In March 2020, writer and researcher Jessica Kilburn approached me as she was looking for a fine art photographer in the South of England to capture framed watercolours paintings and pen & ink drawings of the renowned artist Thomas Hennell.
As some brief background reading on Thomas Hennel, he was born in 1903 and grew up to become a British artist and writer specialising in illustrations and essays on the subject of the British countryside. In 1943 Hennell was appointed as an official war artist, painting commissions in Iceland and northern Europe. His life was short lived and in 1945, he was caught up in the struggle for independence in Java where in late October 1945, he disappeared and although never found, is presumed to have died. Further information can be viewed on his Wikipedia entry.
Jessica was in the midst of putting together a book on Hennell (to be released in March 2021) and required me to travel numerous locations throughout the South to accurately photograph paintings and drawings held by private collectors, art galleries and museums. With the pandemic causing delays, the project spanned over nearly a year in which I shot numerous artworks on behalf of Jessica and her publishing company Pimpernel Press.
On the surface, shooting flat pictures seems like an easy process, but it is far from it to do it accurately. For this project, there were two major considerations – perfect colour reproduction and with most paintings being framed, ensuring the pieces were shot so that no reflections or glare were shown in the final images.
To accomplish a successful fine art reproduction, meticulous setup is required for each image. Even positioning of studio lights either side of the artwork ensures the piece is lit correctly whilst precise positioning of the artwork and camera ensure the lens and artwork are 100% perpendicular to prevent any warping/skewing in the final shot. To remove reflections, a polarizing filter is applied. Finally, a Spyder X Datacolor card is taken with each image, to enable the white balance and colours to be perfectly adjusted when processed in Lightroom. The end result, is an image that is authentically replicated as close as possible to that of the Hennel’s original.
Jessica Kilburn published her book entitled ‘Thomas Hennell: The Land and the Mind’ which is available now from all good bookshops. A selection of images I took can be seen in the gallery above.
Following the completion of the project, Jessica left me the following 5-star review:
“Philip took some excellent photographs of original artwork, for a book I am writing on the artist, Thomas Hennell… the photographs capture the watercolours and drawings beautifully. In addition, Philip has been a pleasure to work with, and I would recommend him highly.”
If you’re looking for a fine art photographer in Bath or further afield to capture reproductions of paintings or artwork , please get in touch below.
Philip is as a freelance graphic designer and award-winning photographer based in Bath, UK. Providing a bespoke, one-stop creative service for businesses, start-ups and individuals, Philip is available for both contractual and one-off independent jobs. Please get in touch today.
