Whilst working on my Fragmented City Series, I experimented with the idea of using photoshop in a way of combining different architectural movements together and having a wider range of possibilities in the way that I could manipulate the image. However during its creation, I decided to add a photo that I had taken in the Peak District over the summer, Adding this photo made me realise at a later point that everyone in this Megalopolitan space will try to escape it at one point or another, this connects to the idea of trying to get to the light at the end of a tunnel, sometimes it could feel like an endless task and somewhat almost impossible to get to, but once achieved many would be rewarded by what they seek, In my time and my work within the city, I sometimes feel I get drawn away from wanting to be in the city and this busy space and something draws me to the quiet nature of the countryside, and I want to further expand on that concept within the work that I shall be creating. Within this project I shall be photographing the city from a perspective of allowing to incorporate the countryside within my works, I want to use the work that I have previously taken at the Peak District as to some in the city it is seen as a faraway space that could be hard to get to, thus relating to the idea of seeing the light at the end of the tunnel.
The story behind reach - the Monsal Trail, Peak district.
The trail runs along the former Midland Railway line for 8.5 miles between Blackwell Mill, in Chee Dale and Coombs Road, at Bakewell.
Most of the route was opened to the public in 1981 but four former railway tunnels had to remain closed due to safety reasons, with public footpaths taking people around them. From 25 May 2011 the four railway tunnels - Headstone Tunnel, Cressbrook Tunnel, Litton Tunnel, Chee Tor Tunnel – will also open for trail users. Each tunnel is about 400 metres long and will be lit during normal daylight hours.
The public can now experience the full length of the former railway route at their own pace and see breathtaking views at places like Water-cum-Jolly Dale that have remained hidden since the railway closed in 1968.
When I was walking along the trail I encountered the headstone tunnel, which is the longest stretch of tunnel along the route, whilst walking through the tunnel, I wanted to get to the other side, this impatience of getting through the tunnel and seeing the light on the other side was part of the inspiration towards the series as this is a feeling that I sometimes get whilst being in the city, this desire of wanting to exit the city as quickly as possible to reach the open countryside, which resides all of the things that the city does not.
