Whole New You SingleShot Townscapes

Image Size 28.5 x 38.5cm | Edition of 50 | Prices: Image only £95 ...and Archivally mounted £135 ...and Fully Framed £195

For a long time Chris has been photographing shop windows. Or rather, photographing the interplay between the window displays and the streets they face onto. Often there is a rather bizarre mismatch between what is inside and what is outside and this is an aspect that he finds particularly interesting and, quite often, positively surreal.

In this example the camera position needed to be carefully adjusted to exploit the way that the sky's reflection was all but obscuring the shop interior. Because the reflection of the road sign (which is also seen directly at the far right side) was masking a small section of the sky, Chris realised that by positioning himself carefully he could choose what "signpost-shaped" section of shop interior could be allowed to show through. The net result was this impression of a seemingly disembodied model's face floating freely - and serenely - in mid air.

In fact the shop concerned, a hairdressers, was in St Ives - the Cambridgeshire one. The next image was made just across the street (albeit on a different occasion), at an optician's. It features another face but to a rather different effect.