Category Finalist 2010: Playground

Ricky Adam

Make art not war! This large concrete structure is a sound mirror. There were a few dotted around the coast of the UK and were used to detect enemy aircraft in World War Two, but made redundant soon after due to the invention of radar. What you can't see is the body of water surrounding part of the structure. The night before owain tied a length of rope across only to return the following morning to discover someone had taken it!

We had driven a long way to get here and Owain was determined not to let this get in his way, so, he stripped to the waist and waded through freezing cold water with his bike held above his head ‘army style’ and with his trousers and shoes in his backpack to change into on the other side. Bear in mind that we shot this in the middle of winter and it was freezing! Of course, riding the thing wasn't its original purpose but it's great to see this particular sound mirror being put to good use in a more positive way than its intended use during the war.

PHOTO INFO

Photographer: Ricky Adam
Athlete: Owain Clegg
Location: Dungeness, Kent, United Kingdom

TECHNICAL INFO

Camera: Nikon FM2
Film: Kodak TMax
Lens: 70-200mm
ISO: 400
F-Stop: f 5.6
Shutter Speed: 1/500