Uncommon Views

Titled “Uncommon Views”, this is a personal view of Whitmoor Common, an area of heathland in Surrey, UK, which is actively managed by the Surrey Wildlife Trust, Surrey County Council and the Whitmoor Common Association.It’s an area of mainly deciduous woodland (silver birch and oak), and fine grassland which is often waterlogged in the winter. This “lowland heath” is one of the world’s rarest habitats, and is in constant danger of further loss and destruction. I have always struggled to photograph here as it’s not your typical dramatic landscape or coastal seascape with pictures leaping out at every turn.However, with Surrey being somewhat devoid of mountains and the sea, I’ve decided to have another go. I’ve found it needs a more subtle approach which is what I’ve tried to achieve here. This is about how the Common feels to me, when I like going there early in the morning before there are lots of people around. It’s slightly spooky, calm, quiet, and with just a hint of human presence here and there, and that’s what I’m trying to get across in this project. Work in progress – I’ll run this series for a year from November 2014 until some time in the future.For the background behind this project, you'll find this post interesting.