The platform is at Dar-Es-Salaam railway station in Tanzania. I was with three friends, embarking on a three day railway trip to Serenje in Zambia. We were going to visit Dr. Livingstones memorial site, and eventually go to Victoria Falls (Mosi-Oa-Tunya) in Zimbabwe. The ‘train’ at platform 3 is part of a replica of George Stephensons ‘Rocket’ steam locomotive (1829). This is an exhibit at the York Railway Museum. It was built in 1935 and is credited to Robert Stephenson & Co. It has its cylinder cut away to reveal the workings of the piston. I made use of the platform support column to give the appearance of credibility. Also on the platform is the coupling and vacuum brake hose from the front of another train exhibited at the museum. The picture was, as usual, developed from vague introductions of different elements. I applied a filter to enhance the picture.
When The World Went Mad
This was the time when the Covid lockdown was implemented. I used to go for long walks, and here was the Norwich Northern Bypass. What would be a VERY busy dual carriageway was empty. Parked on the edges of Norwich airport were those and many more planes, grounded for the duration. I have introduced a couple of objects to create more confusion. The silver object is a cutlery receptacle to be found on the kitchen sink drainer. Stuck into it is a chrome spiral toast rack. I was experimenting with a ‘sculptural’ display with no plan for its use when I photographed it, just perverse boredom. The wheel (duplicated in the background) is part of a cider press presented as a decorative curio outside the Adam and Eve pub in Norwich. I created the shadows and added the sun ‘sparks’ on the sculpture. I think the world did go mad during that time. Evidence suggests it hasn’t recovered since. It’s got worse!
Untitled No.62.2
At a Bed & Breakfast in York, I opened the wardrobe/cupboard to find these coat hangers secured to the rail on their own in a very empty space. I thought they looked very surreal, so I took a couple of photos. Behind them in the picture, are some empty plastic water containers, stacked on the South Quay in Yarmouth. I think they are used as improvised lobster/crab pots; they are strung out onto the sea floor by the fishing boat. I thought they were worth a photograph. As usual I put the two together by experimenting with different ideas. They are of course not relatively sized. The horizon at the top came as an afterthought to complete the composition. It’s a photo from Scotland, somewhere in the North West, from the road trip I did. Why did I put this in the landscape category? Well….it had to go somewhere……
Ring Road 2
The snow covered view is of the A47 Southern Bypass during Covid lockdown (Feb.2021). This was during one of my walks, and is a photograph from a bridge spanning the unusually empty dual carriageway. The bridge/road is unmarked on the map but runs from Whitlingham Country Park to the Kirby Road. The Quay rings were at Yarmouth. They are embedded in the chest high parapet wall on the South Quay opposite the Great Yarmouth Borough Council building. I was looking for something or somewhere to locate the rings and eventually came across the road shot – perfect! You cannot see from this thumbnail image, but I changed the destinations on the motorway sign to read; Somewhere, Nowhere and Anywhere. I applied a filter to accentuate the wintry look.
Imperious
On the way back from a road trip to Scotland, I visited the National Railway Museum in York. It has a fascinating collection of locomotives in a very grand and fitting venue. The background in this picture is one of many landscapes I photographed in the north west of Scotland. In the foreground are two close-ups of the exhibits in the great hall, which was an engine repairshop. The coupling and connecting rods in the immediate foreground are from the steam train called the Evening Star. Beyond that is the winding engine from the Stanhope & Tyne Railway. It was used to haul wagons carrying limestone up the Weatherhill Incline to the blast furnaces at Consett. It stands in front of a huge glass window at one end of the museum. I cut away the window panes and some of the handrails. I thought the two objects fitted well together and are of course, not relatively sized. The title came at the end which I thought suited the demeanour of the image.
Lighting Up Time
Having a drink in the Plough P.H. on St. Benedicts, l noticed someone step out with a chair from a delapidated shop front opposite. It turns out to be The Arboretum, a pub cum antique/curio establishment run by Gregory Clark. He stood on the chair to light a domestic wax candle in the old fashioned lamp above the front door. I immediately rushed across the street with my camera and asked for a photograph. The one thing he didn’t realise was, he would be on a grass verge on the Isle Of Skye. This is a view from the A851 on the way to Teangue, overlooking what is stated on the map as the Inner Seas Off The West Coast Of Scotland. I did this picture in one day (the landscape was photographed the week before) and quite pleased with the result. Thank you Gregory.
Hunstanton 7.3.24
This is a bleak and foggy March day in Hunstanton, looking out from South Promenade onto the groynes that stretch out from the beach. On the other side of the pavement is the Rainbow Amusement Park on Seagate Rd. What you can see is the upended track of a fairground ride. It is the monorail for the Sea Dragon Rollercoaster. I have perversely turned it upside down because it looked more dramatic, and would have got lost against the groynes. This way, it enhances the flow of the composition and creates a more realistic perspective. I lit up the lightbulbs strung along the ride, and introduced another ‘tripod’ hazard structure in the left hand corner.
Untitled No.61
This picture started with a shot of the Roller Coaster structure from the beach in Yarmouth. This is one of many I took. It belongs to Pleasure-Beach Co. who have an amusement park on South Beach Parade. The exterior cladding was obviously being prepared for refurbishment and repainting. I then introduced the Elevating Platform Ladder of a fire engine, that was being tested by the Norwich Fire Department, over the River Wensum. I ‘ejected’ the fireman who was in the basket because….well, because I could. I was looking for something to ‘marry up’ with the image, and after a long search came across the storage tanks – (liquid gas?). They were being dismantled on Malthouse Lane in Gorleston (Yarmouth); I had used another photo in a picture titled ‘Going Up, Coming Down’. Finally I duplicated the ladder twice and arranged them to balance the composition.
Oh No! Here We Go Again!
I did this picture a few years ago and I thought it reflected the madness which possesses the mindset we are hellbent on pursuing. Well. ….this is a photo I took of a re-enactment group who were parading on Yarmouth South Quay, celebrating the town’s history in its fishing industry. The drummer was in a different photo, as was the officer with his back to the camera. It’s an annual event that encompasses all aspects of its heritage. The guns I have replaced for heads came from a collection of militaria at an air show in Suffolk (I think it was at Old Buckenham). In the background is a view looking south from the beach in Yarmouth, with the monument to Nelson. The sulphurous sky has been accentuated, but the clouds were real. It pissed down.
Raining Questions
The landscape is of North Norfolk, on the road between Binham and Warham ( I think!). I liked the view, presenting a vista for miles to the horizon, and the threatening clouds. For me, this was an exercise in creating the question marks to look as if they were made of glass. Each one was made individually, which took a very long time! The text was created first. I don’t know why I came up with the idea – there’s a question!