About

Andrew Hobbs (b. 1967) is a British photographer based in Somerset. He spent his formative years at the progressive Dartington Hall School where his interest in photography began. Hobbs has had a colourful career including stints as a bin man, a long distance lorry driver, an IT manager and ending up as an eLearning & Libraries Manager at Somerset College. To rediscover photography has been a return to his creative roots. Hobbs is a quintessential Somerset boy and this is reflected in his strong affinity for the landscape around him. He has been influenced by the apparent simplicity of photographers like Edwin Smith, Fay Godwin and James Ravilious. There is a timelessness about Hobbs's photographs that go beyond mere documentation and captures the heart of the English landscape and life within it.

Photography has been a passion of mine since I discovered the darkroom at school but it's only been recently that I've rekindled my desire to take pictures. I tend to follow my nose and take instinctive shots and I prefer to be outside walking and shooting rather than being closeted in a studio. Like most modern photographers I now use a digital camera. The possibility to manipulate a digital image is infinite so it's important to me to keep my pictures as natural and un-tampered with as possible.

I would consider myself a documentary photographer who has been heavily influenced by James Ravilious's work. Documentary photography is like a fine wine and needs time to mature which is why I believe my work doesn't need to be on show immediately. Selling my work is not a priority, simply to record and archive is at the heart of what I do.