John Sandell photography

Image of the Month Archive #1

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South Bank

South Bank. Shapes and patterns in the evening sun outside the Royal Festival Hall on London's South Bank. I'm not sure how well this works, but the colours and atmosphere were great at the time and I still like the composition. Behind the dominant signs in the foreground little stories are being acted out – the man at the ice cream stall, the kids at the railings (waiting for their ice creams?), the couple on the bench on the left of the picture... Taken, like many of the recent pictures here, on negative film on a Minox 35ML.

Rolls

Rolls. I grabbed this photographer as he grabbed the old Rolls Royce in Cambridge, England. His shot was taken quickly, but was carefully framed, although he was only using a compact camera, as was I. An illustration, perhaps, of the male fascination with mechanical design, especially when it's good design, and especially when it's old! I like the people in the background: the lady with the handbag, the other lady taking a photo while her husband looks on, the people walking out of both sides of the picture. I helped the image a little in Photoshop, dropping the background slightly more out of focus, and darkening it.

Motorcade

Motorcade. Taken in November 1977 at the Remembrance Day parade in Hertford, England. At the war memorial in the centre of the town the usual gathering of veterans, civic dignitaries and scouts and guides was joined by a large group of motorbikes of all types and sizes. Bikers were getting a bad press at the time, and it was moving to see this group redressing the balance as they came to pay their respects. I took this one shot as they slowly followed the foot parade at the end of the ceremony. Almost straight into the sun, and helped by a trace of mist in the air.

Souk

Souk. An impressionist picture grabbed "on the hoof" in the souk (the market) in Marrakech, Morocco. For me it portrays some of the bustle and colour of the souk, although this particular part was not very crowded. There's constant pressure to buy something... anything... and keeping moving is one way of avoiding spending time and money buying stuff you don't want. The full story of my Morocco trek in the Trekking section of this site.

Wilderness Experience

Wilderness Experience. On trek in the Pindos Mountains in northern Greece in 1990. One of our group enjoys one of those reflective moments that happen a few days into the trek, once the stresses and problems of the world back home have started to fade, and the beauty and simpler life in a relatively remote landscape take over. The title is the name of the maker on the backpack (not clear in this image), and it seemed appropriate.

Industrial Sunset

Industrial Sunset. A small environmental comment on the tarmac plant at the edge of the meadows (the Hertford Meads) a few hundred metres from where I was living at the time. It's a straight shot – no filters or double images – on Kodak Ektachrome film, and dates from about 1979-80. Landscape 77 is a black & white photo of the same plant taken under less inviting conditions.

Landscape '77

Landscape 77. April 1977. A small environmental comment on the tarmac plant at the edge of the meadows (the Hertford Meads) a few hundred metres from where I was living at the time. There's frost on the grass beside the River Lea at the left of the picture, and the whole thing looks pretty uninviting! Actually I used to walk here a lot, and got annoyed when the factory puffed out smoke and smells. It's still there. The original is not quite as grainy as it looks here, I must make a better copy. Industrial Sunset is a colour shot of the same plant. / more...

Legs and Co

Legs and Co. June 1979. Taken on a rather cold Camera Club social outing on a canal long-boat. The kids are pushing on the arm of the lock gate. For the benefit of overseas visitors, Legs and Co was the name of a 5 or 6-girl dance group appearing at the time on the weekly Top of the Pops TV programme. The chubby little lad on the right is my son, now six feet tall. / more...

Durham

Durham. January 1975. I was returning by train from a meeting in Newcastle, in the North-East of England. In those days I was crazy enough to carry my modest but heavy camera outfit with me on such occasions, and I had a cumbersome Vivitar 300mm f/5.6 fitted to my Nikkormat FTn. We slowed for Durham station, and I took a few pictures of the fine cathedral... As the train pulled out of the station I grabbed this view of the weak winter evening sunlight on the slate roofs. / more...

Morning Run

Morning Run. Taken from the window of a hotel room in Geneva (Lake Geneva is at the end of the road to the left of the picture). It was a lucky shot. I was interested in the strong lines of the cars and the patterns in the shadows of the trees in the warm light at 7:00 a.m. It's the sort of scene that would have a judge suggesting there should be someone in the space in the road towards the bottom left corner, and just as I was starting to frame it the runner obligingly appeared in the centre of the road, complete with long shadow! I waited until he reached the right place, and pressed the button. Taken on a Minox 35ML on negative film.

   
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