There are three different photos here that I took on the same day whilst walking around Norwich. On the top is the roof of the Jobcentre on Pottergate by St. Lawrence Lane. The roof looked odd and quite striking in the sunlight; I can only think it is covered with Lead (or Zinc?) sheeting. The main part of the picture is an exterior wall behind the M&S Food Hall on Rampart Horse St. It can be viewed from Chapelfield Plain on Malthouse Rd. and Barwells Court. It is decorated with monochrome tiles/cladding and looks very dramatic. I liked the streetlight and the shadow it casts on the wall. I cut away all the white tiles, to reveal the curved steps. These can be found in front of the Forum on Millennium Plain. I have applied a filter and accentuated the colours. I didn’t have a plan whilst taking the photographs, but realised the potential when I viewed the results in the computer.
Yellow
I visited Broken Hill in New South Wales; a mining city where gold was first discovered in the 1880’s. It is still operational today, mining silver and lead too. Overlooking the main habitation is the Line Of Load Miners Memorial. This extraordinary monument commemorates and remembers all the who lost their lives in mining accidents. Dotted around the site is a display of redundant mining vehicles. I have used two of the photos I took. In the bottom section is a view from the drivers seat of the steering wheel and dashboard. Above that is montaged a side view of the engine of another vehicle (don’t ask…). I have then put at the top of the picture in the narrow strip, a close up of a combine harvester that was an exhibit at the Royal Norfolk Show. I collaged these three elements together because….they were yellow! I thought they fitted quite well together, and you might see some sort of rhythm through the image. I accentuated the colour and applied a filter for effect.
Betty Creates Chaos
I went with some friends to the annual Strumpshaw Steam Rally and funfair. Here is Betty driving a car in the Dodgems attraction. She was reaching out to Grahams dog ‘Ruby’, who was standing on the steps of the arena. As usual I searched for something to place Betty in or against….as by luck and fate, I came across the photo that you see. They were outside table/benches stacked up perilously waiting to be collected. They belonged to a restaurant on St. Benedicts that had gone bust, (see picture titled ‘Striking 2, in the Urban category). This photo is one of many that I had taken. Betty accused me of portraying her as “a naughty girl who creates chaos” – which is true, and hence the title! I put the image through a couple of filters to give the picture some dynamism.
Corner Flags
The flags look like they are home-made with squares of coloured plastic and bamboo poles. I saw these on Cromer Beach where the crab fishing boats are parked up, out of the water on the shingle foreshore. The flags are obviously markers used to show the position of the crab pots below water. I put them against some beach huts on Jubilee Parade in Lowestoft. There are two photos from different angles montaged together. I thought they presented an effective backdrop to the flags, and gave a dynamic composition. I created the graduated sky in the top right corner. Filters were applied. I think the picture has a very strong visual impact.
Gold Coast
There is an old church by the green in St. Gregorys Alley. It has become St. Gregorys Antiques and Collectables which is a fascinating place to visit. A noticed a collection of mirrors on display in the entrance/porch. These were magnificent French (18th/19th century) carved gilt wood (gold leaf) framed mirrors. I had to photograph them insitu, only being able to capture the top halves, because other objects were placed in front and bottom. Whilst cutting away the mercury glass and backgrounds, I knew where I would place them. I remembered the photos I took in eastern Tasmania of the rocky coastline ( I think it was Bicheno) with the strange red lichen. This part of the coast is known as the Bay Of Fires. It was a case of arranging, sizing and planting the frames into the crevices of the rocks. Of course, this isn’t the real Gold Coast….thats in Queensland.
Untitled No. 75.2
This picture started with an incidental photo of the spectators attending a Triathlon event at Whitlingham Broad in 2006 that I officially photographed. That was followed with the two separate images of the cyclists (2007 triathlon photoshoot) mounting their bikes to start the next phase of the competition. I of course cut them away from the original backgrounds. I was looking to tie the images together which took some time to research. Eventually I came across the concrete steps that lead up the hill to the Glastonbury Tor – perfect. I melded the image together, sized the cyclists proportionately, and created a satisfying composition and narrative. I left the white sky at the top as it was, because it gave the picture a sense of balance. I applied a filter to give the image a painterly look, hence the .2 in the title. I have the original also.
I Give Up!
Driving along the B1105 Wells Rd. from Fakenham, one comes across a group of cottages on the skyline. They stand out in the sunshine because they are painted pink with red roofs. They are situated on the crossroads with the Egmere Rd. which goes to Little Walsingham. I had to stop the car and photograph them. I have placed them on the horizon of some mudflats on the East Fleet river along from Wells Harbour. I have perversely put a lawnmower (made to look as though it has sunk in the mud) which I saw on the bowling greens at Yarmouth. these are on Marine Parade, next to the entrance of Britannia Pier. I added the blue sky and extended it vertically to give the composition more space. The title came at the end, as one could imagine someones exasperation in pursuing a nonsensical endeavour.
Bump 2
I photographed the ceramic Phrenology bust some time ago which I saw in a Curio shop. Phrenology was a pseudoscience that claimed one could determine peoples traits and character by feeling the bumps on certain parts of the head and compartmentalise parts of the brain for specific functions. Bumps…geddit? Anyway, browsing through my library, I was drawn to one of the many photos I took at a disused shoe factory with all the peeling paint and the skylight windows. Placing the head in this environment, it seemed to fit. I was looking to fill the window spaces, but clouds were too obvious. Then I placed another peeling paint wall; which fitted perfectly, although I had to stretch and contort the photo to make a perfect fit. I included the text to explain the premise of the image (which started the whole process). “Things that go BUMP in the night” = dreams….geddit?
Superstructureshadow
Stood on the deck of the ferry to Tasmania, I took this photo of part of the superstructure. The ship is the Spirit Of Tasmania, on its way from Melbourne (Geelong) to Devonport. The air vents and shadows cast were worth a photograph. This part is known as the as the Boat Deck. Fast forward twelve years, I decided to use it in a collage. I had to distort the image a bit to create a uniform presentation. Another photo from Australia is a picture I took of the winding derrick at Kalgoorie. It is at the Museum Of The Goldfields. One of many photographs I took (also see ‘Out Of The Blue’ picture), I thought it would contrast with the background. I have bent the structure a bit and gave it the shadows to compliment the scene. A very strong image.
Swirling Swans
Walking along the seafront at Yarmouth on the North Coast Path, there are some cafes that had closed for the end of the summer season. One of them was the Beach Terrace Tea Rooms. Like most of them, the business’s sell buckets and spades etc. I noticed by the Tea Rooms bins a discarded display frame looking quite sculptural. Made of thin white metal hoops and horizontal rods, it was a tiered frame for which (I thought) was designed to stack beachballs, one on top of another, about 120cm tall. I wish I could show you the original photograph….but hope you get the idea, badly explained! I isolated the background and looked for something incongruous to place it against. I immediately came across a photo I took of some swans by the Rushcutters Pub. I cropped the image and put the frame on top. I started distorting and squashing it (the frame). I duplicated the frame and distorted that too. I reduced the opacity and applied a couple of filters to the swan picture. The result was quite startling. I had no preconceived idea and surprised myself. It’s in the Figurative category because I couldn’t think where else to put it.