The Force of Colliding Worlds

On finding a new theme as I reflected on worlds colliding

In the run-up to the 2022 Platinum Jubilee celebrations I had a few days off on holiday and, more importantly, a new toy to play with – an upgrade to my Cambo Actus courtesy of Paula at Linhof & Studio, the enabler of all things photographic. I felt like I was getting closer to where I needed to be but something was still not right and I thought a more substantial technical camera might help.

It certainly changed things – it added much more weight – but it gave me more rail length as standard and better movements. It turns out I was missing a huge trick with my baby Actus but that was to be discovered in late 2023 when I switched the GFX for a digital back. To test it out, I headed out onto Robin Hood’s Bay and started making images. On about the fourth or fifth image I discovered the remains of an old ship and started to photograph it until I saw the idea for this image.

On reflection – in fact ‘retrospection’ of the print – I realised that the force of two worlds colliding could form a great theme for a body of work. It was a concept informed by contemporaneous events but it could allow me to explore the edges, the points of interaction between opposing forces: man-made objects and nature, land and sea and many other opposing forces could be explored. The double meaning behind the use of the word Force did not escape me either.

Over the next few days I was to make several more images I liked and cement the Colliding Worlds theme with more photographs that could fit the work.