Ali Henderson chats to Jacki Gordon about her kitchen creativity
Ali Henderson meets Jacki Gordon, who loves nothing better than snapping teensy characters against tasty kitchen essentials!
LOCKDOWN was a bit of a let-down for research evaluation consultant Jacki Gordon. She’d recently taken up wildlife photography and loved getting out into the countryside to capture nature with her newly acquired zoom lens.
When restrictions were imposed, however, she focused on photographing her collie, Ollie, around the house.
There were only so many dog pictures Jacki could take, so soon came the purchase of a macro lens, used for shooting pictures very close.
With tiny model figures, Jacki has created a wealth of wonderful images using basic store cupboard essentials as a backdrop.
I ask about her very first shot and she laughs.
“That first macro shot was of Nordic walkers walking over frozen peas. That was such a challenge for me.
“The peas kept defrosting – I’d have a clump of peas, then they’d defrost and fall apart. They had to be pushed aside, then another clump of peas would have to come out of the freezer.
“We ate plenty of peas at dinner that night!”
Insomniac Jacki captures some of her best shots in the wee small hours.
“I’m a bad sleeper. I’d got up a night or two after the peas picture.
“The only models I had were the Nordic walkers and I was looking for inspiration, just to try another set-up.
“I found a Tunnock’s teacake and decided to shoot it. It didn’t look quite right, so I took a bite of the mallow and that worked.”
Jacki’s passion for creative photography originates from her dad.
“Before digital photos, I used to spend time with him in his darkroom – my parents’ kitchen repurposed for photography.
“My father would have an idea in his mind about what the perfect image would be, so he’d direct the family to order drinks of different colours on holidays so he could get the perfect photo!”
Inspiration never seems a problem.
“My ideas come when I’m up and rummaging.
“My online shopping order might include something I think might make a good photo. I did one recently with Maltesers.”
I ask Jacki if she has any favourites.
“There’s one of an Empire biscuit with dustbin men sweeping up the crumbs. I really like that one.
“There’s another I like of two characters with a dog walking over an apple.
“Then there’s painters on scaffolding: I called that ‘Red Pepper, Yellow Pepper’.
“I like trying to show the scale of the tiny figures by juxtaposing them against a familiar object.
“I did one of paddy field workers under some mushrooms.
“The mushrooms look large and foreboding, and you’ve got the little workers underneath.”
Do the pics have deeper meanings?
“I think that some of the images have this feel of people taking on big tasks, but they are very much created to bring a smile to people’s faces,” Jacki muses.
They have certainly done that. Interest in Jacki’s
“totie photies”, as she affectionately calls them, has gone viral, with images being shared worldwide.
“I call them ‘totie photies’ as ‘totie’ is a Scottish term used endearingly for ‘tiny’, and ‘photies’ is Scottish for photos.”
I wonder what her dad would have to say about it all.
“I think about that most days,” she reflects. “I post the pics on social media and friends and family often comment that he would have got such a kick out of this. He died in 2002.
“I wish I could have shared this with him. He had a great sense of humour. You lose someone and you carry them with you always. It’s a way of carrying his memory.”
Find Jacki Gordon’s macro photography on www.totiephoties.com, or her Instagram page:
@jacki_gordon.