The images that I create are based on 2 rather different processes.
1. I use an image from the thousands that I have taken since I took up photography during the late 1950's - using so many different cameras from a basic Kodak Instamatic to the latest digital SLR brands.
During that time my images were used worldwide through many outlets and agents, with colour slides being the exclusive medium used.
I was fortunate to have many images included in International Colour Slide Exhibitions and represented England in those Exhibitions. I am a former Licentiate of The Royal Photographic Society.
2. As "seniority" begins to creep into my life, the opportunities to travel to distant lands taking photographs no longer exist.
So - enter stage left an amazing feature that enables us to continue exploring places far and wide - Google Street View.
This allows me to wander streets, roads, and even alleyways, as if I was actually there. When I see a potential opportunity for a photograph then I can zoom in and out and move around to compose my shot just as I would do if I had my camera in my hand.
The talents of composition and a "seeing eye" that I have employed for many years can still be utilised to get my photograph.
Then, using the excellent combination of a Google Chromebook computer and it's "Snipping tool" I can take my picture.
THE CREATIVE PROCESS BEGINS -
The Windows 10 programs that I can use to convert my original image into a finished photograph are many and varied.
The main ones are ARCSOFT PHOTOSTUDIO, SMART PHOTO STUDIO, TOPAZ IMPRESSION, ACDSee PHOTO EDITOR, ARTISTA IMPRESSO and FotoSketcher.
Since the advent of digital photography I have employed a few basic rules - which I do not deviate from.
1. I never ever sell any of my work - it is all given away and I only produce low-resolution images for Internet usage only.
2. I have no inclination to spend time fiddling with those endless menus on digital cameras, where is the fun in that ! My camera is set on automatic and that is that.
3. When I work on an image I have a time limit of 20 minutes - if I do not come up with something acceptable to me in that time then it is binned and I move on to another image - end of story.
I now look upon my work as creative within the realms of art rather than as photography. I no longer think of myself as a photographer - but simply as just an entertainer.
And - I also love music !
Although now in his seventies, Ken has not only lived an amazing life, but he continues to provide content across social media and Internet sites.
He left college at the age of 16 and for the next 40 years he worked full time in various 9-5 jobs, mainly for the Debenhams Department Store group and within the UK National Health Service.
However, in the evenings and at weekends he took on many different roles, which were both exciting and sometimes even dangerous !
He was a founding member of The Taunton Hospital Radio Service and also served on the National Executive committee for Hospital Radio.
Within this environment he hosted his own Celebrity chat show, producing over 120 shows with guests as diverse as Tony Bennett, Sir Norman Wisdom, Howard Keel and Morecambe and Wise.
His show-biz connections led him to operating his own Entertainment Agency for 5 years, licensed by the Department of Employment.
He then spent 8 years as the resident weekend cabaret compere at the Heatherton Grange Hotel near Taunton, Somerset, working with such performers as Billy Fury, the Searchers, Marty Wilde etc.
After those 8 years he then went on to spend his weekends as a police officer in the Police Reserve of both the Avon and Somerset and Devon and Cornwall forces. For 8 of those years he spent most Saturday nights working the 4.00pm - 2.00am shift in a very busy city centre environment, often dealing with dangerous and violent situations.
An interest in photography from an early age progressed to Ken becoming a Licentiate of The Royal Photographic Society and he went on to Exhibiting colour slides in many major International Exhibitions.
However, in the evenings and at weekends he took on many different roles, which were both exciting and sometimes even dangerous !
He was a founding member of The Taunton Hospital Radio Service and also served on the National Executive committee for Hospital Radio.
Within this environment he hosted his own Celebrity chat show, producing over 120 shows with guests as diverse as Tony Bennett, Sir Norman Wisdom, Howard Keel and Morecambe and Wise. His show-biz connections led him to operating his own Entertainment Agency for 5 years, licensed by the Department of Employment.
He then spent 8 years as the resident weekend cabaret compere at the Heatherton Grange Hotel near Taunton, Somerset, working with such performers as Billy Fury, the Searchers, Marty Wilde etc.
After those 8 years he then went on to spend his weekends as a police officer in the Police Reserve of both the Avon and Somerset and Devon and Cornwall forces. For 8 of those years he spent most Saturday nights working the 4.00pm - 2.00am shift in a very busy city centre environment, often dealing with dangerous and violent situations.
An interest in photography from an early age progressed to Ken becoming a Licentiate of The Royal Photographic Society and he went on to Exhibiting colour slides in many major International Exhibitions.
