Photography

The UWALS Photography Group was created as part of the Presenting the Past project, The support from the National Lottery Heritage Fund has allowed UWALS to pay for the services of Andrew Brooks, professional photographer, to lead the group.

The aim of the Photography Group was to respond to Percy Inman’s archive of photographs in any way they wished but also to create their own archive of photographs which will bring 21^st century Upper Wharfedale to life for future generations as Inman’s archive has done for us. In addition, the photographers were tasked with creating ‘echo shots’ of some of the photographs in the collection. Thus, it is possible to see the changes, if any, that over a century has wrought in the area.

Percy Inman’s collection of glass plates was discovered in the storeroom of Kettlewell village shop, once owned by the Inmans. The 500 or so photographs appear to have been commissioned by Percy Inman to create postcards to be sold in the shop. They were transferred to disc format in the 1980’s. UWALS gained the permission of Matthew Roberts, their present owner, to research the photographs and curate an exhibition of them. The photographs are a collection of views of Upper Wharfedale, some of which include local people. Most of the photographs have never been on public display.

The work of the Photography Group will create a modern archive of Upper Wharfedale people and places, as well as recording the way the area has evolved over the years.