Edward J Felton, 'What The Fire Left Behind', First Edition ...

Estimate

£300 - £400

Edward J Felton, 'What The Fire Left Behind', First Edition One Off Print, shortlisted in The British Photography Awards Drone Category this is a one off metal print with floating frame, 44cm x 64cm overall

Hired to carry out an aerial structure survey of a multi-business complex that had been destroyed by a violent fire. I could smell the devastation in the air - a smell one never forgets. Once the survey was complete I could not help but celebrate in the subjective beauty of what remained. The limited colour pallete and the unrivalled textures and forms looked almost deliberate in their arrangement. I started taking photographs with the mind set that I was looking at a piece of art of the highest level. The materials used, the intensity of the fire and the chemicals burned created something beyond what I could design in my own mind. It may be my favourite image I have ever captured and comes with a stark warning about how devastating uncontrolled fire can be. I hope that you can see the beauty in what was a huge tragedy.

From my earliest days the natural world has been a constant within my life and has helped steer
me in the decisions I make and the way I interact with the world. Nature has always been an
important element in my love and understanding of all forms of art and this has definitely
impacted on my photography. Through my practice I have been assigned to work on projects
which involve working in some of the more wild parts of the globe and these locations will
forever inspire me.
I like to tell the story of my subjects, and drones have proved a more than useful tool in aiding
this compulsion. Seeing the world from a new perspective can help calibrate our relationship
with space, and remind us simply to look. With my drones I might be found on top of the
highest peak in Sweden, recording ice melt in Greenland, documenting inaccessible places for
national news or simply finding the beauty above a most inauspicious location. Most recently I
have celebrated the accolade of being featured in National Geographic’s new book World from
Above.
It is very easy to become quite philosophical about why we do the things we do, but I do truly
feel that my photography has a healthy foundation we can all benefit from. Just the act of
looking at an image briefly can reset the mind or enable us to see something from a different
perspective. To me, both art and nature have the potential to lift spirits and provoke thought.

More Information

The dimensions are 44cm x 64cm overall. Looks great in the floating frame!