Pete Davis was born in 1947 and started taking pictures at age 11. From 1967 - 1977 Davis worked as a fashion photographer and in 1987 he moved to West Wales to combine landscape photography with teaching at numerous colleges and universities. This was the start to his academic career which saw him awarded a Pd.D in Fine Art from Aberystwyth University in 2009.

I have been asked to look at one of the numerous books that he has produced. Davis, Pete.1997: Cader Idris – Soul of a Lonely Place. University of Wales School or Art Press.ISBN-13: 978-1899095087

My initial reaction to the work is a nice set of prints, made with restraint with no attempt to add what was not already there. Pete Davis admits that this was a challenging body of work for him to produce in his comment on his website. “Some bodies of work have to be made, the collection of images here is in this category.” (http://www.pete-davis-photography.com/cader.html)

As I look further into the work I realise that Davis in concentrating on this small geographical area and has documented an area with minimal intervention by man. (The image above has no sign of this intervention). A pristine landscape as it was made by nature a landscape possibly unique to this area of the UK. When you look at the work from this perspective, the title, ‘Soul of a Lonely Place’ shows itself to be apt.

Although the geographical area this work was shot in was small the pictures seem vast, with nothing but the natural landscape from foreground stretching to the horizon, showing a vast and lonely landscape. There is detail in the prints across the whole tonal range is evident and the work gives you a feeling of one of Wales great wilderness areas. This said the work conveys an emotion of loneliness but for me lacks any real drama that I am sure exist in such an area.