Bio

About Me

Biography: British Born –  Antony Blake has traveled extensively capturing images of the world finally settling in the UK. His passion for photography and a natural curiosity for his surroundings for over 20 years eventually took him to to Africa.  He says – ‘It took me 20 years to get to Africa, but now Africa will be part of the rest of my life. In addition to my Commercial, Wedding and Portrait photography i started to focus in East Africa in particular Kenya. A sequence of events led him to the animals and the people where I know work when there with a local Kenyan to support very focused projects on responsible tourism and ‘giving back’. I found myself experimenting with new techniques and equipment which enabled me to capture a style which I called ‘contextual photographic portraiture’ for the Elephants and all other animals I wanted to be different to the usual images you see, more of a ‘Contemporary Capture’.

My aim was to transport the viewer of my images back to the point they were taken and feel the wonder I did when capturing each one. The intimacy and connection made with the subject makes this work feel more like a painting than a photograph. My greatest accolade is that my images have been compared in style and look to a David Shepherd painting, something I am very honoured to accept.

Statement:  As a photographer I was very conscious that all too often these remote places are so beautiful and inspirational to an artist, we forget to leave something of ourselves there or indeed give back. I have seen far too many images of Africa that feel like Safari photos. I wanted to capture the majesty of the Elephants, the environmental elements of the Zebra, Giraffe, Buffalo. I wanted the Elephants to be seen in full colour, their glory and amazing diversity for survival.

‘CORRIDORS OF LIFE’ is my Elephant project to capture this diminishing world and help us record and hopefully better understand how to open corridors of movement to aid their survival. These animals are nomadic by nature, yet they remain incarcerated in reserves to protect them from humans and themselves. It is my intention to show diversity, adaptability and the survival capabilities of these animals by capturing a series of connected images, each region displaying a different feel, environment and base colour. Each region demonstrating the ability and the potential connection between the herds if they were allowed to migrate.

The ‘CONTEMPORARY CAPTURE’ is a separate project that is evolving to other species beyond the Elephants. Colour is for detail, Black & White for emotion. I wanted the sense of space, of contrast and to highlight the clarity that camouflage actually has to many of the creatures that live in Wild Africa. To capture their everyday surroundings, but to make the animal stand out from what it was doing. Of course to return and sell the images as Fine Art prints for others to enjoy and serve as a reminder of the diminishing world within our time.

‘ANCIENT INDIA’ continues my projects of seeing aspects of life through the emotive presentation that Black & White photography gives. India is a sensory overload from the colour, the noise, the expansion to the crowds. To find peace and tradition, a glance back in time from a growing metropolis and culture is a wonderful record of  the passage of time that exists.

Exhibitions: During 2013 I will be exhibiting at the David Shepherd Foundation Gallery,Surrey UK,  the Untitled Artist Fair in London, UK , RT Gallery in the UK and with some potential efforts and a little management in the Laguna Beach area of CA.

Future Endeavors: My future leads me back to Africa on a regular basis documenting in my styles of ‘contemporary capture’ and ‘contextual photographic portraiture’ the animals I meet. To go to the hottest places on earth and to the highest places in Africa where Elephants and Zebra, Buffalo and Giraffe among others can be found.

Africa is the last place on earth you can witness first hand such a large gathering of nature at it’s biggest and most diverse, sadly its a diminishing world that I feel I am recording for future generations to reflect on through my art work.  I am also made very aware that I am fortunate enough to be witnessing moments that are sadly disappearing.

In 2013 I hope to return to India also and continue to find the peace amongst the speed and change that exists in a world screaming to modernise.