When I was doing my degree, I went on a field trip to North West Wales. It was the middle of September, and the weather was very mixed: mostly sunny, but when it rained,…it chucked it down. Anyway we visited a lot of spectacular landscapes and vistas. One of them, is this damn at Llyn Stwlan. The rope was attached to a boat, mooring at the Norwich Yatch Station, across the road from the railway station. I was learning how to distort the rope to the effect I subsequently achieved. The sky has been replaced with something more sunny!
Pipes And Tubes
The main component of this montage are the funnel and air vents, of a boat that is usually moored on the South Quay in Yarmouth. It is a boat for the public to visit. I liked the red and white checked flag, and the red interior of the ventilation intake funnels. There are the three big black water pipes, also to be seen on the South Quay. The white pipes were in a metal fabricators yard, ready , presumably for industrial purposes. Lastly at the back, is a stack of plastic pipes in another suppliers yard. I was interested in the basic colours present: black, white and red.
Untitled No.13
I like this image very much, which once again, came out from left field. The element that locked the picture, is the bark of a tree in the background. The spiral stairwell goes up to a flat above Randells Footcare, on the corner of Dereham Rd. and Heigham Rd. The upturned yellow and black stools were in a pub. I kept the asphalt forecourt below the stairs, as a base for the composition. You won’t be surprised to hear, the tree bark was in Tasmania!
Suspended Disbelief
This is Lady Musgrave island, just off the coast from Agnes Water in Queensland. It was named after the wife of the Queensland colonial governor, Sir Anthony Musgrave, during the nineteenth century. The ornate lanterns can be seen in the Royal Arcade, near the market in Norwich, and the electricity pylons are in Norfolk somewhere. I created the blue sky above the beach, to accommodate the suspended lights. I like the way the guy in the green shorts is standing, as if in disbelief.
Untitled No.10
Collaged views of the sea defence ramparts, surrounding the entrance to Cromer pier. Also are the railings on the steps leading up to the pier. Those angled metal stanchions, with the chains and a runner, belong to the fishing boats nearby. The are, I presume, to help lower and retrieve the fishing nets. I like the composition, and I think its a strong image.
Untitled No.9a
This a montage of yatchs that were sailing on Oulton Broad. They are members of the Waveney and Oulton Broad Yatch Club. I took quite a few photos from the riverbank, and have ended up collaging eight different shots. Some of the number identity markings, on the sails were back to front, because I had to turn the boat around,(in the computer) to face the same way as the others. So I erased all the markings on the sails. They are sailing on a broken slate roof, and the opposite bank is a low brick wall, just outside my flat. The sky is of course, perversely, a rusty corrugated fence, probably in Australia somewhere. C’mon nothing is simple or straightforward…Jeeez
Untitled No.17
If you stand in the Norwich bus station, at the No.4 and 8 bus stop, look up behind you, at the gap between the back of the multi-storey car park, and the Travelodge. The brick edifice in the picture, is what you will see. Beyond that, in the gap above, is a view of Dubai through the window of a plane waiting on the tarmac. Makes sense eh? In front is a collage of overhead power lines for trains at Norwich Railway station. I liked all the conflicting lines and angles in the composition.
Under The Gate And Away
I was drawn to the patterns created by the rain dripping off the trees, that were overhanging the river. I took quite a few photos whilst getting soaked. How we suffer for our art! I have montaged three photos of ripples in the river. The gate and railings are by the river, near New Mills Yard. Sometimes I will photograph something that gives me the opportunity to cut through the spaces, behind the object. This is a good example, and I liked the configuration it posed. The concrete spheres were an incidental, last minute inclusion, that gave the picture depth. These spheres are used to block off a road entrance by the bus station, but allow bikes and pedestrians through. I collaged the ripples to achieve a more concentrated effect.
Elevation
If you walk round the back of Gentlemans Walk, by the market, there is a little passageway called Weavers lane. There at the back of a building is a spiral fire escape. I have used that as a stencil to cut through to the underlying images. Those are a montage of the entrance hall/staircase in the main building, of the Art School. I was experimenting as I created the picture, with no objective plan.
The Sound Of Light
This is a collage of two different interiors in the Norwich Art School. Through the window; I’ve replaced the view with some ripples of raindrops on a river. I found the golden angel blowing a trumpet in a church, just down the road from the school; St.Georges on Colegate. The image was finished off, with a lens flare filter. As usual the image came about unconsciously, but the title was obvious.