I have been doing this for well over a decade now. I take macro photographs of urban decay such as rusty metal, flaking paintwork and all the other ways that weathering takes our urban surfaces and works some natural magic over them. These patterns can have such a clear resemblance to places or scenes, often from the natural world, such as a coast or forest or mountains, and always with an attractive abstractness. Once I had noticed this I started adding wildlife to the scene using Photoshop as a way to get others to see what I was seeing. I am still doing it but am trying to bring them perhaps closer to home by using people more than wildlife. Here are some of the results.
Smugglers' Beach - the dark and sooty stains on an old wall became a dark and moody scene for moving some illicit goods around.
Girl Watering a Tree Stump - a little story of hope from some errant paint on a weathered old wall.
Three Tired Men - trudging home after a hard day's physical work across the rusty streaks on an old metal tank.
Barefoot Footballer - I spent my childhood kicking a ball around, often by myself, but at least I was lucky enough to have grass playing fields and decent footwear.
Boys Jumping In - this dirty old wall was an unpromising start but I'm pleased with the scene of care-free days that I came up with.
Canoe Paddler - a photo of stains on top of older stains running down a wall, once turned on its side became a perfect early morning watery scene for a lone paddler to drift through.
Concert Crowd - and what a cracking concert it was! I don't exactly remember but I think this cracked and flaking paintwork was on an old car.
Domestic Disaster - my in-laws were forced to flee their home a bit like this during the Bangkok floods of 2011. The cracks in this paintwork are a good reflection of what such events can do to people's lives - about 3 months later my in-laws could move back in, a little less trusting of Government promises.
Mountain-biking - some rough and lumpy disintegrating paint on the side of a truck is just the kind of place to find some excitement. Paintwork on old cars is always thick and produces such depth as it breaks away in multi-coloured layers.
Polar Explorer - I like the irony of weathered paintwork on a gate in tropical Thailand becoming a scene for polar exploration.
Three Swimmers - I wonder if they realise what they are stirring up. This has become a big topic in the UK news over the last few years with the declining condition of our waterways. The original photo was of stains on an advertisement board.
Dog Walking - a woman taking her dog for a walk shouldn't be this depressing! It's a lovely rusty pattern but still represents something negative in our eyes.
Looking at these I wonder if I should try to shift the balance by looking for more positive themes like the jumping boys and the concert crowd?
