The boats are Merlin Rockets and are sailing in the Kingsbridge Estuary outside the Yacht Club in Salcombe just before one of the daily races that take place in July. I made this into a pastel image with ink outlines to give a more painterly look.
This was at the Rushden 1940s event and this lady was dressed splendidly. She boarded the train for refreshments (the train doesn’t go too far on that line) and when she wandered along the corridor to get off, she passed by this open window at one of the doors and I asked for a photo (I was on the platform). She kindly obliged and offered several poses. This one worked particularly well.
Another 1940s day on the North Norfolk Railway (Poppy Line). This lady seemed to be a regular at such events and styles herself as a kind of Marilyn Monroe look-alike (the era is actually wrong for MM but we can forgive this). This was taken outside the ticket office but the lighting was very poor and created shadows on her face. A fair bit of work was needed in Photoshop to correct the lighting defects.
Two lovers outside a café on a cold winter’s night seen through the café window. Shot in monochrome on medium format (Yashicamat 124G) to create the mood of the Trevor Howard and Celia Johnson film of the same name. Taken in 1999 but the date doesn’t matter – this image has a timeless feel. I knew what I wanted before I took it and sketched it out before enrolling two friends to be my models. It could have been taken in Paris but it was actually taken in Cambridge.
Staring out of the window as she idly stirs her coffee wondering whether her lover has missed the train or…
So many thoughts cross her mind.
With Laëtitia, I wanted a 1920s look. She had the clothes and we found the props. A little work was needed in Photoshop to give the muted colours of a hand-tinted print.
Her real name was Dolly but Dolly didn’t seem right for somebody with a complexion like this and dressed in a sari. It somehow made me think of a cloned sheep! I renamed her ‘Ramani’ which is Indian for beautiful girl.
Taken in Baker Street at Pride London in 2009. He only held that expression for an instant but it was long enough. The guy in the background nicely fills the corner with a similar look but toned and a little softer so it doesn’t impact too much on the foreground figure.
After descending from the Amber Fort at Jaipur, we found a few people in the street to photograph. This gentleman was happy to have his photograph taken. Problem with such shots are the dark skin, the face in shadow and the sunlight on the white costume – it’s easy to lose detail. Careful manipulation of the RAW image and adjustment in Photoshop permitted acceptable detail to be retained in both the highlight and shadow areas. In the printed version, it’s possible to make out the fabric pattern in the turban.