Review of ‘Peak District Moods’, by Jerry Rawson

This review is by Julie Bunting, and was published originally in The Peak Advertiser, the Peak District's local free newspaper, on 28th July 2003, and is reproduced with Julie's kind permission.

This latest title from Halsgrove is, as we have grown to expect from this publisher, a visual treat. Jerry Rawson has compiled more than 140 of his stunning full-colour photographs taken throughout the Peak.

The usual preliminary flick through the covers proved impossible, with page after page calling a halt as the Peak's moods came to life. Some apparently simple compositions exemplify the way a professional photographer sees his world. Jerry Rawson has captured close-ups which many of us would barely have noticed as we admired the wider outdoor scene: mosses and lichens on a limestone wall, frozen blades of grass, a cushion of autumn leaves with every vein and outline etched by morning frost. Says Jerry: 'You will find some pictures in the book with azure skies and sunshine, but I prefer the impact of dramatic light, stormy conditions and especially around dawn and dusk when the light can be a revelation ...'

We see the landscape of the Peak transformed by the moodiness of our weather and seasons, part of the reason why walkers so love the region and perhaps why the author, a member of the Outdoor Writers' Guild, has lived in Buxton for over 30 years. Jerry's 'fleeting moments of perfection' are dramatic, as Peakland moods will be, capturing storm clouds, dawn skies and sunsets, rolling mists and lulls between snowstorms. The written word really can not do these photographs justice. The author himself offers simple titles and brief descriptions along with the all-important location.

Review by Julie Bunting