To say the vistas of Scotland have been a massive influence on artisans of all disciplines down the centuries is a tad understated, such is the awesome and magical power Highland landscapes possess.

The latest to tread the creative path along the high roads is photographer Peter Davies who, inspired by memories of boyhood holidays, focused his camera on the west coast at Applecross, with views across to Skye, where in AD 673 the Irish monk Maelrubha founded a Christian settlement known as A'Chomraich the Sanctuary.

Peter though points out his images are not strictly about Applecross, but aimed at a series of images hinting at a personal narrative or real or imaginary history: "It's a harsh landscape in many ways but really, really beautiful. Not picturesque in the true sense, but contrasting."

In Peter's Sanctuary exhibition running in Abbot Hall Art Gallery's coffee shop until May 10, serenity figures in a big way.

Typical is Sound - blue-grey with a seamless merging of sea and sky. In the foreground a sole post juts out of the water embracing the surrounding calm of Raasay.

Immense seascapes give way to more intimate, detailed pictures such as boulders on the beach at Lonbain.

It is good to see the former Kendal College lecturer in photography taste success for himself after many years out of the frame, so to speak, coaxing the best out of his many students.

His work has just been selected for the prestigious Hereford Photography Festival Exposure 2003 (October 4 - November 1), which last year included more than 28 exhibitions from nine countries and was praised by professor Mark Haworth-Booth, senior curator of the V & A's Canon Gallery, for its "generous spirit" and the fact that the festival "regards documentary photography as having important creative elements and vision."

Peter works for the Business and Community Enterprise Unit, at St Martin's College, in Lancaster, developing undergraduate placements and volunteer activity among students throughout north Lancashire and Cumbria.

However, artistic horizons beckon: "I'm returning to Applecross in June to produce new work including digital video footage. The ultimate aim is to broaden the range of the work and possibly collaborate with a writer or musician as a means of exploring alternative ways of presenting the work."

Brought up in Nantwich, Cheshire, Peter was educated at the Polytechnic of Central London under the guidance of Victor Burgin (writer and theorist on photography) and John Goto, who works in the fine art tradition of photography, completing his MA in fine art at the University of Central Lancashire.

His photos have been included in a number of group exhibitions and twice in Photography North West biennials, as well as a commissioned exhibition and catalogue, Tideline, for Norwich Arts Centre supported by the National Trust and Fuji and touring venues across the country.

For the technophile, Peter's images are originated on a MPP 5x4 camera using Polaroid Type 55 film, producing both a positive print and fine grain negative. The negative is then digitised using a high-resolution drum scan process.

The digital image file is then retouched and treated using Photoshop, selectively tinting and working into the image.

Last, but not least, the image is put out to archival printing paper using pigment-based inks with a 100-year light fast guarantee. The Giclee (high quality ink jet) printing process involves microscopic droplets of ink sprayed on to paper at the rate of four million a second.

Altogether a clever process, producing fascinating photographs.

For further details contact Abbot Hall on 01539-722464.

April 24, 2003 09:00