Photography by David Smith Design by David Smith & Kerrie Fletcher
Dedicated to my wife, Kerrie. Without her support this book would never have been possible
The arrival of the pandemic caused me to take up photography after a gap of some 40 years.
Early in lockdown it became obvious to me that, to retain some vestige of sanity, I needed a hobby. It had to be a hobby that got me out and about and, because of the social distancing rules, away from other people. So, at the age of 69 I bought myself a Sony A6000 camera and two kit lenses.
My previous photographic exploits had required a Zenith 35mm film camera, a number of second-hand lenses, an enlarger, a temporary darkroom and various chemicals and papers.
Now, it was all digital and involved Adobe Lightroom and (more terrifying) Photoshop. The camera itself had numerous menus with features I didn’t understand. After months of practice shots, I realised I needed help.
Luckily, the Open University, in conjunction with the Royal Photographic Society (RPS) offered an inexpensive digital photography course for beginners, which suited me perfectly.
Students were also invited to join the RPS for a reduced fee, giving access to many online workshops and lectures. It was through participation in these that I finally found my genre: Black & White images - minimalist, abstract or silhouette.
I spent the next year honing my skills and eventually dropped Lightroom altogether in favour of Photoshop. Many of the lecturers were experts in this software and happy to explain anything I didn’t understand or didn’t know how to do.
About the author
By this time, I had traded in my original equipment for a Sony A7M3, a 55mm Zeiss lens, a 20mm ultra wide angle lens, a 90mm macro lens and a 70-200mm telephoto lens, purchased, some second hand, from specialist dealers MPB and the London Camera Exchange.
Finally, I upgraded my used Toshiba laptop (running Windows 10) to a Dell Inspiron (Windows 11) with an nVidia discrete graphics card, able to cope with the introduction of AI into Photoshop. A full list of all software used in this project is listed in the Appendix.
Now I had all the equipment and software I needed and sought a project to focus on. This book is the result of the first of three projects, a photographic study of the memorials at the National Memorial Arboretum.
I chose this location as a) it is close to where I live and b) it is an amazing site for photographers. It is 73 acres in size with hundreds of spectacular monuments. I have visited many times but I often return to retake photos because the light is different on each visit and to check for new installations.
I processed the images in my usual minimalist way because I want the viewer to see the shapes, textures, form etc as I have interpreted them.
All of images were taken at the National Memorial Arboretum which is located near Alrewas in Staffordshire,website: www.thenma.org.uk.
Ghost
This is part of the Naval Service Memorial. It depicts a sailor standing at ease. The statue is made of Kilkenny limestone and is standing on granite slabs.
Between the camera lens and the statue is a thick yellow glass panel. The multiple reflections in the glass give the figure a ghostly appearance.
The joins between the granite slaps can be ‘seen’ through the lower part of his legs and the top of his head appears to dissolve into the sky.
The multiple images of the trees are caused by the reflections of trees behind the camera merging with the real trees in front of the lens.
Empathy
This is memorial is called Sapper Support and is dedicated to all those suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). It is a bronze statue on a black granite plinth.
The statue’s outstretched hand is being held by my wife as a sign of empathy.
Sapper Support Memorial
Plinth
This is the top part of a memorial to No. 11 Squadron of the RAF.
By removing the background, the photograph depicts it as a gateway from the world of the dark shadows (as they appear in the reflection on the granite) to another, brighter (maybe happier) world.
No. 11 Squadron RAF Memorial
The Doors
This is a photograph of The Gates which is part of a massive memorial to all the Armed forces. It appears to show someone trying to enter the gates of Heaven.
This image and the following two are all taken at this memorial.
Armed Forces Memorial
The Moving Finger Writes…
This is an image taken from the other side of The Gates where only the statue’s fingers are visible.
It reminded me of lines from Edward FitzGerald's poem 'The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam' (hence the title):
The Moving Finger writes; and, having writ, Moves on…
The door opening slit is designed so that, weather permitting, the sun will shine through it on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month.
The practice of building memorials that have a slit where the sun shines through on a particular day (usually the Summer or Winter solstice) dates back millennia.
Armed Forces Memorial
The Wall
This dark and sombre image is only a small part of the Armed Forces Memorial. It records the names of thousands of deceased service men and women, with empty walls for more to be added as time goes on.
Armed Forces Memorial
Shot to Pieces
This image is of a work called Blown Away. It is made of Bronze laurel leaves. I think the image speaks for itself.
Statue: Blown Away
Monolith
This enormous brass structure (12 metres/39 feet tall) is a memorial to Police Officers.
It has cutouts in the shape of falling leaves, to represent the officers who died on duty.
I called it Monolith because it reminded me of the structure that appears in the Stanley Kubrick film ‘2001 - A Space Odyssey’.
Mimic
This is the RAF Medical Services memorial.
As can be seen it is an angled structure.
The tree opposite appears to be trying to mimic it by growing a branch at the same angle. It could, of course, be the other way round i.e. man copying nature.
Concrete Cascade
Not everything in the Arboretum is a memorial. This water cascade is located near the steps to the Remembrance Centre cafe.
The cascade is really rather small, not very wide and not very tall. The image was taken with an ultra wide angle lens with the camera held just above the water giving an exaggerated view.
The Flood
The Arboretum is next to, and at almost at the same level as, the River Tame just before it joins the River Trent.
It is prone to flooding, which is not good news for the owners or visitors, but is a bonus for photographers.
The image was taken during a flood at the end of February 2024.
Former Cheltenham College Pupils Memorial
Hands Across the Trenches
This beautiful chainsaw carving of a pair of clasped hands is part of a structure commemorating the1914 Christmas Truce during World War I, when the guns fell silent on part of the Western Front and British and German soldiers met in no-man's land.
The authorities on both sides, concerned it would undermine the men's fighting spirit, took steps to prevent it happening again. The bloody conflict would continue for another 4 years.
View through a Shelter
There are a number of shelters around the Arboretum (somewhere to escape the sun or rain).
The day this photo was taken it was very sunny, so this shot through the door, with the light shinning through the window, was ideal for a minimalist black and white image.
Freedom
This image is a silhouette of a horse, made of pieces of metalwork, apparently jumping a hedge in its efforts to be free.
It is in fact a monument to the Cheshire (Earl of Chester’s) Yeomanry and is called Moving Forward, Looking Back.
Moving Forward, Looking Back
Dog Fight
There is a degree of poetic license in this image.
Two memorials (Gulf War 1990-91 Memorial and the Pegasus Bridge Memorial) from different eras were combined to produce this image of a dog fight.
The chromed steel reverse ‘S’ connecting the planes gives the impression of contrails that usually accompany aircraft in flight.
Gulf War 1990-91 & Pegasus Bridge Memorials
Looking out, Looking in
This is another image which uses elements of two different memorials.
Photographed inside the Type 24 Pill Box based by the side of the river, the image was taken through one of the gun slits.
I have combined this image with one from the No. 47 Squadron RAF Memorial which sits alongside it, so that the figure appears to be looking in.
Type 24 Pill Box & No. 47 Squadron RAF Memorial
The Death Railway
This image is of a genuine section of the Burma Railway, installed as a tribute to the prisoners of war and local labourers who were forced to build it.
The death toll is unimaginable: one life for every railway sleeper, for a distance of 258 miles.
The Burma Railway Memorial
Appendix
Image Processing Software:
Adobe DNG Converter
Adobe Camera Raw
Adobe Photoshop
NIK 7 Silver Efex
Book Creation Software:
Affinity Publisher 2
Adobe Acrobat Distiller
Adobe Acrobat
Software used in this project
My name is David Smith and, in 2021 at the age of 69, I became a student of photography.
I am a member of the Royal Photographic Society and specialise in Black & White images. I regard colour as a distraction from the essence of an image.
I have a series of projects I am working on. This is the first, namely a study of of the memorials at the National Memorial Arboretum near Alrewas in Staffordshire. Other projects I have in the pipeline are ‘A Life in Ruins’ and ‘Past Industries’ (although these are only working titles).
