John Illingworth exhibition, Back o’ The Shop Art Café, Terrington, August 28 to September 23 (From York Press)

John Illingworth exhibition, Back o’ The Shop Art Café, Terrington, August 28 to September 23

9:42am Tuesday 24th August 2010 in

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HOW does John Illingworth differ from other photographers?

“I sell my pictures only once,” he says. “I do not do limited editions or other long print runs. Each picture is an original and is as unique as any painting.”

From this weekend, the Brandsby photographer is showing his work at the Back o’ The Shop Art Café, Terrington, under the exhibition title of Diversity.

“It has that title because it shows the wide range of subjects photographed by John and the differing ways that those subjects are presented to the viewer,” says gallery owner Ian Hughes.

John was introduced to photography when he was given a Kodak Instamatic camera at the age of 14. Later, as part of his employment as a scene-of-crime officer, he was trained formally in evidential photography, but it was the creative use of photography that became his passion. Now, many years later, while his camera may be digital, the basic passion still remains.

“First I take a photograph; then I create a picture,” says John, indicating that after pressing the shutter button, the working process behind creating the final picture has only just begun.

He first exhibited fine-art photographs in south-west France, where he has lived for much of the past ten years. There he found inspiration in photographing old and abandoned dwellings; consequently, details such as broken doors, peeling shutters and smashed windows invite the viewer to imagine who and what went before.

Landscapes, cityscapes and natural history also have featured prominently in his photography, and now that he has returned to Britain, he is seeking to develop his work further. Earlier this year, too, he became a Licentiate of the Royal Photographic Society.

Latterly he has turned his attention to photographing local musicians, whether capturing them as they perform or trying to convey something of the beauty of their instruments. In May, for example, he provided the artwork for The Wreckers, the latest album by blues musician David Ward Maclean, the Scottish-born singer-songwriter who has lived in York for 22 years.

John’s exhibition will run at the Back o’ The Shop Art Café, in Main Street, Terrington, from Saturday until Thursday, September 23. Opening hours are 10am to 4pm, Tuesday to Saturday.