This image with tomatoes and amphora is another from my series of Aeolian Still Lifes set against the deep blue sky of the Mediterranean. The perfectly symmetrical shape of Stromboli sits on the horizon as a backdrop.

This series was captured over a number of years, not all at the same time. I had found this wonderful and quite evocative location to capture these still lifes, but alas after a while a tree grew in the middle distance so the perfect and clear view of this minimalist composition was disturbed. Such a shame as it was really quite an ideal location as it lined up perfectly with Stromboli.

For this image I was in part inspired by the “Water Carrier of Seville” by the great Spanish Baroque painter Diego Velasquez. In this painting the seller holds an amphora on which there are beads of water dripping down the side. I love this little evocative detail so much that I tried to emulate the drops of water here too!

I shot this on a square format Hasselblad camera, using luscious Fuji Velvia film. This combination of the square format, simple composition but with a strong geometry, and bright colours are features which still inspire me today. This, along with the sharp light and deep shadows of the Aeolian Islands with their whitewashed houses and blinding sunlight. This spirit of the