BOTANOGRAPHIA BY DUNCAN SMITH
THE EXHIBITON
Plants in flower,
looked at closely.
For three weeks this winter, our gallery wall is given over to Duncan Smith's botanical photographs. They look closely at things most of us walk past: a horse chestnut candle, plum blossom in early spring, Japanese quince against dark leaves, the pale veined petals of a native iris.
Each print is made with archival pigment inks on Hahnemühle Photo Rag, a cotton paper chosen for how well it holds subtle shifts of tone. Seeing them on the wall, at full size, is quite different from seeing them on a screen.
Limited and open edition prints from the show are for sale.
OPENING EVENT
Sunday 22 November,
2 to 5pm.
Come and meet Duncan and see the work.
The launch is free to attend and refreshments will be served, but please register so we know numbers.
WHERE
Sol Creative Foundry, Unit 5, Irwin Centre, Dry Drayton, CB23 8AR
TICKETS
Free, registration required
PARKING
Free, on-site
ARTIST STATEMENT
"To bring the overlooked
into focus."
My photographic practice, based in Cambridgeshire, is rooted in careful observation and a fascination with the botanical world around us.
I am interested in the beauty and character found in stems, blossoms, seed heads and structures that can so easily go unnoticed.
The familiar becomes a subject for closer attention: a horse chestnut flower, a blackthorn branch in early bloom, the delicate structure of plum blossom or the unexpected character of a native iris.
Each photograph begins with time: time to observe, to wait for the right moment, to find the light and to notice the unexpected.
I am drawn to the space between botanical observation and fine art, creating aspirational botanical studies that reveal the architectural clarity, subtle shifts of tone and interplay between light and form within plants.
There is a quiet drama in the way plants emerge, flower, fade and return; photography allows me to hold a moment of that fleeting life.
The practice that was co-founded with my partner Andrea Semas is called Botanographia and we have a simple ambition: To bring the overlooked into focus.
By looking closely at the botanical world we already inhabit, we hope to encourage a deeper kind of noticing and perhaps, in doing so, a renewed connection with the natural world.
Duncan Smith
ABOUT BOTANOGRAPHIA
A seasonal study
in light and form.
Botanographia is a botanical fine art photography practice based in Cambridgeshire, built around the work of Duncan Smith. Its collections follow the seasons, with plants grown, gathered or carefully sourced with the natural environment in mind.
DUNCAN SMITH
Photographer and co-founder
Duncan brings decades of experience in commercial still-life photography, where lighting, composition and precise attention to detail matter most. Botanographia is a more personal expression of that work, with a growing record of international photographic recognition.
ANDREA SEMAS
Co-founder
Andrea brings experience in design management, creative operations and programme delivery. Alongside website design and curation, she shapes how Botanographia runs, with a particular focus on sustainability and responsible production.
VISITING THE EXHIBITION
Can't make the opening?
Come any time until 13 December.
DATES
22 November to 13 December 2026
ENTRY
Free
WHERE
Unit 5, Irwin Centre, Dry Drayton, CB23 8AR
Workshops run in the same room, so the space can be busy at times. If you'd like to buy a print or talk about the work, email sneh@solcreativefoundry.com and we'll find a time.