Subject: Building

There are three different photos here that I took on the same day whilst walking around Norwich. On the top is the roof of the Jobcentre on Pottergate by St. Lawrence Lane. The roof looked odd and quite striking in the sunlight; I can only think it is covered with Lead (or Zinc?) sheeting. The main part of the picture is an exterior wall behind the M&S Food Hall on Rampart Horse St. It can be viewed from Chapelfield Plain on Malthouse Rd. and Barwells Court. It is decorated with oblong monochrome tiles/cladding and looks very dramatic. I liked the streetlight and the shadow it casts on the wall. I cut away all the white tiles, to reveal the curved steps. These can be found in front of the Forum on Millennium Plain. I have applied a filter and accentuated the colours. I didn’t have a plan whilst taking the photographs, but realised the potential when I viewed the results in the computer.

Stood on the deck of the ferry to Tasmania, I took this photo of part of the superstructure. The ship is the Spirit Of Tasmania, on its way from Melbourne (Geelong) to Devonport. The air vents and shadows cast were worth a photograph. This part is known as the as the Boat Deck. Fast forward twelve years, I decided to use it in a collage. I had to distort the image a bit to create a uniform presentation. Another photo from Australia is a picture I took of the winding derrick at Kalgoorie. It is at the Museum Of The Goldfields. One of many photographs I took (also see ‘Out Of The Blue’ picture), I thought it would contrast with the background. I have bent the structure a bit and gave it the shadows to compliment the scene. A very strong image.

This is the Nave of Westminster Abbey, with its fabulous vaulted ceiling. I had to be blasphemous and introduce a car vacuum cleaner from a petrol station. At least I cut away the ribbed hose pipe and nozzle from the rest of the free standing facility. I was experimenting with a picture to put with it. I liked the combination. The colours and curves seemed to blend. I tilted the pipe to fit into the scenario, and you might notice where the pipe disappears into the recessed hole into what was the working component of the self service unit, but becomes an extension of the ceiling.

The building is the back extension of St.Giles House Hotel, which has its grand ornate entrance on St.Giles Street. The modern block runs alongside Fishers Lane at the back. I was drawn to the metallic looking structure, shining in the morning sunshine. I have turned the photo forty five degrees anti-clockwise, copied the railings twice and added them into the top right hand corner, below the original. I added the blue sky and filled the windows with the blue reflection also. The table and stools were on the patio of the Rushcutters Arms, on the Yarmouth Road. The outside area overlooks the River Yare where boats can moor alongside. I put my glass on the table and photographed the furniture. It looked quite sculptural. It was then a case of finding some sort of complimentary background on which to pin the elongated table and stools. The title is tenuous.

I have always wanted to photograph a farm building that is set on its own, in a large field. It can be found on Long Lane, a short cut from the A148 Fakenham by-pass, to the Wells road. The extraordinary buildings address is 95-99 Fakenham Rd. E.Barsham. I just think it is a remarkable structure. Anyway…. in a different universe on a dissident time continuum I was looking for a background to accompany the photo I took of the boat. This is a balsa wood model my father brought back from the Maldives when he was posted to RAF Gan in the late 60’s. He had the protective ‘house’ made especially, measuring 70cm at the base, and 60cm to the top, to be shipped home. Of course the model is worse for wear and is missing the cloth sails it had. I was looking to mirror the apex’s of the box and building, which has been duplicated and layered to fill the frame, and applied a filter.

This is the roof of Brighton Railway Station.  I took quite a few shots, and settled for this one. I had previously taken some photographs of the magnifying glass, held at different angles, in my bedroom against the net curtains, and on the windowsill (where else?). As usual I connected the two aspects after experimenting with a few ideas. The view through the lens is of course, a copy of that part of the image behind the magnifyers frame, distorted and blurred. Then it came down to arranging the looking glasses in a concerted and compositional interaction. I dunno I’m going to revisit this picture and do something that will make it more brazen ..do you know what I mean?

I took some photographs through the fence, which was cordening off the new marketplace in Yarmouth. I have visited the site before and created two pictures  (Fantastic Two and Fantastic Two Two).  The building is still being constructed, hence the barrier to keep the public out. I liked the way the sun was streaming down through the skylight roof, and the shadows being presented. The support beams accentuated the busy composition and angles being splayed around. I eventually used two photos from different positions, and layered one on top of the other. I cut away diagonal strips to reveal the bottom layer, following the direction of the sunlight. I applied a shadow filter to give the image some drama. The title naturally followed. I love this picture…it’s so beautiful.

I noticed the different coloured glass insulators on a power line near my brother’s house in Joondalup. They had obviously(?) been replaced through time, but with unmatched types that were in stock. The background was a block of flats in Perth W.A. that were illuminated by the sun in way that was dramatic. This of course is a photo that is unrelated to the principal subject. I have filled the blue sky in the original photo of the flats, with the same colour of the building, which is probably not apparent to you. I have distorted the pylon to slant with the rake of the building and enhance the composition. I think the result makes for a very strong and energetic picture.