Last summer, Huw Hopkins was sitting his A Levels. Next week, the 18-year-old St Albans-based photographer opens his first solo exhibition.

Diverse Landscapes, which takes place at The Radlett Centre’s Apthorp Gallery, is a collection of black and white, and colour photographs whose subjects range from the gentle Hertfordshire countryside to the mighty Swiss Alps. It is a collection that reflects Huw’s personal love of both the photographic image and the landscape in its variety of forms.

Huw specialises in landscape, nature, urban and aviation photography, and while these days he may use the latest digital cameras to capture his subjects, he started off with something far less elaborate.

“My interest in photography began in 2003 while at a Duxford airshow where I used a disposable camera,“ Huw says. “Shortly afterwards my first digital camera helped broaden my photographic horizons then I upgraded to a digital SLR set-up.“

In 2010, Huw gained an A* grade at A Level photography, a course which included both digital and film processing. He says the time spent in the darkroom processing black and white film endeared him to monochrome photography.

“My work is influenced by the greats such as Ansel Adams, Bradford Washburn and Vittorio Sella,“ he adds.

“An interest in geography and outdoor activities led me to photographing landscapes and nature. The mountains are my favourite subject to shoot.“

Although Diverse Landscapes is his first solo exhibition, Huw’s photographic career has already taken off. He has joined the online aviation magazine Global Aviation Resource as a staff photographer and writer.

Diverse Landscapes runs from Tuesday, March 29 until Saturday, April 30, in the Apthorp Gallery, The Radlett Centre, Aldenham Avenue, Radlett. Details: 01923 859291