included beside sets by Lisette Model (12 pics.), Ansel Adams and Marketa Luscanova, that;in an annual strongly weighted by landscape pictures, it is encouraging that there are none more clearly seen-as Weston would say-nor with more dignity than the very best by John Blakemore. By 1989, with rise of Postmodernism, when Blakemore was included in Through the Looking Glass at the Barbican Centre, photographer and critic Eamonn McCabe positioned him as a traditionalist;The present day teachers are well represented in the show and fall into two categories – photographers who work in the traditional sense such as John Blakemore, whose subtle land scapes and pictures of tulips (a current passion) contrast with the conceptual artist Victor Burgin, who is one of the main links between avant-garde art and photography. Nevertheless, McCabe, in a review two years later, just as digital imaging was becoming viable, makes clear his respect for Blakemore as a "craftsman", with "fingernails stained brown after hours immersed in developer" and accounts for the photographer's resort to still life; He is fascinated by the complexity of form and a glance at an original print confirms his commitment, and superb printing skills. His early post-photojournalism work was rooted in the landscape, as he enjoyed its beauty. Photography for him has always been about discovery and, with the use of multiple exposures, he has made some of the best-known images of the wild places of England and Wales. But with the erosion of the land by man, he no longer feels free in the wilds and prefers to make his landscapes from debris found in his back garden. On 30 September 1992, in the Banqueting House of Whitehall Palace, Blakemore was presented by Yousuf Karsh with the UK's then most valuable award, the $10,000 Fox Talbot Prize. The judges commented: "This is the most mature work among the entries. Every single speck on his pictures is there on purpose. There is mystery to it. It's not something that gives itself up to you instantly. It's beautiful". He was nominated for the award by Fay Godwin who explained: "I have loved John's work for many years, following his progressions from dark to light, stillness to flux, landscape to 'inscape' Not only is he one of the very best teachers in Britain, for me he has been one of the most consistently creative artists working in Britain during the last 20 years.