About

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Mark Waddington is a landscape photographer based in Yorkshire whose work explores the intimate relationship between people and the places they inhabit.

Working predominantly in black and white, Mark looks beyond the conventional idea of landscape as something scenic or picturesque. He is drawn to the quieter, less obvious details of the land—its shapes, textures, patterns and traces of human activity—bringing them together in carefully considered compositions. Light and tone play an important role in his work, creating photographs that are often atmospheric, contemplative and unconventionally beautiful. Alongside still photography, he also uses video to explore the energy, movement and changing qualities of the landscape.

Although described as a landscape photographer, Mark’s understanding of landscape encompasses both the natural world and the ways in which generations of people have shaped, occupied and altered it. Walls, tracks, paths, buildings and other human-made features become part of the visual language of the land. A walker creates a path across the moor; a wall encloses a stand of trees; an abandoned farm building is gradually reclaimed by nature. These relationships between natural and human elements are central to his work.

Mark is particularly drawn to the landscape in less than ideal conditions. Many of his photographs are made on cloudy, misty or stormy days, when the land can feel cold, wet and boggy. Rather than avoiding these conditions, he embraces them as an essential part of the experience. His photographs seek to convey not simply what a place looks like, but something of what it feels like to be there—the atmosphere, weather, texture and physical presence of the environment.

Underlying his work is an interest in memory and the stories embedded within familiar places. Human interventions in the landscape can carry traces of generations of lives: work, movement, shelter, boundaries and belonging. By bringing these details into focus, Mark seeks to reveal something of the history and character of a place without romanticising it.

His aim is to make photographs that feel real rather than idealised; photographs that recognise the landscape as it is, with all its imperfections and complexity. Ultimately, his work seeks to create a lasting emotional connection with place—rooted in direct experience, shared memory and a sense of belonging.