Britain gallery: Canal

Walking along the bank of the Gloucester Canal, I took a picture of the canal itself whilst

waiting for Buster to finish his watering-every- bush routine. I say 'a' picture, rather than 'this'

picture, as the original was one of the most boring shots I've ever taken and normally I would

have discarded it.. Having just come from the graveyard of the old boats known as the

Purton Hulks, which is just round the corner from here (see B&W gallery), I was in more of a

hurry than Buster was at that moment to get back and fire up the PC. But something must've

triggered an unconscious recognition that here on the canal was a picture ripe for tweaking

with all sorts of creative add-ons. And so it proved. A new sky, very similar to Constable's

'Haywain', with an extra bit of cobalt blue in it, a heavy dose of templates to give it a 19th

century oil painting look, a degraded colour palette and a mild vignette; all combine to enhance

what wasn't there in the first place into what I jokingly refer to as 'Constable's Canal'. There is

little in the picture to give the game away now! But this little episode reminded me of a

valuable but forgotten principle: never chuck a picture away, however dull it is - you are never

going to know when it might be useful.

Walking along the bank of the Gloucester Canal, I took a picture of the canal itself whilst waiting

for Buster to finish his watering-every- bush routine. I say 'a' picture, rather than 'this' picture, as

the original was one of the most boring shots I've ever taken and normally I would have

discarded it.. Having just come from the graveyard of the old boats known as the Purton Hulks,

which is just round the corner from here (see B&W gallery), I was in more of a hurry than

Buster was at that moment to get back and fire up the PC. But something must've triggered an

unconscious recognition that here on the canal was a picture ripe for tweaking with all sorts of

creative add-ons. And so it proved. A new sky, very similar to Constable's 'Haywain', with an

extra bit of cobalt blue in it, a heavy dose of templates to give it a 19th century oil painting look,

a degraded colour palette and a mild vignette; all combine to enhance what wasn't there in the

first place into what I jokingly refer to as 'Constable's Canal'. There is little in the picture to give

the game away now! But this little episode reminded me of a valuable but forgotten principle:

never chuck a picture away, however dull it is - you are never going to know when it might be

useful.