ON  THIS  PAGE  I'M  TURNING  THE  CLOCK  BACK  TO  THE  1970'S  AND 1980'S  WHEN  I  FIRST  STARTED  PHOTOGRAPHY .

IN  THOSE  DAYS  COMING  OUT  OF  A  PHOTOGRAPHIC  COLLEGE COURSE  THE  WORLD  LOOKED  A  VERY  DIFFERENT  PLACE  THAN  IT DOES  TODAY .

I was introduced to photography by my Grandad in the sixties .

He was an amateur photographer in his spare time , while being a commercial sign designer  in his day job .

During the Second World War he had been in the RAF as a Squadron Leader of an air photography recon squadron .

He taught me with his camera's a lot about photography and design before I even owned one myself .

My very first camera when I was sixteen that my parents purchased for me was an Edixa  Prismat 35mm camera and a standard 50mm lens . 

I went out that first time ....to a local park and took my first pictures .

That camera stayed with me for around twelve months until I traded it in for a pair of Minolta SRT101 cameras . 

My journey in photography had started .

The year was 1970.....and the following year I was eighteen and entered a Photographic Course at the local College .

Little did I realise at that point many years later where I would be with my photography today .

The subjects before me in the seventies and eighties were many......some of those images I have recently found in a box .....and are on show here .

The first time they have been on public show since my early days .

These years saw me cover many different and varied subjects with my cameras as I learned the craft of photography......from pure amateur images to my first commercial assignments.....

Along the way I did Motor Sport Photography at Oulton Park , Donnington Park and Brands Hatch Race Circuits with a Press Pass from a News Agency......

Five years of Wedding Photography and Portraits....

Three years of Theatre Photography with front of house type pictures of the singers , artists from entertainment stage shows .....

Commercial Photography and Advertising Photography for Hotels and Exhibitions ....and everything else in between .

A great learning experience and a fantastic career ride.....which eventually took me into the Toy Industry and Children's Publishing for over thirty three years .

My very first images with a 35mm camera....I was sixteen years old .....these flower images were taken in the local park and formed my introduction to photography back in 1969 .

The following images were all taken between 1970 and 1988.....

Most of the images are with 35mm Minolta SRT101 Cameras .

Some of the images after 1986 were created with a Mamiyaflex 6x6 twin lens reflex camera and a pair of Mamiya RB 67 ProS cameras that would take me into the Toy Industry in 1988 / 1989 .

BIER KELLER INTERIOR - CENTRAL BLACKPOOL

IMAGE PHOTOGRAPHY RICHARD DIXON .

ENTAM - TRUST HOUSE FORTE HOTELS UK 

CONTROL  OFFICER  INTERGALACTIC  RESCUE 

GERRY  ANDERSON'S  CREATION  FOR  A  JIFF  FRUITS  CINEMA COMMERCIAL .

ORIGINAL  PUPPET  AND  SET .

PHOTOGRAPHY  B Y RICHARD  DIXON 

EMI - ITC- GERRY ANDERSON MARKETING .

KING KONG - GIANT INFLATABLE  ON BLACKPOOL TOWER

PHOTOGRAPHY  BY  RICHARD  DIXON

FIRST  LEISURE  /  SIR  BERNARD  DELFONT

BLACKPOOL  TOWER  COMPANY  IMAGE.

SPACE 1999 - MOONBASE ALPHA.....

The original studio model miniature.....

I met Gerry Anderson in the nineteen eighties and was able to photograph his two exhibitions he staged in Blackpool , England with the help of EMI / ITC / Gerry Anderson Marketing .

During that time I also briefly met one of his model makers at an Exhibition ,

Philip Rae who built the "SpaceHawk" Space Station for the Terrahawks TV Series very kindly allowed me access to photograph some of his space models collection which included the original Hawk and Eagle models created for Space 1999 .

The model images are below together with a picture of the "Delta Beacon " space station for Gerry Anderson's "Into infinity" movie .

This very large miniature picture was taken at the Blackpool Exhibitions for EMI / ITC Exhibitions .

MOONBASE ALPHA - HAWK SPACECRAFT . SPACE 1999 .

DELTA BEACON SPACE STATION - INTO INFINITY

SPACE 1999 - RESCUE EAGLE .

SCI-FI  SPACE  VEHICLE  MODELS   BY  PHILIP  RAE

PHOTOGRAPHY  AND  MODEL  LANDSCAPE  SET  BY  RICHARD  DIXON .

EARLY  EXPLORATION  MODEL   SUBMARINE DESIGN  /  BACKGROUND PAINTING  AND  MODEL  SET  CREATED  BY  RICHARD  DIXON .

" NIGHT STRIKE " -  SCI-FI  SCENE  WITH  VEHICLES

CREATED  BY  RICHARD  DIXON .

THIS  IMAGE  AROUND  MID - NINETEEN  EIGHTIES .

CUSTOMISED  "DRACULA"  MODEL  FIGURE  -  WITH  FABRIC  CAPE  AND CLOTHES....AN  EARLY  MODEL  FIGURE  IMAGE  CREATED  IN  THE NINETEEN  SEVENTIES .

SNCF RAILWAYS TGV.....PARIS NORD STATION ....PARIS FRANCE .

NATIONAL SAVINGS - MISS PREMIUM BOND COMPETITION .

CAROLINE MONROE - JAMES BOND FILM PROMOTION - THE SPY WHO LOVED ME - JET BIKE PRESS DEMONSTRATION - BLACKPOOL ODEON .

FATHER UNWIN / FROM GERRY ANDERSON'S "THE SECRET SERVICE" .

THE LAST OF THE ORIGINAL SUPERMARIONATION SERIES .

THIS IMAGE BY RICHARD DIXON FOR EMI / ITC / GERRY ANDERSON MARKETING .

World Champion Emerson Fittipaldi in a Lotus 72D John Player Special....Brands Hatch "Race of Champions Formula One Race " .

I did a fair bit of motor sport photography in the early 1970's....

I worked with a Press Pass that I received from a Photo Agency in those years taking pictures at Brands Hatch , Oulton Park and Castle Donnington . I covered Formula One , Formula Two , Formula Three and Touring Car Races with my Minolta Camera during this time .

" KEEP BRITAIN TIDY CAMPAIGN " PRESS PROMOTION BLACKPOOL BEACH - STAGED WITH THE ASSISTANCE OF TRUST HOUSE FORTE PIERS AND HOTELS ....AND BLACKPOOL COUNCIL ." SECOND GENERATION DANCERS......

A college photo project image.....advertising a product in a christmas scene....created in 1971 .

The background was a mix of photo cut out trees together with model railway fir trees ....placed together and flour with cotton wool for the snow effects...the mountains in the background were done on a backboard with plaster and paint .

My first time at trying out this artwork style of realism.....it worked on the finished print as people looking at the image thought the background was real....if they had seen the set and how it was done ....it was a very messy thing to clean up after the pictures were taken.....

A model miniature of a World War Two scene....a bridge crossing with ruined building....this was my first work with a close up lens on miniatures in the early seventies .

A christmas scene in miniature....a model swiss castle....the very first model I built myself and sold to a railway modeller for his layout . 

THE LAXEY WHEEL / ISLE OF MAN

"  STARBIRD RAIDER " - CUSTOMISED MODEL SET DISPLAY DESIGN CREATED IN THE 1970'S .

RAF / RED  ARROWS  -  GNAT / BLACKPOOL  AIRPORT - 1970'S .

THREE IMAGES INSPIRED BY THE " ADVENTURES OF STARCRUISER ".

SOME EARLY SCI-FI MODEL WORK CREATIONS....FROM THE EARLY NINETEEN SEVENTIES.....

SCI-FI  HANGER  BAY  EXPLOSION

PHOTOGRAPHY  AND  PYRO  TECHNICS  BY  RICHARD  DIXON

THIS  IMAGE  AND  MODEL  SET  WERE  CREATED  IN  NINETEEN  EIGHTY EIGHT .

STARBIRD  RAIDER  MODEL  SET

PHOTOGRAPHED  AND  CREATED  BY  RICHARD  DIXON  IN  THE  MID NINETEEN  SEVENTIES .

CENTAL PIER / TRUST HOUSE FORTE HOTELS AND PIERS / NIGHT TIME PUBLICITY IMAGE .

EILEAN  DONAN  CASTLE - NEAR  KYLE  LOCHALSH .

LOCATION  USED  FOR  FILMING  "  MEL  GIBSON  IN  BRAVEHEART  " AND  SEAN  CONNERY  IN  " HIGHLANDER " FEATURE  FILMS .