GLITTER IS OFF THE MENU

Number 5 grandson stood waiting patiently for me to take his photo outside Kelvingrove art galleries, beside a row of glitzy red xmas trees; I was busy admiring the reflection of an old lamppost in a puddle. I am constantly amazed by the delight I find in the throw-away parts of life. One of the first black and white photographs I took and developed by myself, was of a car wheel hub; a sharp, silver stunning thing that charmed everyone who came across it in my portfolio. Only car enthusiasts ever take notice of wheels and what’s on them. I’d been sent out of the class with an unfamiliar camera and barely enough knowledge of how to operate it; I had half an hour to capture interesting images to practice the art of the dark room – only the car park in range. I discovered that bicycles are beautiful when you lose the colour; chrome reflects the world in all its mystery. Wing mirrors and dashboards, dials and tire-tracks transform themselves into abstract arty-farty photographic paraphernalia…and the sky in water speaks for itself.