Research - John Davies

This shot from Jon Davies of Agecroft Power Station in Salford in 1983, is an example of how complex modern facilities of mankind  can be influential on the natural landscape. A wide focal length has been used to allow two large points of interest to be included. Which is what I should follow when shooting on Medium Format, with only 4 final prints to use it could be useful to include a lot of details in a small number of images.

'I try to look for the best view to show features in context, and aim to get the maximum detail from my photographs,' he says. The scene was taken on a clear day, from a position on a high tower block overlooking the prospect. The green park, its borders tidily framed in the manageable trees associated with municipal planting, is almost marooned in a sea of domestic dwellings that stretch as far as the eye can see.

In focus in the foreground are the diminutive figures of the bowls players, but the viewpoint reaches to the far horizon where one can glimpse a tooth-like frieze of high-rise buildings and industrial constructions, as well as the thrust of an occasional church spire. 'In composing the frame I like to find interesting aspects round the edges,' he says.