Little Matlock in Bradgate Park one of the subjects of pictures Ancestor’s photos of parks are recreated
A PHOTOGRAPHER whose greatgreat-great-grandfather captured some of the first landscape photography in Charnwood from the 1860s onwards, will recreate some of his ancestor’s images.
Matthew Broadhead will be capturing the landscape and the people of contemporary Charnwood as part of a short residency with the recently-launched Charnwood Forest Landscape Partnership Scheme.
He will be out walking and taking pictures at up to two dozen sites throughout Charnwood until September 11, including Beacon Hill, Bradgate Park, and The Outwoods.
He will be hoping to talk with and take some informal images of locals out and about enjoying the landscape so walkers are invited to say hello (at an appropriate social distance) if they meet him.
Matthew’s third great-grandfather Frederick William Broadhead was an artist and photographer in Leicester during the mid-to-late 19th century.
Frederick visited the ancient Charnwood Forest many times, initially to capture the romantic landscape of Bradgate Park, and then views of Ulverscroft Priory ruin and the slate quarry in Swithland Wood,
THEN AND NOW: Little Matlock in Bradgate Park in 1869, left, and 2018 both of which are visible in the landscape today.
Matthew will be using a large format camera as part of a hybrid process that has been developed to use his forebear’s Dallmeyer 2B (Patent) Portrait lens with modern sheet film.
His Sleeping Photographer project will recreate some of those 19th century images today, in the current landscape, as well as “awakening” how we see Charnwood Forest now, by portraying the landscape and people of Charnwood today.
His role as artist in residence is funded by Arts Council England through the Birmingham-based arts organisation Grain, as one of their Rural Commissions. The residency is being facilitated by the Charnwood Forest Landscape Partnership Scheme, with support from the National Lottery Heritage Fund.
Matthew said: “This commission is a dream come true for me. It will give me a chance to explore technical elements of 19th century photography that are relevant to my third great-grandfather’s own photographic practice in Leicestershire.
“Working with Grain Projects and the National Forest Company has facilitated a visit to Charnwood Forest to record rural landscapes of particular personal importance along with opportunities to work with locals who are immersed in this place of historical, geological and biological significance.
“It is a wonderful opportunity to bring all this together to offer a new perspective of Charnwood.”
Julie Attard, programme manager for the Landscape Partnership Scheme, said: “Matthew’s project offers an exciting opportunity to share the story and work of one of Leicestershire’s earliest photographers but also to see and value the contemporary landscape.”