HEADING HOME

 I first took my wife to the UK in 2003. It was something I had wanted to do after pulling liberty several times in the UK during my submarine career. When we went in November 2003, I was still shooting film. I had made the jump from Olympus to Nikon as I needed autofocus for the newspaper work I was involved in.

This shot is when we were waiting near the Buckingham guards' barrack just a shot distance from Buckingham Palace. During the two weeks we were in the UK, I shot nothing but Kodak Tri-X film. But since I was shooting in both bright sunshine (unusual for the UK) and indoors, I decided I would shoot the whole trip pushing the film two stops to ASA1600. As a result, the images outdoors are a little more contrasty than one usually gets shooting Tri-X. But, for me, I find the effect pleasing.

The main subject was just a guy strolling along with a bag looking like he was either returning home or heading out on a trip. I choose the former for my thoughts.