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 by 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 because the restaurant had gone bust on St. Benedict’s St. (see picture entitled’Striking 2’ in Urban category). I had taken quite a few photographs; this one wasn’t used. Betty accuses me of portraying her as “a naughty girl who creates chaos” – which is true! ha ha. I put the image through a couple of filters to give the picture some dynamism.
Cracked Basins 2
I must admit that this picture was thrown together rather than deliberately orchestrated. Also, the photos were opportunistic rather than studied. The broken paving slabs are/were in Dereham on the High St. between Sweetleaf Cafe and The Bull P.H. My mother rolled her eyes when she saw me photographing them! I placed them randomly on the ‘canvas’ and decided to keep them like that with a black background. The sinks and soap dispensers were in the Public Conveniences (Men) in Yarmouth. These are situated on the beach front between Britannia Bowling Greens and Beach Terrace Cafe. I saturated the colours of the grey paving slabs to achieve the surprisingly different colours. I decreased the opacity in the sinks, so the cracks were more discernible.
There It Is Too
Sheringham Court is a Mock Tudor building, once an hotel and now residential flats. It overlooks the cross junction of Holt Rd., Church St., Cromer Rd. and Weybourne Rd. It is quite an imposing structure, I was drawn to the exterior oak stud work and the whitewashed stucco panels in between. I immediately had the idea of erasing the rendered facias to reveal a different background. I took two photos to be joined together. After a long process of cutting out the squares, windows and sky, I then searched for an (in)appropriate background. Landscapes of all sorts were introduced and rejected. Then….came the Ferris Wheel (as a half-hearted experiment), one of many photos I had taken of the Observation Wheel on Marine Parade in Yarmouth. It fitted perfectly!
Beautiful Sky
Driving to my Mums one morning, the clear blue sky was filled with vapour trails – lots of them…. I suspect there was an airforce ( U.S. and R.A.F. ) practice manoeuvre, as well as the usual commercial flights. I thought it presented a dramatic spectacle, so I took a few photographs. The one you see was probably the best example. At my Mums I was checking the bed sheet on the clothes line and was struck by how the bright sunshine was affecting the folds etc. I liked the coloured clothes pegs – so I added a few more to ‘decorate’ the top ( I sized them differently ) to make the picture more interesting. I added a photo I took of the bottom of the sheet and chopped it up to create a collage effect. The sky was then added at the top. My Mum was in the conservatory reading the newspaper and probably thinking “What’s that idiot doing photographing the clothes line?”. Along two lines of the sheet I have written: Beautiful Sky Whilst The Washing Dries, And My Mother Reads The News. You probably can’t quite read that because it is a low res image.
Bascule Bridge Liverpool
This is a collage of two different views of the bridge. The sunset was happening at the time I was photographing, only it was in a different photo. I substituted the sunset sky as a background, after cutting away the buildings that were behind the structures. This Bascule bridge is on Regent Rd. between Collingwood Dock and Stanley Dock. The bridge works like a seesaw (Bascule: French translation) or a rocking chair, so the vessels can pass through to the Stanley Dock Tobacco warehouse at the rear. I liked the strong visual image it creates.
Wells-On-Sea
After parking my car on Burnt Street, I walked up past St. Nicholas Church, on Church Plain to the bottom of High Street. This leads up to the centre of town and the harbour. I saw this view of the houses curving up the hill, so I HAD to take a few photos. As you can see, I have simply (?) distorted the photograph to accentuate the curve and saturated the colours – Result!
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.