AFTER AND BEFORE.

Pitch and Putt. Carlisle, 2006
Pitch and Putt. Carlisle, 2012

Once in a while I find myself returning to subject matter that I have dealt with before. In this case it was golf courses, shot at night (or in the case above very early in the morning) with long, long exposures and a frosty chin. It's probably fair to say I was obsessed with golf courses at night for some time. Without going into too much detail (around 2006 ish), after a long period of not being able to make any photographs, the firsts ones I made were of a golf course at night. In fact it was this very golf course you see before you.
When I began to shoot the Urban Sprawl, golf courses were a perfect combination of the elements I considered to be worthy of the subject. Artificial light played a big factor here combined with a man-made landscape which often bordered contrasting natural wasteland.
Part of my new work (the mighty MA) includes 'places' from my past and so the approach I had was quite different to the first time I photographed it. To cut a longish story shortish, this particular section of golf course bordered a small forest. As a youngster I would camp in the forest leaving early in the morning before the golfers arrived in there baggy pants.
This particular shot (2012) is in the same area as the one above it (2006). It's just made at a different time of day, with a different angle and no flood lighting, and not forgetting a very long exposure around the one hour mark.. If you look closely at the top image you will see the little flags, same as the newer version..
I would like to think of these images as a After and Before. The Before is an image with a specific purpose and idea in mind (2012), the After (2006) is an image where its reasoning and comprehension comes later. Or something like that.