Subject: Coastal

  • 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.

  • Hunstanton 7.3.24

    This is a bleak and foggy March day in Hunstanton, looking out from South Promenade onto the groynes that stretch out from the beach. On the other side of the pavement is the Rainbow Amusement Park on Seagate Rd. What you can see is the upended track of a fairground ride. It is the monorail for the Sea Dragon Rollercoaster. I have perversely turned it upside down because it looked more dramatic, and would have got lost against the groynes. This way, it enhances the flow of the composition and creates a more realistic perspective. I lit up the lightbulbs strung along the ride, and introduced another ‘tripod’ hazard structure in the left hand corner.

  • Going Nowhere

    I have always wanted to photograph a farm building that is set on its own, in a large field. It can be found on Long Lane, a short cut from the A148 Fakenham by-pass, to the Wells road. The extraordinary buildings address is 95-99 Fakenham Rd. E.Barsham. I just think it is a remarkable structure. Anyway…. in a different universe on a dissident time continuum I was looking for a background to accompany the photo I took of the boat. This is a balsa wood model my father brought back from the Maldives when he was posted to RAF Gan in the late 60’s. He had the protective ‘house’ made especially, measuring 70cm at the base, and 60cm to the top, to be shipped home. Of course the model is worse for wear and is missing the cloth sails it had. I was looking to mirror the apex’s of the box and building, which has been duplicated and layered to fill the frame, and applied a filter.

  • Brick Harbour

    I decided to put this image in the COASTAL category for four reasons. The picture started with the interesting brick wall ( ancient and modern) which I photographed on Station Rd., opposite the Post Office at Well-Next-The-Sea. Then came the metal ring that is used for the ropes to tie-off the boats on South Quay, Yarmouth. The rope came from the bottom of a boat, moored at The Quay in Blakeney. The last item was the boat. I took the photo, looking down from a pedestrian bridge that spans a concrete slipway at West Cliff in Sheringham. These components don’t have anything in common concerning size. I had the idea of turning the left hand portion of the wall into water, by distorting and applying a filter to give the desired result. (Convincing?……hmmm). I introduced the reflection of the sun and created the sparkling effect with a special paintbrush.

  • Roof Inspection

    This is the roof of Brighton Railway Station.  I took quite a few shots, and settled for this one. I had previously taken some photographs of the magnifying glass, held at different angles, in my bedroom against the net curtains, and on the windowsill (where else?). As usual I connected the two aspects after experimenting with a few ideas. The view through the lens is of course, a copy of that part of the image behind the magnifyers frame, distorted and blurred. Then it came down to arranging the looking glasses in a concerted and compositional interaction. I dunno I’m going to revisit this picture and do something that will make it more brazen ..do you know what I mean?

  • Sunbeams

    I took some photographs through the fence, which was cordening off the new marketplace in Yarmouth. I have visited the site before and created two pictures  (Fantastic Two and Fantastic Two Two).  The building is still being constructed, hence the barrier to keep the public out. I liked the way the sun was streaming down through the skylight roof, and the shadows being presented. The support beams accentuated the busy composition and angles being splayed around. I eventually used two photos from different positions, and layered one on top of the other. I cut away diagonal strips to reveal the bottom layer, following the direction of the sunlight. I applied a shadow filter to give the image some drama. The title naturally followed. I love this picture…it’s so beautiful.

  • Cromer Pier

    This is a view of Cromer Pier from the cliffs at Overstrand, near the eastern edge of the golf links. The sky, is of the tyre tracks on the beach, of an amphibious vehicle that takes the paying public on a trip along the Hunstanton coastline. The so called Wash Monsters are run by Searle Sea Tours. I have turned the photo upside down and coloured it blue. I also applied a filter to soften the image. The couple in the bottom right hand corner were photographed from the cliff top at Cromer. They were below Tucker St., and I thought they might like a different view to observe.

  • Soliloquy

    I was cleaning my walk-in shower cubicle, so I pulled the PVC curtain out of the way and bunched it up into the recess, between the sink and the medicine cabinet. I have used this scenario before, with ‘Two Bridges, One Sink’. The cabinet is an old metrological box for outdoor weather measurements. I stretched and distorted it a bit to convey movement and stress. On top of the box is a porcelain jewellery container that used to belong to Sue, of a contemplating Pierrot (famous French clown). I reduced his actual size, to make him look more vulnerable in the stormy environment with the dark clouds and rough sea (Brighton Beach), as he makes his plaintive soliloquy. The curtains add to the effect, suggesting strong winds. For me, this illustrates the last fourteen years since Sue passed away. X

  • Electric Block

    I noticed the different coloured glass insulators on a power line near my brother’s house in Joondalup. They had obviously(?) been replaced through time, but with unmatched types that were in stock. The background was a block of flats in Perth W.A. that were illuminated by the sun in way that was dramatic. This of course is a photo that is unrelated to the principal subject. I have filled the blue sky in the original photo of the flats, with the same colour of the building, which is probably not apparent to you. I have distorted the pylon to slant with the rake of the building and enhance the composition. I think the result makes for a very strong and energetic picture.

  • Norwich 22.1.21

    Walking along Queens Rd. one bright sunny lockdown day (Ref: the title), I came across two views of Norwich city centre. One was at the top end of the bus station entrance, and the other at the top of All Saints Green. I took some photographs, and when I got home, I montaged, designed and rendered the picture on the same day. I thought I would turn the blue sky red. It looked very dramatic, so I gave the buildings a reddish hue to compliment the light, and applied a filter for effect.