I Seem To Have An Alter Ego

Well, it seems like an age since I’ve written on here. Although one of my last posts was about my mortality, I’m pleased to say I’m here and well. Thank you to everyone that sent messages too. I was a little overwhelmed. Thanks to my new alter ego, ‘Benchman‘, I have been busy. He has taken over my life. More about me and him later.

Surprising Lives

I must thank Amanda Ricks at Surprising Lives for her continuing support of this silly old sod in blogging land. She invited me to guest blog on her site and I was so honoured to do so. My whole life was put into words, all in a couple of pages. Either, I have had a very boring life or I must have died years ago! Anyway, it all brings me on to ‘Benchman.’ He has been included in an earlier post on here when he was first brought to life.

Benchman

‘Benchman‘ has become my Frankenstein, although, I’m pleased to say, he’s a lot more friendly. If you haven’t seen him yet, he was created from a photograph I took of a guy (who happens to look like me) sitting with his back to me, on a bench. There was nothing special about the photo and on the first inspection nearly got deleted. Then one day, I saw a copy of the famous painting, ‘The Haywain‘ by John Constable when I thought of placing ‘Benchman‘ on the river bank. It worked a treat and through Facebook and Instagram, I got a lot of encouraging comments. That’s how he was born.

Photographs and More

A month or so down the road and ‘Benchman‘ is growing his own base of fans. It’s taken over my life but in a great way. People have sent me photographs of themselves asking if they can be in a ‘Benchman‘ picture, sitting next to him. Others have messaged with ideas of where they would like to see ‘Benchman‘in a scene. Some I have done, like watching the old Blues singer/guitar player, Robert Johnson shaking hands with the Devil at the Crossroads in Mississippi.

The Power of Photoshop

He lends himself well to representing famous quotes. I can place him in any situation that the imagination can take you to. That’s the power of Photoshop. Although I’ve been consumed by him, he has certainly given me a whole new perspective on creativity. If any of my fellow bloggers are on Facebook, ‘Benchman‘ and I would love to see you on my page. You can find him here Benchman That’s it for now, ‘Benchman‘ needs feeding so I have to go.