I noticed the two principal items on the same page ( amongst other images), on my computer screen, so I combined them. Obviously the tail fin of the English Electric Lightning fighter jet isn’t bigger than the grain silo. After isolating both images from their inherent backgrounds, I looked for something to combine them. I came the close-up of a fuselage body of an aeroplane from the same Aviation Museum as the Lighting. This provided an excellent background. I invented a couple of extra riveted cover panels to satisfy the composition. I tilted the tail fin to create some dynamism. The title was a flippant afterthought.
At The End Of The Day
Sat in the pub one day, I noticed a couple who were sitting adjacent to me. They were remarkable and looked dramatic, because of the light cast on them from the large window behind. I asked if I could photograph them because they looked so Caravaggio-esque. ( I subsequently found out it was Mr. Paul Howard and his wife). After isolating them in the computer I experimented with background/situations. I came across a photo I had of my nephew Tom (giving me the finger!) standing on some rocks at a beach near Margaret River. He was silhouetted against the evening sky. I ‘moved’ him across to the left a bit, to give the composition some balance. I replaced the sky with a view from the Isle Of Skye. These three elements seemed to segue very easily and I was very happy with the result.
Untitled No.64
The main object in this picture is the back hoe boom/dipper arm of a JCB digger. I photographed it at the Royal Norfolk Show ‘24. I just liked the configuration. There was a handrail/guard in the bottom left of the photograph (cut off by the photo frame). I decided to extend the canvas further to the left, and copied the tubular section and create three more rails, as you can see. Encapsulated in the structure is a metal (probably low grade silver) cast figurine of an Apsara which I bought in Phnom Penh market. This is representation of a dancing Buddhist ‘angel’. As a background I introduced a translucent canopy roof at Bawdeswell Garden Centre. I have inverted the image which gave the picture more ‘dynamism’. Lastly I created a silhouette of the Apsara, to appear as a shadow over the roof.
Empty Dreams
This photo was taken in the bedroom of a house I rented on Heigham Street. The bed was in a lighthouse in Kingston, Western Australia. It was being displayed in the Cape Jaffa Lighthouse on Marine Parade. Now a museum, it was decommissioned and brought offshore to stand on the beach road. l liked the nightgown spread on the patchwork quilt. I have of course, stretched the bed flat against the wall. I can’t remember where the angel came from. Written on the rails of the door (the cross panels)is the short poem; You can like me, But not love me, Because my, Dreams are empty. That was about a woman I knew whose granddaughter said how her dreams were empty. The woman and I were just friends, it never went any further……The words might not be too discernible because the picture is only a thumbnail representation. This is an old picture (2013) that I have slightly edited.
Colour Grinder
The lower part of the picture is a close-up of an agricultural machine/vehicle that was being exhibited at The Royal Norfolk Show. It looked like a combine harvester and seemed to be involved with British Sugar. I can only think it is used for Sugar Beet production, I could be wrong! The top half are some Horse Show Jump Poles that were laid out by the main arena at the show. I joined the two together to see what it looked like. I used a filter to make the poles look like they were melting (why?…). I of course adjusted the original photographs to fit and fill the frame, and cleaned the poles up and saturated the colours. A simple construct and quite immediate.
Wine O’Clock
The building is the back extension of St.Giles House Hotel, which has its grand ornate entrance on St.Giles Street. The modern block runs alongside Fishers Lane at the back. I was drawn to the metallic looking structure, shining in the morning sunshine. I have turned the photo forty five degrees anti-clockwise, copied the railings twice and added them into the top right hand corner, below the original. I added the blue sky and filled the windows with the blue reflection also. The table and stools were on the patio of the Rushcutters Arms, on the Yarmouth Road. The outside area overlooks the River Yare where boats can moor alongside. I put my glass on the table and photographed the furniture. It looked quite sculptural. It was then a case of finding some sort of complimentary background on which to pin the elongated table and stools. The title is tenuous.
Raindrops 2
Whenever I walk along a street, I might notice something as I pass, I stop, walk back and photograph it. Here are two examples of that idiosyncrasy. At the top is the remnants of a front door step which is now blocked off. The brick work remains. The building is now flats converted from a pub on Heigham St. know as The Pineapple P.H. The bottom segment is a glass grille for a basement below. This is at the entrance (again!) of the Olives bar/restaurant at the junction of Elm Hill and Wensum St. I put the two together without much thought. Then I experimented with some opposing circles against the predominant squares. Copying the immediate background and distorting the result, highlighting the tops, I created raindrops! I know…they should be upside down in physical reality, but I preferred them as they are. Notice they’re not pear shaped.
Collision Course
The sitter (literally) in this picture shall remain anonymous at his insistence. I was in his flat having a drink, quite rudely reached for my camera. He instinctively raised his hands (and can) to obscure his face. I thought it resulted in a very interesting and well lit portrait. I said I MIGHT use it – so I have. Walking back to my flat along Heigham St., I was intrigued by the road junction with Orchard St. There was that black tyre mark, as if someone had braked into the turn, which accentuated the curve of the road and pavement. I put the cutout portrait against this image,…and it worked! I cut off the right hand armrest to expose more of the background. I also tilted the portrait to complete the composition. I finally applied a filter to give the picture some drama. I have included this image in the Graphic category simply because of the painted 20mph road sign and the other road markings.
String Theory
The ‘cliff’ you see is in fact Mosi-Oa-Tanya ( Thundering Smoke), also known as Victoria Falls. We visited the site during the dry season (late September) hence the lack of water, we even walked along the cliff edge. I have put some sail powered water pumps on the skyline. These were in Southern Australia, somewhere along Flinders Highway (B100) on the way to Elliston. There was a concentration of them in a field; I have montaged three different photos. In the trench below is a braid of rope (duplicated) which was expertly coiled by a guy named Graham who I met recently. He explained this chain Sinnet is a way to store a length of rope which can be unraveled at a stroke. What does this picture have to do with String Theory?….it doesn’t, but then again it might be everything…..
Striking 2
I’m not in the habit of taking photos in public toilets. . believe me. . , but I was struck by the diagonal sunlight on the wall tiles and the orange flooring. The orange cubicle door gave the composition added finesse. There was no one around, so I took a couple of shots. There are situations that catch my eye (or the corner of it) and this space was a good example. The redundant pair of armchairs were plonked on a lawn outside some flats on Lothian St. The angle of the sun gave them some presence. I took a few photographs from different angles. The trestle table pub benches were stacked up outside a restaurant on St. Benedict’s, which had gone bust. They were so sculptural in the sunshine, so I had to take a few photos of them. I have turned them forty five degrees clockwise, in line with the light direction. The chairs and tables aren’t comparatively sized. I applied a couple of filters to accentuate the pattern of the material on the armchairs, the wood grain and the tiles.