Words by Dan Warden
Father, photographer, lecturer; Ashley Hampson’s lens documents more than meets the eye.
Since graduating from Falmouth in 2003, Ashley Hampson has spent much of his career photographing weddings and producing several documentaries based on personal projects. Over recent years, he completed his teacher training and is now a lecturer in photography.
Ashley Hampson
In 2019, he fell in love with landscape photography. With a busy life teaching and freelancing, he finds hiking with his family therapeutic and refreshing: “My three young boys are always up for an adventure and in many ways it was their excitement and natural curiosity that rejuvenated my own passion for exploring the local landscape.”
“As a photographer, I’ve always believed that the best photographs often arrive without planning or expectation and for this reason, I always have a camera with me. Everywhere. I even keep one in my car’s glovebox, just in case.”
Seeking progression, Ashley has been keen that his photography develops at the same rate as his passion and so he began photographing at night and adding drone photography to his portfolio: “I photograph for myself. I don’t look at my work and simply see beautiful photography. I see the challenges faced, the problems I had to overcome, the planning, the weather, the effort, and the emotions I felt. Every photograph I create captures a much larger personal experience.”
“Being all alone on a coastal path at night, under the light of a full moon is magical and these are the most special photographs to me. They feel unseen. If I didn’t capture these moments, I genuinely feel as if the whole world would miss out on something truly beautiful. These are the photographs that I cherish above all others.”
Ashley’s photographs are available as limited edition prints and he also runs workshops based around astrophotography, editing software and landscape photography, allowing him to incorporate his love of teaching with a creative obsession. “My absolute favourite is to show people how to capture the Milky Way for the first time. Everyone is always so happy at that moment. Who knows where my photography will take me, for now I just enjoy every moment.”
Dean Quarry
‘Perfect Bluebells’, secret location
Cookworthy Knapp (the ‘Nearly Home’ trees)
‘Mining The Stars’, Rinsey
‘Moon Halo’, Great Wheal Fortune
‘In/Flux I’, Poldice Valley
‘Camel Rock Cosmos’, Trewavas Cliff
Portreath
Portreath
‘In/Flux II’, Poldice Valley
‘The Star Gazer’, Pedn Vounder
‘Stormy Afternoon’, Porthtowan