First and Last.

Picket Fence, 2000
Southend, 2003

Two very significant images here, for me at least. The first one, Picket Fence, was the first colour image I made using, at the time, my new 5/4 Wista. The camera is still in full use although more of a Frankenstein version with various additions such as Duct Tape and a spirit level stuck on with Blue Tack. The image itself is opposite my old school and remnants of a misspent youth. The shift up to working in a larger format did change the way I seen the landscape and it was around this time that I started to produce bigger prints. I found the slow pace of working with 5/4 suited my thought process and I was hooked on the idea of a single large negative.

The second image, a lot more well known with the print being in its final edition, was made on a bank holiday in Southend-On-Sea. It was this image that really got me moving with colour landscape, and in particular the British Coastline which I would return to several years later in by North Shores and By Coastal projects. It was one of those images where all the elements came together. The stormy clouds (made just after a might downpour), the ethereal light, the puddle in the foreground, and the lights from the pier itself. You could say I was lucky, but I have always striven to make each of my landscapes in a similar vain, usually by waiting...

I am not even sure if I have a print made of the Picket Fence image, it seems so long ago. As for the Southend, that is on display at Diemar Noble Photography on Wells street, should you like to see it in the flesh (see below for details)..