A Bit About Me
James
Kelly-Smith
2 x Finalist & an Honourable Mention at the International Photography Awards 2024
Firstly, lovely to see you here & thank you for visiting my website.
I’m James, I'm predominately a British landscape & nature photographer based in the Forest of Dean. I capture immersive & atmospheric landscapes & woodlands, best known for my photos of the Forest of Dean, Wye Valley & Wales area.
Aside from creating landscape photography to uplift your homes, I also see my work inspiring people about the great outdoors, especially promoting and supporting the local area. My work has been featured in articles promoting the Forest of Dean & Wye Valley, and I also do some photography work for a couple of local businesses.
The Philosophy
Primarily, I aim to capture the best of the outdoors. I like to portray something about the location or subject, that is rarely seen and tell its story visually, give a sense of what the place or subject is about. I generally use natural conditions to evoke feelings and colour, particularly natural lighting of a sunrise/sunset, atmospheric conditions like mist & fog, and sometimes a good bit of rain or a storm to add a bit of mood. Ultimately, it's emotive, and I want to feed your imaginations and create escapism. I'm also inspired by fiction, folklore and history, such as J. R. R. Tolkien's work and the local legendum and backstories. You may seem influences of this within the work that I do.
The good news is, I sell my work and am passionate about giving my customers a good quality product, presenting my photography in the best possible way. That is why my work comes in premium quality fine art framed prints, bringing the photo to life. I promise you, computer screens do not do these photos the justice they deserve. I am also aware the minefield that is framing and mounts. So I also offer a framed option to my prints that I believe best display my work.
Work Together
If you need a photographer or would like to use some of my landscape photography for your project I would love to hear from you. Get in touch below.
I have had my photography used for a couple of tourism related articles to promote the Forest of Dean & Wye Valley which has been a great privilege. Some local businesses have also used my photography for their social media and you will find some local shops stocking my photography as postcards too.
One of these is a local holiday cabin in the woods, Rose Hideaway, www.rosehideaway.co.uk which I supply the photography for, and you will find my work displayed inside.
Partnerships
'Simply Wild' Restaurant
www.simplywildrestaurant.co.uk
Recently opened in Coleford, Forest of Dean, the restaurant & wine bar boasts fine local food, headed up by the lovely Michael (Chef Patron) & Michelle (Restaurant Manager). They have a passion to not only support the local community with their food, but also partner up with local businesses. I'm pleased that I had the opportunity to provide all the framed prints for the restaurant, and diners have an option to purchase any they like the look of.
Theprintspace
All my fine art prints are printed by the theprintspace, using their premium quality C Type Fuji Matt paper. They are the best professional fine art & photo printers in the UK and across Europe, “using the finest art papers and process to make prints that will take your breath away with their detail, colour accuracy and impact”. Their end-to-end service is also 100% carbon neutral, so you can be confident your prints will have minimal impact on the environment. Partnering with theprintspace, you can be guaranteed 100% satisfaction and if they fail to deliver a quality product, they will replace it.
Colour Calendars
My calendars, greeting cards and postcards are all printed by Colour Calendars. They are the UK’s leading calendar printers, using state of the art equipment which combined with their twenty years of experience enables them to deliver the highest quality calendars. Their printing uses premium paper which is usually much thicker than their competitors. I have worked with them for a few years now, so you can be confident that these really are top-notch products.
In My Kit Bag
Sony A7iii Camera
Fuji X-T20 Camera (with Fuji 18-55mm lens)
DJI Mini 4 Pro Drone
Tamron 28-200mm f2.8-5.6 Lens
Sony 20mm f1.8 G Lens
Sigma 35mm f1.4 Art Lens
Sigma 100-400m f5.6-6.3 Lens
NiSi ND Filters & Polariser
K&F Concept Tripod