Fake suicide spots

I'll post the full intro text for these shots once I've got the last of the images.
I'm mesmerised walking around these places as to the thoughts going through the minds of the people carefully laying down premeditated clues before they attempt to disappear as sucides.
For the suicide the place they commit is just part of the means to their chosen end - with the faker, the scene is as important as what they leave behind to be found: it is all part of an intricate fabricated plan. Regardless of whether they convince and for how long, the dedication and desperation needed is something to be admired.

All are being shot on the Mamiya with the 50mm and all on Ilford FP4.

Harris Open 2008

Two photographs entered into the exhibition, both accepted. They will be on show until late December 2008 within the Harris Museum and Art Gallery, Preston, Lancashire.
I'm looking forward to seeing what else is on show.

The first image is part of an ongoing series looking at the surroundings where people have faked their own suicide. Instead of a place that signifies the end and death - these places were meticulously selected as the area to restart their lives and begin again. The next post will have a couple more of these fake suicide spots.

The picture below is of a cigarette lighter complete with instructions. I don't know who the manufacturer thinks its target market is ( smokers I guess... ) but if you need instructions in order to fire up your smoke, I think it's probably time to quit.

Dead roads

Roads that have been laid but go nowhere, streetlamps that have been pushed in and never turned on, pavements flagged and don't reach any doorsteps.
Byways and highways where plans have been submitted and permitted but nothing has been built except for a slither of tarmac and strips of kerbstones to divide the wasteland from the wasted land.

Leeds city centre

In Leeds city centre, men while away the lunch break battling minds at chess. With oversize pieces on a pavement-painted board, they conspire moves against the other while crowds glance as passing or wait and watch.
Shot with a Konica Auto S3 1970s rangefinder on Kodak Tri-X.

Stripped images

Isolating elements, looking for colour, light and shape.
Some of these sold at the Preston Arts Market where I had a stall on the 28th September.

When the builders stop

As more and more construction sites are slowing down and in some cases stopping, the partly built land left behind becomes a desolate waste waiting for the decision to start again. In one site over 20 acres of turned land holds broken rubble and grit like a long and wide scar anticipating the revival of an economic turnaround. The land taken, a solitary tree left standing - what remains in limbo is recreationally paralysed.

Nestea Beach Volleyball - Blackpool

Had a couple of days shooting this with press access. Great time sport watching and always good fun trying to shoot something different or push yourself to try different things.
Shot on manual - exposure taken before each game and worked around as the light changed. Most shot with a 70-300mm Sigma I picked up a while back which isn't the best lens in the bag but gives decent enough results.

People watching

Been putting together a number of prints for sale and also some large exhibition prints for hopefully something that may happen soon. These few don't fit in with anything as yet but there's probably something here to follow up.

Week off so camera happy

Legoland last week and out and about this week - New Brighton , Malham Tarn , and Liverpool. Plenty yet to upload and just got back the colour shots from Windsor.

Legoland Windsor

Great place as long as you dont have an aversion for all things tetris like. Loads of stuff - loads of queues - but you've got to love the miniland with faithful replicas of worldwide landmarks and places in the UK you never knew even existed in real life bricks and mortar not the plastic stuff with nipples on.
These are from the Holga- colour films gone to be processed - post more when can.

Preston PAD Gallery

Visited the preview evening for this new gallery / shop earlier this evening. I'm going to try and get some prints on the wall but at the moment the space is full of images and the emotions of Preston. Paint, ink, collage and photographic, there is certainly a healthy artist's community in the locale looking at the stuff on display.
Great work putting it all together - I regret missing the deadline as some of the landscapes would have fitted in well with other images on display but hopefully I can do something once this show runs its course. Hope they sell well.

Images on show at Fulwood Library, Preston

11 images from my Under a different light series and other prints in a similar vein are on permanent show. The library is on Garstang Road, Fulwood in Preston.
All framed and sorted yesterday so looking forward to seeing the response.

Off the back of this, I'm approaching others within the area.