Hobbs
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 the day I first discovered the darkroom at school. 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. I can’t really say who I have been influenced by, but the photography of James Ravilious, John Davies, Tim Page, and Fay Godwin must be in there somewhere, along with many others.Since 2009 I have been a regular contributor to the Exmoor Magazine, covering a wide variety of activities, from events such as the Quantock Pony Sale to photographing pubs for their food section. I love this work as I'm never really sure what's coming next and it pushes me to move outside my comfort zone - an essential in ensuring you never grow stagnant in your work. 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 untouched as possible."
