The idea for this approach to an image was born of frustration and experimentation. One looks at a scene and sees the potential for something interesting. You snap the shutter; then examine the results on your computer screen. Often one is really disappointed with what was captured. You know the old saying that the key to great image is being in the right place at the right time. But what you see on the screen has terrible lighting and colour and has elements that clutter the picture – usually people who have not posed to form an interesting pattern. One can apply different filters and techniques to enhance what is there, but you just can’t achieve a satisfying affect.

On one occasion I started trying new filters in the editing software I was employing. I used Invert Colours and was amazed at the results. The colours were glorious. The lines and patterns that had originally attracted my eye, now boldly manifested themselves, liberated from the constraints of natural colours. Even extraneous elements now added interest to the composition. Playing further, I was delighted to enhance and change the tones to add even more impact.

This technique worked particularly well with my images of Paris. Though I was thrilled at the time with the glories of the City of Light, the images I took reflected the gloomy weather and what seemed constant rain. Inversion worked miracles, dispelling the depressing greyness.