The Three Peaks Gallery, Settle, a superb showcase for amazing landscape photos
Three Peaks Gallery was established by Fine Art Photographer Gary Fitch in November 2011 to exclusively showcase his powerful imagery. The gallery is located in the centre of the busy North Yorkshire market town of Settle.
Gary was born and raised in Lancaster, but moved to Settle in 2004, drawn by the quiet way of life and the stunning, yet subtle scenery. He has a passion for the outdoors – he has camped and climbed around the UK. Gary has combined his passion for nature and the wide-open spaces with photography, which he feels is the best medium to produce his creative work. Through his pictures Gary’s aim is to ‘bring the natural world into your environment’ and the Yorkshire Dales hold a special place in his heart. As Gary puts it, “The Dales, though perhaps less photographically dramatic than the neighbouring Lake District, have a peaceful majesty all of their own and I enjoy exploring the Dales looking for a unique viewpoint, one that other people haven’t spotted. As a photographer you have to think more about your composition due to the fact there are very few lakes (tarns) to provide the extra dimension from reflections. Settle for me is an ideal base to explore the limestone topography of the Yorkshire Dales National Park. It has also provided a great opportunity for me to showcase my work in my own dedicated gallery within the vibrant market town.”
The Three Peaks Gallery is based in the Shambles in Settle, right in the Market Place. It’s a bright and attractive shop with superb displays of the results of Gary’s craftsmanship in the form of hand-printed, framed photographic prints of the highest quality.
Gary aims to bring the beauty of the natural world into your environment and as he puts it “‘…The natural world is a unique source of inspiration and a place of relaxation. Its beauty, for me, has an eternal appeal that one can never tire of…”
He is committed to the highest possible standards of photography & presentation. Using a medium format film camera he interprets the landscape presented before him, in all its guises. Through his admiration for this precious land he is able to express a unique vision of the British Isles.
Each image is carefully produced as a Fine Art giclée from film – so it’s a combination of new printing technology with tried and tested traditional methods of photography. Gary likes using film as it represents the slow and considered approach when capturing that elusive ‘moment’. Printing as giclées allows people to buy a work of art and not just some casual snapshot reproduced on standard photographic material.
Gary works both in colour and traditional black & white; with the latter providing Gary a more artistic approach to his given subject.
As well as producing fine art imagery, Gary also teaches landscape photography through his bespoke courses, undertakes portrait work, printing for artists, supplying images to specific libraries and commercial work, which has seen him recently documenting trawler men on both the high seas of the Atlantic & Norwegian waters. Future projects include various book ideas, with an exclusive collaboration with folk hero Mike Harding, which will combine Gary’s stunning black & white images of the Dales with Mike’s evocative prose.
When asked what the appeal of photography is, Gary says, “As a child I liked to draw, copy things, so I suppose I have always been creative. As I grew up I loved nothing more than walking in the mountains and camping in remote places. I am fascinated with nature and can sit for hours watching her changing moods. I would capture these moments on my Olympus OM10, my first proper camera given to me by my Dad. Over time my hobby became more serious, I educated myself on the fundamentals of photography, invested in more quality gear and began to capture more considered images; a technique I am still refining and will be a work in progress till the day I stop taking pictures.”
Gary’s images are a result of a very slow process and are mostly captured in the first and last hour of available light; it is not unusual for him to take only one or two shots in that period, when he feels the mood and composition is right. Many times he has walked away from a scene empty-handed.
Gary is fascinated with the old ways of photography, so much so that he is looking to produce contact prints from large negatives, a method developed back in the mid 1800’s. Such printing methods as cyanotype, kallitype and platinum/palladium will produce unique hand-made prints that will form the basis for very collectable low-number editions. These prints will sit side by side with the wonderful giclée prints in the Three Peaks Gallery.
If you’re in or near Settle do check out Gary’s work at his exclusive gallery and also take a look at the Three Peaks Gallery website – a work in progress.
Stop Press
Gary has been accepted to take part in this year’s North Yorkshire Open Studios, which is being held over the weekends of June 9/10 & June 16/17. Gary will produce some very collectable, short run limited edition prints especially to mark this special event.
For the technically minded
Giclée is a process of producing individual large format prints using a combination of pigment inks and acid free art paper, which gives a guaranteed print life in excess of 85 years.
Three Peaks Gallery
3 The Shambles
Market Place
Settle
North Yorkshire BD24 9EF
Gallery: 01729 268 082
e-mail: info@threepeaksgallery.co.uk
Opening Hours
Monday – Saturday 9:30 – 5:00
Sunday 11:00 – 4:00
Closed Tuesday
