The Artist

I learned that our good friend David Galbraith was making some illustrations of sailing ships for a project on upmarket timepieces in which he's involved. Apparently he's been commissioned to provide illustrations of a wide range of subjects, from steam engines to saiing ships, racing cars and aeroplanes, in his unique, classical style, for decorating not only the clocks themelves, but also the cases they live in too. He's not only a talented perfectionist, but also an enthusiast for life itself, which comes across every time you meet him. 
He agreed to my taking up a couple of hours of his time by photographing him in his studio, and relaxing afterwards. I'm so glad I did, for I made pictures which I love too, and that's justification for anything.

Let me stress that what we see here is not Mister Galbraith's usual choice of headgear; he wears it only when he uses his magnifier, to avoid chafing; a sort of slipper-for-your-head, if you like.

Thanks for your patience David.

And Then Some.......

Phillippa and Dec (short for Declan; he has Irish ancestry, you know) live just up the road from Jeremy and Jo; yes, their houses look similar from the outside, with each having a porch through which you reach the front door, then down a short hallway to another door giving access to the living/dining.sitting areas.
That's where the similarity ends.
I said in an earlier blog that many of the ex-Snuff-employees' houses at the top of Victoria Road have been extended and Phillippa and Dec's place shows what an estate agent might call an 'architect-designed' extension. 'Cool' doesn't do it justice; if it were an item for sale it might be described as 'Mint', with a + or two from an enthusiastic copywriter. Whatever you call it, it's great and photogenic:

But there's more. Sitting in a dining-area alcove is nothing less than a fifties'-style Juke Box; yes, a Wurlitzer, no less, and if you think it's just for decoration, think again. It works; it plays, it lights up and it's genuine!  I was treated to a short performance and if I were anything approaching normal, I might have danced. As it was, i'm not and I didn't.

Phillippa and Dec were good enough to invite me back after the first shoot, and this time, after a very enjoyable and instructive craic, we made some more pictures in their Front Room: 

Thanks lots Philippa and Dec, for your time, company and involvement; let's do some location shots!

Which is what we did one bright early summer's evening in our courtyard; I had learned that both Philippa and Dec play the ukelele. Being of a certain generation, that triggered a memory of an old music-hall performer called George Formby who played that instrument on stage and sang. One of his favourite songs started "I'm leaning on a lampost at the corner of the street, in case a certain litte lady passes by......" (Lord, they were innocent days).

Our models agreed to drop by on their way out so I set some lights up, hoping for an atmospheric shot, using the lamplight. Sadly they had to go on to their other appointment before it started to get dark, but we shot anyway and had some fun:

More From Victoria Road:

'Cousin' Jeremy:

Our friends Jeremy and Jo Cross, invaluable helpers on the Victoria Road 'Each a Kingdom' project were good enough to let me interrupt their regular Saturday morning joust  with The Times crossword to make pictures of them doing that. 

Their house is so welcoming, informal but commanding respect, that I made further excuses to shoot them in a corner of their sitting-room.

This is the great thing about Victoria Road and its people; from outside the houses look similar and in some cases identical, but when you're invited in, everything changes. And its not just he way in which many of the properties have been altered or extended; it's the people and the way they live. 

Long live that difference!

WARGAMES; I Understand Now!

I misspent some of my early youth playing with (NO! Building) model railways in various damp cellars in and around Coventry, but still, as an adult, found it difficult to understand grown men and women (the ratio being something like infinity to one) re-enacting historic battles with toy (NO! Model) soldiers, chariots and tanks. Until yesterday (yesterday being Thursday 5th April 2018) that is. My transformation happened in a wooden workshop, otherwise called a man-shed (all males should have one), adjacent to a house idyllically-set on a hillside overlooking one of my previous matrimonial homes. Philip Mackie, better known as Eyeball of Devizes, the respected PR consultant, is its enthusiastic occupant and it was he who explained how you can constructively re-play (say) The Battle of Roundway Down even though its result is a matter of historical fact. 

Like most games of chance, from family cribbage to twenty-four-seven Las Vegas, it's all down to a roll of the dice.  I won't explain; it's too complicated, you wouldn't understand.

But just like model railways, it seems that the joy for model wargamers is not so much in the running (operating) of it, but in its preparation -- its building, painting, accessorising, collecting. Philip showed me how:

 From a selection of what appeared to be several thousand pots of paint, he very carefully manipulated a 000 brush, retouching, for me, one he'd made earlier. Apparently one buys the basic casting, these days in pewter, which is then painted in the team colours, with extra-fine detailing requiring the extra-powerful magnifiers: 

......and then there's the scenery. Grasses, bushes, trees, fences and even bridges add to the picture, all bought in litte packets, selected, plucked, fitted and coloured, accurately and lovingly.

Thanks, Philip; I'll be back.

Mentoring With Chillingworth

I attended a Mentoring Session with John Chillingworth Hon FRPS, Hon FBIPP, legendary ex-Picture Post photographer, at his home in Devizes on April 1 2018.

He opened by showing me a book of monochrome portraits by the late Jane Bown:

We discussed techniques for achieving satisfactory portraits using existing light only, after Chillingworth criticised my use of fill-in flash, suggesting that I 'looked for photographs rather than looking for pictures'.

He described his techniques, using mainly Nikon film cameras, remembering that Jane Bown used mainly Leicas, although a self-portrait in one of her books shows her using an Olympus SLR:

We discussed the possible differences in viewer appreciation of images between monochrome and colour capture, concluding that perhaps monochrome demanded more viewer involvement, making for deeper content appreciation.

We ended the session by suggesting that I should make portraits using existing light only and discuss results with Chillingworth in a week's time. I agreed to do this.

END