43 Gardeners' Hands, is a series of portraits of some of the UK's best known gardeners, focused on just their hands. They have been inspired by the fantastic working collages from the 1920s, of botanical photographer Karl Blossfeldt. His work is almost anatomical and I wanted to produce a series of images that turned each pair of hands into a botanical specimen, reversing the effect of his work.



Sitters include TV presenters, award-winning designers, nurserymen and gardening legends such as Beth Chatto, the current Gardener’s World team, the Gardener’s Question Time panel and Alan Titchmarch. Each person has a passion in his or her field, and also a character that can be seen through their most versatile tool.



The portraits were taken over a two month period, from December 2008 to January 2009. With the wealth of gardening talent working and developing in the UK the 43 people included in the book is far from comprehensive. My ambition to try to capture them all will be an on-going project.



In May 2009, the final montage was awarded first place in the International Garden Photographer of the Year - People in the Garden Category.



Television presenter and garden designer James Alexander-Sinclair said:



“Paul has beautifully and simply photographed the most elemental tools that man possesses: his hands. Gardeners’ hands are multi-purpose: they must be hardened (for digging), dextrous (for pruning) and gentle (for nurturing). Gardeners’ hands may not be the most beautiful but, as Paul skilfully demonstrates, they do not lack in character or poetry.



“This is the most interesting handbook since the AA Book of the Road.”