Woolland Woods

About Chris Frost

Every spring in England, beyond the wild Jurassic Coast, the woodlands in Dorset blossom into a marvelous flourish of wildflowers. Chris Frost captures this beautiful springtime sensation while he takes his morning hike. The British… Read more

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Work Info

In his Hidden Woodlands series, Chris Frost captures the woods of Dorset with precision: lighting, composition, and color contrasts are carefully balanced to show the spring landscape in full bloom. Frost is a British landscape photographer who won the 2020 UK Landscape Photographer of the Year Award, among others.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

Every spring in England, beyond the wild Jurassic Coast, the woodlands in Dorset blossom into a marvelous flourish of wildflowers. Chris Frost captures this beautiful springtime sensation while he takes his morning hike. The British landscape photographer sees a blanket of wild garlic and bluebells that stretches over the forest floor as they reach for the light of the sun. A soft mist hangs between the dark and mossy tree trunks where the first signs of tender green foliage are beginning to show. Every year, this ancient natural landscape returns to rejuvenation. Christ Frost thoughtfully photographs this return while exploring the hidden forest paths and giant majestic trees.


Frost’s photographs of this special atmosphere are vivid and lifelike. He carefully coordinates light, composition, and color contrasts. The soft and tender light, every detail seems to revolve around this particular moment, the moment when spring awakens, encompassing the image with a gentle aura. The feeling of nature is released through the perfectly balanced aesthetic, that tugs the viewer into a fresh, blossoming spring forest.


The forest alone is already such an intense and extraordinary encounter with nature, which is why Frost’s work requires a lot of knowledge on perception and the interactions between light and color. He was born in the late 70s and grew up on analog photography, but quickly realized the possibilities afforded by digital photography. His work has been influenced by landscape photographers like Ryan Dar and Erin Babnik, but also by those who specialize in woodlands such as Lars van de Goor and Daniel Laan. In 2020, he won the UK Landscape Photographer of the Year Award with one of his forest images.  


Diptychs


The two-panel, misaligned diptychs offer a truly dynamic and elegant viewing experience. Yes, the unique arrangement escapes the stiff monotony of a picture frame, but it also generates a natural tension between the two image details. Two cleverly juxtaposed vertical formats with heights that reflect the growth of the trees. Yet, the offset arrangement removes the descending forest floor – a playful and deliberate omission which, oddly enough, leaves the harmonious contour of the image unharmed. It creates the sensation of taking two targeted glares into the depths of the forest, one right after another.


Stephan Reisner

VITA

Lives and works in Weymouth, Dorset, UK.