In 2022, woodland covered 13% of the UK’s land. Only 2.5% of this is ancient – defined as woods that have existed since at least AD 1600. Today, 1,225 of the country’s ancient woods are current under threat from development, overgrazing, air pollution and the spread of invasive species such as rhododendron. They’re irreplaceable, complex ecosystems that are home to communities of plants and animals not found elsewhere. They are also the site of stories and legends, the spaces where folktales begin. There’s a unique kind of atmosphere, almost as though knights or mythical creatures could step out from behind a tree. Here are five photographers who put the magic of the forest front and centre.
“Few people know that Britain was once a rainforest nation,” says Oxford-based photographer Joanna Vestey (b. 1972). Vestey’s latest series unfolds amongst the fragments of these majestic places. The shortest picture took two hours to capture, and the final collection will span three days and two nights.
Devon-based photographer Neil Burnell focuses his lens on the sensory experience of being outdoors. The artist observes landscapes around southwest England, paying attention to hidden vegetation. Gnarled oak, birch and pines sprawl across dimly lit copses. Thick trunks lean over bracken, consumed by moss.
In Jasper Goodall’s velvety images in Twilight’s Path series, he creates an ode to the evening. Quietude is embraced, whilst twisting branches and fallen leaves become new forms of currency: gold, silver and bronze shine against the depths of black. He notes: “I’m interested in ideas around being lost.”
Ellie Davies has been working in UK forests since 2007. She says: “woodlands can be breathtakingly beautiful, full of space and light. But, due to weather shifts, they can quickly change, becoming cramped, dark and tangled. In an instant, they might transform from somewhere comforting to lonely and sinister.”
Time Taken follows the story of Afghanistan’s central highlands throughout the seasons, as summer fades towards autumn and winter. Norfolk wanted to counter conflict-filled press representations of the region. By contrast, his images of Bamiyan province turn attention to growth and renewal.
Words: Emma Jacob
Image Credits:
1. Ellie Davies, Fires 7, (2018). Image courtesy the artist.
2. Joanna Vestey, Borrowdale Woods, Lake District, England (2023). From 3 Days | 2 Nights.
3. Neil Burnell, Image courtesy of the artist.
4. Jasper Goodall, Twilight’s Path 14: Sentinel (2019). Courtesy of the artist.
5. Ellie Davies, Fires 9, (2018). Image courtesy the artist.
6. Image courtesy of Simon Norfolk.
