Almost twenty years in the making, the story of Four Nuns, Lake Garda has its roots back in the summer of 1999.

"Whilst on holiday in the region I noticed that every morning after prayer nuns from the local convent would come to read and relax on the shore of the lake in front of my hotel. The scene was reminiscent to me of Sunday on the Banks of the Marne, a famous photograph by Henri Cartier-Bresson and I knew that it would make a timeless image.

However, under a blue summer’s sky it was more picture postcard than biblical and so I returned the following February, shooting a series of images on medium format film but was still not entirely satisfied with the result and vowed to return again.

All the elements finally fell into place on a trip during the winter of 2012 and the sold out A2 edition was exhibited at Galerie Huit, Arles during Les Rencontres de la Photographie 2012, Galerie Saint Laurent, Marseille for Marseille-Provence European Capital of Culture 2013 and at Beers London in July 2013. I always wanted to make a large format version of this image and advances in digital scanning technology meant that I could return to the original transparencies and make this a reality in 2017.

Edward Hopley’s Four Nuns look for inspiration beyond the rocky coast and the luminous surface of the lake flanked by snow-filled mountains that mirror the vestal sisters’ pure white habits.

Another of Edward's photographs included in The Spring Auction can be seen here.

Accolades
Edward Hopley studied photography at Bournemouth, the State University of New York and Manchester Metropolitan University’s Faculty of Art and Design. Edward is a winner of both the Gold and Bronze Medals at Royal Photographic Society International Print Awards and was a Finalist at FMoPA International Photography Competition.

His avidly collected photographs have been featured in publications around the globe in numerous solo and group exhibitions including: Les Rencontres de la Photographie, Arles and London’s inaugural Photo Art Fair 2013 curated by Susie Babchick and renowned collector Gert Elfering.