When imagination goes A.W.O.L.

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Imagine if you're a photographer on a provincial newspaper; your fantasies of being the next David Bailey or Annie Leibovitz have been crushed by years of taking pictures of oversized cheques being presented to local charities and vandalised hanging baskets.

The next task you're assigned with is to illustrate a story of someone who has been banned from Aqua-fit sessions at his local swimming baths for being a man. Naturally you must have a photo of the said gentleman looking angry but you're faced with the tricky problem of introducing a swimming element to the image to capture the attention of the reader flicking through the paper.

In times gone by when your ambition was strong and you took pride in your work you might have done a low angled shot of the annoyed chap looking suitably exasperated outside the recreational premises. Those days are long gone though so with a pressing need to get to your next job (taking snaps of a cake competition at a nearby church) you just chuck a towel over the shoulder of the man while he stares moodily down the lens.

But even in your state of crushed dreams and long disappeared hopes, not even you can answer why the chuff you made him lean on a lamp post.