I'm Humphrey Bogart - so's my wife!

Go to Dumfries and Galloway to become a Hollywood star

Casablanca, The Big Sleep, The Maltese Falcon – Spring Fling visitors all have the chance to become screen legend Humphrey Bogart.

Kim Ayres, one of five photographers taking part in Scotland’s premier visual art and craft open studios event, is inviting men, women and children to don a trenchcoat and hat to be pictured as one of Hollywood’s greatest stars.

The first to be pictured as Bogart was artist Alice Francis who loves work that turns everyday expectations and appearances on their heads – last year she covered the entire outside of a cottage in floral stretch fabric as part of Spring Fling.

The image of Alice will go on Kim’s studio wall in his Castle Douglas studio, to be joined by portraits of everyone else who he photographs during the Spring Fling weekend of 25 to 27 May.  

Kim said: “The brilliant thing about portrait photography is that it allows you to become anyone you like – a movie legend, a pop star, a character from history. The only limit is your imagination.

“I wanted to do something that would be fun and instantly recognisable – and the idea of giving everyone the chance to be photographed as Humphrey Bogart fitted the bill.

“But what’s really interesting about doing something like this is that it brings out the differences in people’s faces. When the wall is covered with pictures of people dressed as Bogart, what will stand out is how individual they all are.”

The photographers in Spring Fling 2013 are:

·        Kim Ayres of Castle Douglas, whose recent projects have included a collection of images of authors as literary characters for the Wigtown Book Festival. The Spring Fling photography is free – with a nominal £10 charge anyone who would like to be emailed a copy of the picture Kim takes. See http://www.kimayres.co.uk/

·        Allan Wright, from Castle Douglas, who was recently among the winners in the environmental category of the Scottish Nature Photography Awards. See http://www.allanwrightphoto.com/

·        Husband and wife team Ted Leeming & Morag Paterson, from near Dalry, who are renowned landscape photographers. See http://www.leemingpaterson.com/

·        Phil McMenemy, an award-winning nature photographer from the village of Laurieston. Seehttp://philmcmenemy.smugmug.com/

·        Roger Lever, a vet and portrait photographer who has also travelled in Africa taking wildlife pictures. See http://rogerleverphotography.com/