Welcome to this series of short blogs that are based around pictures from my archive , I hope the words that accompany the featured pictures offer a level of context , explanation and inspiration to readers .

Older readers might recognise the source of “inspiration” for the “The Foto What I Took” blog title , answers on a postcard …

I’m a big fan of visual decapitation and have to admit that headless figures are a recurring theme within my work , not sure what a head doctor would make of it but I can’t deny my addiction to this macabre visual device !

I promise I don’t go out looking for headless folk , they just appear , honest !

I think of todays featured picture as “A Gathering Of Male Political Leaders” , that probably says more about my uncertainties and insecurities right now than it does about the featured pic , especially as I don’t usually give my pictures titles …

I have to admit to being drawn to the headless mannequins initially but the real prize within this picture is the soft light entering the frame from the right as it falls off to darkness , I should also point out that the colour has not been removed from the file , this is as found !

In short this simple photograph adds up to much more than the sum of its parts , it relies totally on its own simplicity.

Successful photographs do not have to be the result of fancy pants all singing and dancing composition and lighting , sometimes aesthetic simplicity is visual strength !

If you can keep your head while all around are losing theirs …