New star, Nicky Taylor, is fast establishing a reputation as one of the UK’s leading landscape photographers. Although he has lived most of his life overseas in South America, Canada, Europe, Australia and the Caribbean. His extensive landscape, seascape and underwater photography reflects this global perspective, and he has been well received in the fringe scenes of London and Sydney. He has been published in various national and international newspapers and magazines, including “El Pais” and “La Provincia” in Madrid, and “Tangent Fashion” in Sydney. He currently splits his time between the United States and London, where a major exhibition is planned at the Strand Gallery in 2012.
Nicky Taylor commented – “I see my work as part of the ‘return to beauty’ that has gripped the new wave of young photographers in London. My work seeks it’s inspiration in Nature’s destructive, and yet creative, forces – shaping the world as we see it, and dwarfing man’s mark.”
Lambda print 40” x 60,”mounted under acrylic with aluminium backing. A limited edition of five, with one AP. Signed by artist on label.
The artist captured this image in Bear River, once a Hippy Community, and one of the North American continent’s major marijuana crossroads. The image looks like a stage set, straight out of the sixties show “Hair.” The eccentric owner of what was once a small craft shop was evidently inspired by the lyrics of Bob Dylan. But as the eye, focusses on the hidden layers of this picture, time has clearly taken its toll. This was Bear River’s last breath, and the building in this image is no more.
Lambda print 40” x 60,”mounted under acrylic with aluminium backing. A limited edition of five, with one AP. Signed by artist on label.
The complex geometrical formations of this beach cliff obviously caught the Artist’s eye. Mavillete beach shows the powerful force of Nature as it works inexorably to create its own beauty. The minerals exposed included elements of “fool’s gold,” and local folklore has it that an adventurer once filled his rowing boat with piles of the stuff, thinking it was real gold, and rowed out to sea. He didn’t get far before the boat sank. He was never seen again.
Lambda print 20” x 30,”mounted under acrylic with aluminium backing. A limited edition of five, with one AP. Signed by artist on label.
The spotted Sweet Lips, or Plectorhinchus, is a Pacific fish. They are usually seen in clusters in nooks and crannies or under overhangs, which is why this photograph of the fish full on is relatively rare. Not until night fall do they venture from their shelters to seek out their prey. As juveniles they have a strange undulating way of swimming, possibly imitating flatworms as a means of camouflage. A deep dive and a difficult shot to take. The artist waited 30 minutes to get the right shot while swimming gently so as not to scare “Sweet Lips” away.
Lambda print 20” x 30,”mounted under acrylic with aluminium backing. A limited edition of five, with one AP. Signed by artist on label.
The Nudibranch (membrotha cristata) is the Diver’s cult creature. They come in thousands of different sizes, shapes and colors. This is surely one of the finest, and most beautiful. Only two inches in length, with the tiniest, filigree of wings, used to breathe underwater. One of the reasons this almost mythical creature so often evades the underwater photographer is because it is like finding a needle in a haystack. The pink background is the south pacific coral.
Lambda print 20” x 30,”mounted under acrylic with aluminium backing. A limited edition of five, with one AP. Signed by artist on label.
The Coral Trout lives in the Coral Sea off the Australian coast. He lives to a good age and feeds off small fry, as he is so evidently about to do in this photograph. This was a difficult shot to take, and a dangerous one. The artist had not been on land for five days when he caught this image, which required a deep dive of 50 feet, and swimming backwards while holding his breath so as not to scare away the small fry.
Lambda print 22” x 30,”mounted under acrylic with aluminium backing. A limited edition of five, with one AP. Signed by artist on label.
The famous Divi Divi (or watapana) tree is Aruba’s natural compass, always pointing in a southwesterly direction due to the trade winds that blow across the Island. It can grow up to a height of thirty feet, but is usually much shorter. It has evolved elaborate defences over millions of years against tree eating animals, its tough bark proving its saviour. This image is iconic in Aruba, but this shot is special, thanks to the Artist’s clever capturing of the jumping sea spray.
Lambda print 20” x 30,”mounted under acrylic with aluminium backing. A limited edition of five, with one AP. Signed by artist on label.
Hurricane Bill passed through Peggy’s Cove, a small fishing community, and left a trail of devastation in its wake. The artist followed the storm with his camera wrapped in plastic. He has managed to capture an image of exceptional beauty, after Nature has done its worst. Off camera is an upturned car. The day before this image was taken, he had been sitting on the now smashed deck having a coffee. The viewer can still see “espresso on the deck,” now floating in the water.
Lambda print 51” x 34,”mounted under acrylic with aluminium backing. A limited edition of five, with one AP. Signed by artist on label.
Disneyland can’t rival the attractive drawing power of Nature’s beauty as captured here at Niagara Falls on the border of the United States and Canada. The extraordinary colors of the water change on a daily basis, caused by the changing chemical composition of the water as fed by Lake Eyrie, here captured by the artist in the green phase. The tiny ship, the ‘Maid of the Mist’ looks tossed from side to side before it enters the wall of water.
Lambda print 48” x 72,”mounted under acrylic with aluminium backing. A limited edition of five, with one AP. Signed by artist on label.
Ellis Beach is located in Tropical North Queensland, nestled between the world heritage listed rainforest and the Coral Sea, gateway to the Great Barrier Reef. The mango trees along the beach were reputedly tended to by “Ellis” himself. Shortly before this photograph was taken, Hurricane Yazi had ripped through. The artist was working nearby for several months – perfecting his underwater photography of the creatures of the Barrier Reef, some of which are in this exhibition. Walking along this beach after the hurricane, he was struck by its exceptional beauty. Shortly after this shot, a lady bathing nude chased the artist away. But it was the beach, not she, that attracted his camera.
Lambda print 51” x 34,”mounted under acrylic with aluminium backing. A limited edition of five, with one AP. Signed by artist on label.
Lambda print 20” x 30,”mounted under acrylic with aluminium backing. A limited edition of five, with one AP. Signed by artist on label.
When Vespasian became Emperor of Rome, he tore down the immense, vulgar, golden statue of Emperor Nero, the Colossus, and with the money built the Flavian Amphitheater, which could accommodate 55,000 people. Known, with reference to the statue, as the Coliseum. Below the ground were rooms with mechanical devices and cages containing wild animals. These would be hoisted up, so the beasts would suddenly appear in the middle of the arena. During the opening hundred days of games, in Ad 80, more than two thousand gladiators lost their lives. This shot was taken at midnight on a photographic tour of Rome, Italy. The extraordinary black and yellow effect of the sky, and the building itself, is a consequence of the interplay between the moonlight and the artificial lights of Rome. It is also a consequence of the relatively long exposure, 2.5 seconds.
This artist will consider prints in different / custom sizes on request. The total print run (including all sizes) will, nonetheless, be strictly limited to five (plus one AP).