Northern Exposure 2012

Following the success of last year's Northern Exposure exhibition, we are very pleased to once again be playing host to work by local and regional photographers. This year's exhibition has brought together the talents of Liam Sluyter, Mark Stuttard and Denise Swanson. Their varied and contrasting styles make for an exciting and diverse range of imagery, which will no doubt appeal to a wide range of tastes.

Liam Sluyter www.binarydad.co.uk

Liam Sluyter's work reflects the rapidly changing times and brings a fresh approach to photography. Seizing upon advances in technology and recognising the potential in smartphones, all of his photographs are taken and edited on an iPhone. His choice of imagery and manipulation of colour result in striking pictures infused with a surreal, dreamlike quality. Liam is the founder of the iPhone photography blog Bickr and can be found (and followed) on Twitter as @BinaryDad.

Mark Stuttard www.markstuttard.com

Mark Stuttard was born and raised in Manchester and finds his inspiration in the city he's proud to call home. Committed to capturing the beauty in the ordinary and often overlooked, Mark's photos are filled with a sense of energy and spontaneity that reflect a dynamic, vibrant city brimming with life, stories and secret places. With a passion for leading lines, angles and texture, Mark has a 'less is more' approach to processing, keen instead to let the composition do the talking.

Denise Swanson www.denise-swanson.com

Finally, drawing us away from the busy city streets, Denise Swanson invites us to take an in-depth look at nature. A harmony of texture and light, her series Peripheral Vision presents a beautiful and intimate view of the natural world that encourages the viewer to look at the subject matter with fresh eyes. She explains:

"I am interested in the structure, order and classification of the natural world and in why we have the need to classify and create order, investigate the issues involved in classification as complexity is removed and individuality or character is lost. With this in mind, I hope to reveal something of the character of a plant, rather than showing what it looks like, to give it respect and see it in a different light."

The exhibition runs until Thursday 29th March - so if you'd like to see some exciting work by Northern-based photographers, you can do so at the Portico Library, Monday to Friday 9:30am to 4:30pm/Thursday late night opening to 7:30pm. Admission to the exhibition is free.