FROM Kirkstone Pass to the star-speckled ceiling of Carlisle Cathedral, young photographer Richie Johnston is portraying famous Cumbrian locations in a completely new light.

Richie, 23, of Penrith, has put the finishing touches to a new exhibition at the Warehouse Café at Kendal’s Brewery Arts Centre called Small World Project: Cumbria – featuring “extremely unique mathematical photographs” of well-loved places looking anything but familiar.

“Each picture is made from over 100 images that capture every detail of a chosen location in a full 360 x 180 degree view,” explains Richie, who has been involved in event management for Eden Arts, Lakes Alive and Kendal Mintfest.

“I then project the final results using complex mathematics to create the ‘Small Worlds’ you see.”

Richie’s images have to be seen to be believed, and they include the Brewery Arts Centre, Ambleside Parish Church, Glenridding, Penrith and Keswick town centres, Kirkstone Pass and Long Meg stone circle, transformed into textured orbs and beautiful geometric patterns.

“I hope people enjoy seeing the places they live and work turned into little microcosms,” says the photographer and videographer, whose career began at just 14 when he saved up to buy his first digital camera.

Richie studied fine art photography at University College Falmouth, where during his final year he experimented with the moving image and was captivated by video. He found that he enjoyed more creative freedom with the addition of sound and movement.

So, with this in mind, he set about making his first ‘viral’ video – Conceptual Juggling – which gained more than 260,000 views overnight and led to coverage on CBS News.

Richie also made a video for Weightless, a track by Manchester trio Marconi Union – said to be scientifically proven to be “the most relaxing song ever recorded”. For this, he choreographed a 3D aerial dance routine for an LED drone, and once the footage was gathered at Blencathra he used a series of algorithms and video layers to produce “a unique, hypnotic piece of work”.

Richie has also recently returned from a two-month-long videography expedition to Everest Base Camp, and his projects range from documenting weddings and festivals to running pinhole photography workshops for primary school children.

For more visit Richie’s Facebook page or see www.richiejohnstonline.com