Fishing Boats at Ayr

Artistic treatment of an old photograph

I was just thinking back to the first photograph I ever sold. You might find it hard to believe but this is the one.

A long time ago, I was talked into displaying some images at a craft fair. I was a bit reluctant to do it but it turned out to be a really engaging experience.

The original photograph was taken back in the 80’s when Ayr Harbour still had a fishing industry. The photograph survived only as a 6” x 4” colour print for around 20 years.

Then, I bought my first small Pentax digital camera (5 MP) and along with it came some free software called ACDSee – (updated versions still readily available). It was really cool software and I could modify images in all sorts of ways. I scanned the little 6×4 print and spent an hour or more modifying it and came up with this presentation.

At the Craft Fair, I had my images on display for less than half an hour when this A4 size print was sold.

I’ve often wondered why the woman bought it. Maybe she just thought it was really artistic (I always thought the seagulls were the elements that made it work)…. or maybe her father worked on the boats. I’ll never know now.

I’m still very fond of the image. One thing I fully appreciated at the craft fair, is that someone may like an image very much but is much more likely to part with cash if there is some emotional connection with it.