Justin Pumfrey's 'Making the Moon' Explores Perception Before Naming

Justin Pumfrey, a photographer and poet based between Richmond, on the edge of London, and Somerset, has created 'Making the Moon,' a book of photographs and poems made between 2019 and 2026. The publication, designed with Phil Cleaver and edited with Lawrence Pumfrey, emerged without a fixed plan as images accumulated over years—nocturnal landscapes, plants, frost, water, and views through glass. Pumfrey's practice centers on solitary walking and receptive attention, waiting for moments when familiar surroundings lose their names. His childhood included boarding school in North Yorkshire at age eight, where nature offered refuge, and at eleven his father gave him a Pentax Spotmatic and FP4 film, later building a darkroom in an old meat safe. He studied English Literature at Oxford and worked professionally as a photographer for many years. Influences include Bill Brandt, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Bashō, Chuang Tzu, T.S. Eliot's 'Four Quartets,' Zen, and Advaita Vedanta. Pumfrey describes his approach as 'waiting without waiting' and values the 'Nameless'—experience before the mind separates objects. He is considering painting directly onto photographs and hopes 'Making the Moon' will travel, with Japan of particular interest due to his long engagement with Zen and Bashō.