Upper Teesdale photographer's new exhibition 'looks at things a bit differently'

ONE of upper Teesdale’s top photographers is to put his work on display throughout July and August.

Martin Rogers is to host an exhibition of his collection of landscape, wildlife and still-life photographs at the Bowlees Visitors Centre with the intention of “encouraging folk to look at things a bit differently”.

Mr Rogers is probably best known for capturing the rare sight of a red squirrel in his garden, between Middleton-in-Teesdale and Newbiggin.

Describing his photography, Mr Rogers said: “When I’m sufficiently attracted to something to take a photograph of it, I try to look at what’s in front of me carefully before taking a picture, and either to capture it as pleasingly as possible, or maybe to seek a slightly different perspective, especially if it’s already a much-photographed object or scene.

“Of course, with birds and animals, you often have to seize opportunities when they arise – but the longer you watch them, the more opportunities you'll get.”

He added: “I think people often miss a lot of what’s in sight because we tend to scan over things instead of really looking. I’m often struck by something unexpected, for example, something small like the pattern of lichen on a piece of rock or a small, isolated tree, or a single sheep, in a large landscape. I hope when people see pictures like this it will encourage them to look more deliberately around them. I learn a great deal from looking at other people’s pictures and Teesdale is an outstandingly beautiful part of the world to look at, full of wonderful wildlife.

“I don’t often go out to take pictures with anyone else, as most people get fed up hanging around while I faff about with my tripod, or changing lenses – or just waiting for the sun or clouds to do something different.

“Quite often, I may go out for what I expect to be a short while, but get carried away and stay out for several hours - but I don't always come back with the outcome I'd like,” he said.