Many years ago I picked up a book called ‘The Journal of a Ghost Hunter‘. At first I took it to be just another book about looking for spooks and goblins, which whilst always intrigues me (I am sucker for a good ghost tale) I had grown tired of the same stories and the now debunked photos. But this book was different, the images spoke loudly of haunted realms but not of ghost photography. After a browsing a few pages I was enticed and wanted to see and know more, to enter the gates of the labyrinth.
This book was by Simon Marsden, a photographer who specialises in infrared photography. Something that before the days of digital was painfully difficult to do. Film had be loaded in absolute darkness, but the results could be spectacular. Certain kodak film would create a magical halo around objects, bringing an etheral feel to the photos. You had to be a very dedicated photographer to use it on a regualr basis. Today it is alot easier with digital cameras and a red filter, but to get the serious dramatic effects that proper film created you need to play with the image in Adobe Photoshop. Anyway I diverse…
Back to the wonderfully dark and spooky world of Simon Marsden. This coming weekend I head up to London for a talk by Simon as part of London Ghost Week. So in celebration of getting to meet first hand one of my photographic heroes I am featuring a couple of his pieces, one my favourite and the other local to home. Many of my friends will know it from years before.
Fountain, Versailles, France
One day I will buy a big print of this image of the Fountain at Versailles in France! It is still today my favourite photo that Simon has taken. The composition of the tree line against the lawn, the storm like clouds hovering above all add to the atmosphere creating a wonderful frame for the stone statues in the fountain. Where the infrared film has made the grass and trees white instead of the normal grey you see in black and white photography, it brings the statue to life as the shades are so similar. It has a a certain dramatic dream like quality about it, as the horses and sea creatures erupt out of the water, but not disrupting the surface. I imagine that it was quite a nice day when the photo was taken, the sky blue with scattered clouds and the grass green and bright. It really shows the power that infrared photography can have on a scene.
Netley Abbey, Hampshire, England
His second image I have chosen is of Netley Abbey in Southampton. It is somewhere I have visted many times at various hours, normally the later in the night the younger I was. Again you can see how infrared film brings out the warmth in the grass as white, dramatically challenged by the shadows of the abbey walls. There are numerous ghost stories about Netley Abbey, rumours of underground tunnels, which i suspect are true, given its location on the coast. I do need to ask if whilst visiting Netley if he made it to the graveyard by Southampton Common, a fantastic graveyard of broken gravestones, headless angels and dark paths. It has been a great source of subjects to photograph and practise my own infrared techniques. Below is a couple of my own favourites ‘The Lost Boy’ from my ‘Grave Collection‘ and also ‘Old Stones’ from my Dartmoor Collection.
The Lost Boy - Copyright: David Atlee
Old Stones - Copyright: David Atlee
Well I hope you click on the links above and explore the work of Simon Marsden and of course some of my work as well. I expect after this weekend I shall be all inspired and have to get out with the camera again!
