Sitting outside having a drink with friends (the Shoulder Of Mutton in Strumpshaw) I noticed across the car park, the upturned table. It was obviously discarded and leaning against a brick wall on its side. It is a round pub table for outside, with seats incorporated in the design. I thought it looked a bit surreal. I had to crop the photo I took because a bit of the resting section was submerged in overgrown weeds. I did manage to restore the lesser affected parts. I altered the perspective of the table to fit the picture. I had recently finished a picture (Untitled No. 70) which included a photograph from Hilary’s Boatyard. I used two different shots of the boardwalk, reversed one and reduced the opacity to achieve the result you see. The title came out of the blue, the way most good titles are realised!!
Exit 2
This is the stairwell/emergency exit, in a block of flats. Helgate Court on Westwick St. is a Retirement Housing complex. At the bottom of the stairs is a door that leads out to St. Margaret’s Alley which runs down the side of the building. I have replaced that with one of the corridors that runs the length of the complex. Simon was photographed walking away in another photo I had taken, so I put him in this passageway. I distorted the image to give it movement. I also ‘swerved’ the steps leading down from the viewer. The boxes are balconies that I looked up at, on some recently built luxury apartments on Printworks Drive, overlooking the river and the Law Courts. I of course isolated them and cut through the safety rails. I hoped to achieve a flowing picture that moves out through the corridor and beyond.
Untitled No.70
After watching Liverpool F.C. beat Crystal Palace F.C. on the television at Adrian’s Temple Bar pub, I went outside for some sun. The pub has a large flagstone paved seating area. I liked the shadow created by the trestle table and chair in front of me, also the diamond shaped access cover in another part of the yard. I merged the two elements together. I was looking for something with the same light direction, to offset the composition and eventually found the top half of the picture. It is a platform/stage at Hilarys Boatyard, on the Boardwalk, opposite the beach. This is a popular tourist spot near Perth, Australia which is a complex of bars, restaurants and gift shops. I selected this one off shot to fit and compliment the structure of the image as a whole.
T.V. Dinner 2
I noticed the skylight windows in the morning, and the serving tray in the evening of the same day. Next morning I went to Chantry Place Shopping Centre, near Chapelfield. I took some photos of the sunlight streaming through the windows, casting blocks of light on the walls and creating criss cross shadows- fantastic! I was approached by a security man who said I can’t take photos without permission. He radioed the office and asked what to do. I showed him my photos and the office said “ let it pass”. I then set up the tray at home ( the way it was previously, after I had finished my dinner watching T.V.) and photographed the composition. I tried a few of the skylight shots I had, and eventually settled for the one you see. I put the two elements together. In reality, the top photo is on its side, turned anti-clockwise. I liked the conflicting angles and curves and opposed colours in the picture. I applied a Paint Daubs and Accented Edges filters which dramatise the image.
Kevin Looking At Heaven
This striking tableau has four different elements in the composition. From the top is a close up of the Sterling Steam Locomotive which is exhibited at the National Railway Museum in York. I have intentionally distorted the photo and applied a filter to soften the image. Secondly is the promenade and steps down to Cromer beach, I discarded the sand beyond, in the original shot. The same can be said of the third element, a step bridge over a groyne in Sheringham. Lastly there is Kevin. I photographed him a few years ago, at a party in someone’s back garden. I took a few pictures and have selected this one. My usual modus operandi is to trawl through my photo library and throw some images together that could form a narrative. Usually I will keep some and replace or reject them. The title came about simply because I liked the rhyming Kevin and Heaven, and it fitted the picture.
Blowing (Hot And Cold)
Walking along Upper Saint Giles St. I saw these taps in a display window. The shop in question is Stiffkey Bathrooms (89 Upper St. Giles St.) who deal in antique bathroom furniture. I liked the taps arranged in a semicircle, so I had to photograph them (with your permission Danny and Marc?). I have edited some of the taps from the photo to retain the composition. I also turned the arrangement around (mirror imaged) so I had to edit the HOT and COLD signs on the tops. I had an unfinished picture which is the blanket and pyjama trousers; I didn’t know what to do with, but….it matched as a background. I have doubled the image and applied a filter. I kept the black border for effect.
A Study In Rust
Walking across the Novi Sad bridge, I looked down on a new building development. The bridge runs between Wherrymans Way and Rouen Rd./ King St. The new building will be a block of flats on a redeveloped site which was part of the Ferry Boat pub premises (where I met Sue). The pub has been re-configured and become a residential property. What I was looking at is a large concrete base with metalwork and concrete piers being secured and reinforced. Here are all those metal (iron/steel?) rods and girders that have been lowered into the site for assembly. I introduced the baskets as an experiment and realised that they seemed to ‘click’ into place. These were being displayed outside a flower shop in Cromer. The shop is named Constance And Thyme at No. 3 Garden St. I edited the original photo. I have also heavily edited the building site photograph, getting rid of extraneous rubbish and hoisting straps etc. The red hue informed the title.
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 crossroad 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 (sunk in the mud) which I saw on the bowling greens at Yarmouth. These are on Marine Parade, next to 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 someone’s exasperation at pursuing a nonsensical endeavour.
Bazookas And Boomerangs
Don’t ask….but somehow I came up with two words from different directions and unrelated thought processes. I think that they are distinctive and vibrant words; and in themselves, extraordinary objects. The two words seemed to fit together. I therefore set about designing the unique typography, that would describe their ‘personas’. Not much else to say about this picture. I enjoyed the project. The background is a Photoshop ‘off the shelf’ template.
Untitled No.67 Part 2
Part 2, because this is another photograph I took of the vaulted ceiling in Westminster Abbey. I have introduced the Portsmouth Spinnaker, the Great Yarmouth Observation Wheel and the gently graduated steps curving down from the War Memorial in Norwich. The first thing to point out is the disparity in sizes between these elements. The ceiling in the Abbey is 31 metres high. The Spinnaker is 170 metres, and the Ferris Wheel stands at 50 metres. An impossible fit. The Wheel was viewed side on, with the pods removed for winter storage. The curved steps that run down from the City Hall to the market, is of course a different size to the roof (and I’ve turned the image vertically). I fitted them into a blank wall above the divide between the Nave and the Apse/Altar at the other end. I collaged them in to accentuate the swirling effect, reflected in the Spinnaker.