This mini feature showcases one of the eighteen open submission portfolios selected for inclusion in our printed journal based on the theme of the right to roam
Lockdown they called it.
Isolated; no longer free to pull on our seven league boots to journey beyond our local confines.
However, with avenues closed, new opportunities are found. Instead of wandering dale and lake, we explore our local ground, so frequently overlooked.
And as we do, we find a more subtle beauty where previously we had declared there was none. New joys with the ability to just step outside our door and breathe nature in its glory.
But as we explore our lost world, we became aware of the fragility of our new found freedom. Ancient footpaths blocked, woodland ripped asunder without request or argument, and fences that spring from the land like skeletons from dragon’s teeth, segmenting, blocking and restricting our discovered Eden into diminished and isolated pockets.
As I wander, I feel the ghosts of long past Kinder trespassers on my shoulder asking me why the rights so valiantly fought for and gained, can be so carelessly ignored and cast aside. They whisper to me that the fight for freedoms is never truly over while there are those in the world who see green spaces as things to be owned, controlled and exploited.
Therefore, if any good then is to come from the year of lockdown, let it be that the right to roam is once more celebrated, so that our children and grandchildren can also experience the joy to wander without hindrances and our open spaces are given the protection they deserve.
The full set of images from the open submission are shown below (click to view image larger in the original format).
Website: photographyformortals.blogspot.com
Instagram: @hammarbytp1
CREDITS
Unless otherwise stated, all words and images in this article are © Tony Pedley
THE JOURNAL
Our biggest, most content packed, and socially current publication to date, exploring the theme of the right to roam. Featuring an introduction by our very own co-founder Rob Hudson and a selection of work from 37 contributors, including the one featured above. Click on the image of the journal cover below to take you to the journal’s information and ordering page.
