Iain Duncan has spent much of his adult life in Northumberland and the west of Scotland. He has been interested in photography since childhood, took it up seriously twenty-five years ago and turned professional in 1996. He has over twenty years' experience as a printer of fine art black and white photographs, but also works extensively in colour.
Iain has had numerous exhibitions over the years, including a colour exhibition entitled Frosts and Fires sponsored by Northumbrian Water in the Queen's Hall gallery in Hexham. He currently has six photographic books published.
Photo etching is the perfect medium for Iain as the challenging and specialised method creates richly textured images of the trees and woodlands which he photographs in northern England and Scotland. This historic medium creates varying tonal densities, from the darker tones of the branches in the etching above, to the shadows within the trunks’ bark, to the lighter tones of the sky, using a specially prepared copper plate. Dense ink applied to the plate fills the cells and the resultant image is actually a three-dimensional relief.
‘Viewing things this way also emphasises the structure and design of nature,’ as Iain Duncan says. ‘It can heighten awareness of the complexity and delicacy of natural environments around us, make us rejoice in the great variety and unusualness of their details, and increase our concern to see they are sustained and preserved.’ The black and white etchings in particular capture the mystery and power of the old trees and woodland landscape.
Iain Duncan used cameras which are between 70 and 100 years old, the best of their kind, to create a rich, full tone. Photo etchings are a very stable medium and these richly-textured, mysterious pieces will last for centuries if properly looked after.
