Possibly Finding Out I Have A New Brother

A few weeks ago I left home in the North East of England to shoot the south west coast, and then the lavender fields in France. I’d hoped to come home with some new images to add to my portfolio, and videos for my up-coming course.

I did not expect to have a new brother.

And yet, 24 hours ago I found myself sitting opposite a 56 year old man who bore a striking resemblance to a man who died 4 years ago – my dad.

My mother received a letter from this man claiming to be the result of an affair my dad had with his first wife’s sister, while married to his first wife (my mother was his third wife).

He was kind and apologetic in the letter, but curious to find out more information. He had no idea that 8 other siblings were waiting around the corner.

At the moment nothing is conclusive. He had a DNA test which showed he only shared one parent with this brother. There was always talk that he was “Mac’s” son, a ‘mysterious man, who had a dangerous reputation’, as he put it to me.

The story is long and so far unclear. When I contacted him, we arranged to meet since I was shooting not too far from where he lived. I’d seen a photo of the man and didn’t see any resemblance.

But sitting in the restaurant face-to-face, I was taken-aback. I couldn’t decide if my mind was playing tricks on me. I was in no doubt that this was my dad’s son. Nevertheless, he wants certainty so we agreed to a DNA test.

He was surprised by how open and relaxed we’ve all been about the situation. But anyone who knew my dad well, learned to expect the absurd – that he might have another son isn’t surprising to us.

This was a bloke who used to hitch-hike up to Scotland in the 1940s, when he was 12 (or around that age), just to see how far north he could get on little money. He didn’t tell anyone. He’d just disappear.

In fact, I couldn’t possibly describe how ridiculous his life was, but certain chapters involved forging documents so he could work in mines in Africa, being imprisoned in Canada as a teenager, gun fights with ‘terrorists’, or freedom fighters depending on your view, in Zimbabwe (where I was born), and stowing away on a boat from Australia to England. He seemed to thrive on trouble and adventure in his younger days.

And now we are left with a mystery to unravel. With my dad gone, and nobody else involved wanting to talk about it, it is left to the younger generations to figure it out.

My (possible) new brother is a nice bloke, with an interesting life and a grown up family. He also had the urge to travel, which he certainly satisfied.

Hopefully he can get some resolution to this. The DNA test will certainly help with that, but I doubt we’ll ever really know what happened.

I’ll update my blog when the results are in.

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Today’s image was created using Raya Pro & InstaMask

It’s the result of a 4 exposure blend. You can see the behind the scenes video here, where I talk about the compositions I chose: BTS: Composing Milky Way & Golden Hour Shots At The Lavender Fields