Des...

My good friend Des drove down from Rickmansworth today, for a quick visit and to enjoy my early Christmas present, a theatre visit to Salisbury Playhouse’s “The Recruiting Officer”, on the final day of its three week run, this evening.

A superbly staged bawdy ‘Restoration Comedy’, which was fun, superbly and energetically performed and a lovely evening all round, which we both very much enjoyed.

As Des now lives so far away now, I rarely get to see him and as he not only works for MIND, is a very active member of his church but also a keen am-dram actor. He has an endearingly lilting Irish voice (he’s a Dubliner) and so he’s in most of the productions that his theatre company in north London puts on.

Des gave me my full membership to Blipfoto for my Christmas present last year – he’s really not a photographer but does look up what I’ve done on Blip, when he can (and remembers!). He also really appreciates just how important both photography and Blip means to me and for my well-being and so I think he was not that surprised when I dropped the bombshell that I wanted a quick pic of him.

Most thespians want pictures of themselves – not Des, though. He is very modest and quite meek, so, it was with some reluctance that he posed for these, on his way back to the car, just after midnight, before he drives all the way back up the M3 and M25. Placing him under a single spot security light, I got him to look up, so that the light hit his face more. It did create shadows in his eye sockets though and the black and white I originally wanted looked awfully flat and muddy after I had softened this contrast up. Colour also perhaps gives a hint of his blue eyes too.

Des said at the time that he doesn’t want to see the results, which I can understand. I have done no miracles here – I’m quite undecided whether it does him justice, it’s OK, under the circumstances but no more than that. I’m posting it as he is such a special friend, we had such a great evening but also because I want to do more portraits, which inevitably includes the less good ones.

So, ultimately, it is this man who will be allowing you all to see my Blips in large etc over the next 12 months, as he’s agreed to gift me full Blip membership this Christmas, too!