Subject: Figurative

Here is Simon, in a static caravan, looking at an I-pad. It was late evening and very cold, hence the glow of a vertical, one bar electrical heater. He is a chef, working at Wiveton Hall, on the North Norfolk coast, and sleeps overnight in the caravan on site. I cut away the windows behind him and replaced them with another photo I took years ago. I immediately thought of this photograph when considering the background, it was purely instinctive. It is a shot through a Motel window of a sunrise over the Nullabor in Australia. I was about to drive down the longest straight road (90 miles) in Oz; the Eyre Highway.

Yarmouth on a grey January day, and I was walking along the beach on Marine Parade. I spotted a guy doing some acrobatics on his BMX bike,whilst being filmed by his mate. I asked if I could take some photos, and showed him the results. I gave him my website address and hope he sees this picture, (if you do, E-mail me and I’ll send you a print). He will be bemused to know that he is cycling in Australia, along the Western Dstr(A4)/Bradfield Highway, on the way to Sydney Bridge.

Whilst visiting Gorleston beach I came across a guy who was metal detecting with a scanner and spade. I told him that any pound coins he might find were mine. He laughed and said he had only found a couple of bottle tops. I took a few photos of him. Three weeks later, walking along Lowestoft Marine Parade, I was attracted by the curves of the handrail, of a promontory seating area, so I photographed a few angles without any thought of what I would do with them. Wondering how I could utilise the metal detectorist, I hit upon the idea converting his image into a translucent silhouette. I experimented with a few situations to put him in, and finally as you can see, selected the beach front scene with the shadows. I have adjusted the opacity to make him look more of a credible shadow.

I noticed a redundant noticeboard on Yarmouth Way, in Yarmouth. It had been stripped of all the flyers and posters. What was left, were the marks of the sellotape which with the sticky residue had attracted the dirt and grime. The saxophonist was busking on London St. in Norwich. I experimented by placing him in front of the abstract image, and hit upon the idea of swirling the air emanating from his instrument. This gave the illusion of the music being played. It took a LOT of attempts to achieve the satisfactory result – eventually! Of course the noticeboard is disproportionately larger than the musician.

I was the photographer at my nieces wedding. Abbi is being helped into her dress, by the two bridesmaids, whose names I have forgotten, sorry I will rectify that. They are two on the right hand side of the composition. Behind Abbi is her sister Ellice, tightening the lace tie, and in the centre is my sister Jacquie. They were of course all wearing long silk dresses, so I have perversely replaced them with brick and pebble! Gustav Klimt was a nineteenth century symbolist painter, who lived and worked in Vienna. If you look at his style of painting, you will be able to understand why, I gave the title that I have. A very tenuous parallel.