Chiswick Mall runs along the side of the river Thames (the river that winds its way through the City of London on to the open sea). The road that follows the river in Chiswick is lined with beautiful Georgian listed houses. Opposite each imposing house there are the private gardens that correspond to each house and that are built along the the riverbank.
I took my Canon 5D MKIII, with a 14mm lens and stopped at fifteen of the gardens to take these pictures. I forgot about them till a few days ago and found them rather interesting. I particularly like the dramatic sky and the fact that without people they have become this surrealistic idyllic peaceful landscape.
Someone said to me ‘Oh, these look like paintings” and I said “No these are photographs”. If I had painted this it would have taken me days but I got this image with a simple click, that is exactly the mystery of photography, that continues to fascinate me.
I did some landscapes for The Council For The Preservation of Rural England and the campaign which helped stop a motorway going through the New Forest (which really speaks to me about the power of photography to move people). I shot these images really early in the morning and at sunset on film using a Hasselblad. These are just a few of the many landscapes that I shot that day.
- Clive Arrowsmith is shooting stunning images, staging exhibitions and is as passionate about photography as he was when he first pressed the shutter at The Paris Collections. He is available for global media opportunities related to his work and photography generally. Bespoke prints from Clive’s archive are also available by special request, for any enquiries (email Eugenie here). Clive’s book Arrowsmith: Fashion, Beauty & Portraits is available hereand Lowry at Home: Salford 1966 is available here
