PHOTOGRAPHY

For the last thirty years l have been involved with photographic shoots. Not in control of the camera, until recently, but propping sets and rooms for interior editorials, planning innovative lighting schemes and suggesting new angles to make beautiful and seductive images.


Nearly ten years ago l started recording my surrounding area including industrial sites containing buildings that are fast disappearing in the struggle to neaten up our inner cities.


I quickly found reportage is my obsession, people bring life and scale to an industrial site, also l realize that l have a definite liking for dark situations especially night scenes, large areas of black contrast with colour which lend the image an exotic stained glass jewelled palette.


Although l spend a major part of my time nowadays recording the local area, l do not think of myself as a photographer but as an artist who is employing a mechanical medium to construct a picture. Restrictions imposed by the very nature of being unable to repeat a shoot; usually the subject is gone or l have no right of re-entry, lends a rarity to each image, which has to be perfect the first time.


When on any site, especially the Lots Road Power Station, l have developed a couple of do’s and don’ts, not to touch or move any object even, to improve the pictures balance never to ask someone to move out of my way and if people are not where l wanted them l wait until they walked into or out of shot. Over time l have found that one becomes an opportunist, and where at first l was reticent about being intrusive l have hardened up, unless someone makes it very clear they don’t want to be photographed l go for it.