One of my favourite areas of North England are the Yorkshire Dales with their drystone walls and field barns seemingly scattered at random about the countryside. I can, and sometimes do, spend hours travelling around the dales searching out patterns made by these walls and barns that provide great subjects for photography. It is all too easy to stop at a good viewpoint, take a snap and move on but by studying the lines and shapes created by the walls, a more attractive composition can be achieved.

It is a true craft to be able to build a wall like this that will stand the test of time and last for years without using any mortar or bonding agent for the stones and I think my love of these structures lie not just in the patterns they produce but also the amount of skill used to create them.

While I was photographing the walls and barns of the Dales I became aware that I was sometimes being watched by some of the smaller local residents who gave me some very black looks (right).