horizon and lights up the sky with warm glow. With a slightly bluer filter than usual, Trevor McClintock uses the stunning natural light of sunset to create this wonderful view across a luscious and almost purple field. He has captured the scene to the extent that you can almost smell the evening grasses and the dew descending. Trevor McClintock is a fan of open, calming spaces and this piece of work epitomises his portfolio as a whole.

In the cool of the evening by Trevor McClintock