Roddy McColl: Port Meadow photographs

3:00pm Wednesday 8th October 2008

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A series of stunning images by Oxfordshire photographer Roddy McColl are now on display at the O3 Gallery, Oxford Castle. Port Meadow: A Year in Photographs remains on display until Sunday, October 19.

Those who already know and love Port Meadow, and have come to enjoy the way this vast, unspoiled area reflects the changing seasons, will gain a great deal from viewing these studies.

Those who have not walked Port Meadow when the autumn mists rise from the river will no doubt realise, having viewed this exhibition, what they have missed by not exploring this glorious stretch of open space, situated so close to the city. Port Meadow is an ancient gem, which says as much about Oxford as the dreaming spires which we all admire so much.

Many landscape photographers make a special effort to exclude signs of human activity in their landscape shots. One of the delightful things about Roddy’s work is the inclusion of the occasional walker interacting with the landscape. His aim is to produce photographs that talk to the viewer’s emotions more than their intellect, and he has done just that.

His Swans and Sunset, which captures the way an atmospheric red-streaked sky is reflected in the river, is amazing, so is his Reflection at Dusk, which encapsulates that special magic which descends upon the world as birds prepare to roost, and the sun goes down.

Hurry Home gives us dark, threatening thunderclouds, a buttercup field and a walker and his dog doing just that, hurrying home. This is a picture that captures the very essence of a moment we are all familiar with. No words are necessary. One leaves this work wondering if they did arrive home without getting wet.

Because Roddy has walked the meadow for so long, he has come to know and love its changing moods and so create strong visual impressions, which remain a visual memory for some considerable time.

Over the years Roddy has accumulated an impressive back catalogue from his travels, but Port Meadow is his first series created specifically for exhibition.