Pastoral

Pastoral Artist: Paul Moon A soft mist at dawn creates depth in this beautiful pastoral landscape at the edge of the Yorkshire Wolds at autumn-time. This image is one of my absolute favourites and was taken on the edge of a huge glacial-carved bowl offering spectacular views all around. This quintessential English landscape is given over to grazing animals - sheep and cattle - and beyond is the small hamlet of Painsthorpe. The hamlet is made up of around five cottages and a large manor house hidden out of view to the left of the photograph. I love how the three trees in the bottom right along the fence line form a quirky ‘family’. The striking golden autumnal beech on the right, the small stunted ash tree in the centre, and the tall elegant spruce at the apex of the plantation on the left. Each individual character bonded by their wonderful location! Beyond the tree-lined small hamlet is the deep steep-sided valley of Scotton Dale. Its near-vertical slopes covered by golden grasses, and above it the flat horizon-line of the edge of the Yorkshire Wolds upland with tall trees and woodland breaking the skyline. This happens to be one of the best views on the picturesque Garrowby Estate - a sprawling farming estate owned and run by the Halifax family. It contains many beautiful views and wonderful villages, amazing plants and trees and plenty to keep a landscape photographer entertained for years! I have spent over 20 years exploring the estate lands capturing its beauty. You could almost say this area was a pastoral symphony! About the artist: I live on the Yorkshire Wolds in the UK, near to where I grew up, and have spent over 20 years searching, discovering and photographing the wonderful views and subject matter - mostly in the deep dry dales - many of which have been designated as access land for walkers. They are mostly used for grazing livestock and for breeding game birds, and have been relatively undiscovered areas of stunning beauty. This is something I’ve set my heart on changing. I have had my images of the Yorkshire Wolds used by local tourism providers, by the Yorkshire Wolds Way National Trail, and recently to complement an upcoming survey by English Nature to designate the Wolds as an ‘Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty’. This is a national designation in the United Kingdom, given to only a few deserving landscapes. I hope my photography in the Wolds will help to highlight this stunning area, and go towards securing my local landscape the AONB designation.