Making a humorous photograph is a difficult task. Unlike film or the written word there is no opportunity to build up to a punch line, or construct an elaborate situation. A photograph can evoke the recognition of a situation which the viewer can relate to, or illustrates a humorous moment of behaviour.

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Don McPhee spotted these two day-trippers on the beach at Blackpool, enjoying lying on the beach while still wearing raincoats , flat caps and polished brown shoes. The Guardian at that time was willing to use pictures like this which, while provoking a wry smile also suggested a comment on the British holiday habits, the British weather, and maybe what the sensible day tripper did after a liquid lunch.

Frank Martin saw a small item in a tourist brochure saying that a Guardsman at Buckingham Palace is not allowed to move, even if he has a fly on his nose. This provided the idea for a sequence of pictures. It involved hiring a uniform, a rubbery faced model, and buying a fly from a joke shop that was stuck on various parts of the guardsman's face. Hardly a piece of photojournalism worthy of a Pulitzer Prize, but it made a feature which was published in over 30 magazines and papers in various parts of the world and bought the photographer a new car.