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!
Creeping Out Of The Woodwork
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.