A retired police scenes of crime officer has put the focus on Darlington in his latest venture photographing the town after dark.
The results will feature in a special exhibition “As the sun sets in Darlington” which opens at the Town Hall later this month (29 August).
Campbell Sheppard’s love affair with photography began as an 11-year-old boy in the late 1960s, when he began taking, developing and printing, black and white photographs.
It led him into a career following various aspects of photography, first capturing the special moments as a wedding photographer and then as a civilian scenes of crime officer for Northumbria Police where he worked for 28 years.
“I was often called to take photographs of crime scenes at night and with limited available daylight, using a tripod and long exposures,” explained Campbell, who moved to Darlington when he retired.
“I always got a great deal of satisfaction when the images were produced as the conditions were often very challenging.
“Now that I’m retired, I have the time to take photographs under similar lighting conditions, but of subject areas of my choosing! This is the theme I decided to explore with my exhibition.
“I chose the urban, night-time environment of Darlington as I wanted to illustrate the rich, abstract colours and hues that come to life when the sun goes down.
“Using long shutter speeds and lenses with different focal lengths, I have tried to create a series of atmospheric images of Darlington with as little post production processing as possible.”
Stephen Wiper, Creative Darlington Manager, said:
“Campbell has produced some stunning images of Darlington, very distinct and atmospheric. I hope local residents will visit the Town Hall to take the time to see our town in a way they’ve perhaps not seen it before.
“The exhibition is the latest in a series featuring the work of local artists at the Town Hall. Darlington’s a creative place where people can showcase their talents, with opportunities to exhibit managed by different enterprises and organisations.”
‘As the sun sets in Darlington’ will be on display in the Town Hall until Friday 20 October.
Creative Darlington was created in 2012 with the aim of looking at the development of arts in the borough and encouraging more people to discover their creative side. It also coordinates exhibitions for Crown Street Art Gallery and Darlington Town Hall. For more information log onto the website at http://www.darlington.gov.uk/leisure-and-culture/creative-darlington/