Peter is a practising urban and arts photographer. He is also a town planner and thus has much experience of cities and how they function. His photography celebrates all that makes up the urban environment - buildings, places and spaces, historic settings, heritage, regeneration and community action projects.

CREATIVE STATEMENT

Creative expression should be foremost in all of our lives. It can be expressed in many ways but for me it has found itself in urban and artistic photography. Recording, celebrating and understanding the visual richness that surrounds me is a strong creative driver for my work. Why? Because as a photographer, town planner and geographer I am drawn to the spatial dimension and seek to observe the interactions within it. I work to ensure that my skillset is applied in an integrated and eclectic manner, thus ensuring that my creative work is innovative, enlightened, and forward looking.

My photographic work focuses on a combination of documentary and creative photography, with a strong artistic expression. I seek to not only record what I see around me but also provide a personal perceptive angle on the environmental experience, allowing the viewer to think about the imagery and enjoy it to a deeper level. My work over the last 2 years has gravitated towards a more artistic style. 

I view the urban scene as a series of infinite still images, which are linked together in an ongoing narrative – a sort of ‘urban movie’. It is the photographer's skill to seek out the best still images from the ‘movie’ and translate them into successful photographs. This image choice process is what Henri Cartier-Bresson called the finding the "decisive moment".

In another sense, photographic images are like a ‘memory’ of a given moment in time. Thus, a photograph can evoke ‘memories’ in the viewer that are vivid, powerful and emotionally moving. I seek to achieve these aspects in my work. 

I like photography that makes the viewer ‘think outside the image frame’. My work seeks to give a perception of what is occurring beyond the image’s edges, communicating a sense of what is happening in the wider setting.

My more recent work has sought to close the gap between 2D art work and photographic images, and at the same time study issues such as light, reflection, perspective and contrast. This has resulted in works such as ‘StreetPipes’, ‘Sun on Sand’, ‘Sun on Clouds’ and the ‘Reflections on the Lloyds Building’ series.

My photography has made me into an improved observer and helped me to better understand the environment around me. Through this influence I am now seeking to apply the theme of ‘learning through photography’ and am becoming involved in photographic education on community projects and in museums. In this way my photography has become a creative, educational and enlightening process that I will continue to pursue.…”

PETER D KYTE February 2011

See more of Peters work at www.fotog.info