A DUNFERMLINE photographer is attempting to capture the stories behind memorial benches across the area.

Alby Grainger will focus on the people – and their loved ones – who have benches placed at a variety of locations in Fife for a project which will culminate with an exhibition in Glenrothes in October.

For his Park Bench display, Alby is looking for people to participate by having their portraits done at the benches which mean so much to them.

"I take my dog for a walk a couple of times a day and quite often I will come across these benches," he explained. "In the public park and in the glen, there are hundreds of them but every time I see one, I just think, I wonder who they are or who they were, who uses them," he said.

"Quite often you will see little tributes, it could be a child's toy or a bunch of flowers or a birthday balloon and it just intrigues me. I am intrigued by humans generally and the relationships.

"I think everyone has a story to tell – everyone's life is a story and that story could be full of excitement and achievement but it might not be and it doesn't make it any less valid."

Alby, who runs Little Shop of Heroes alongside his wife Louise and has a photography studio at Fire Station Creative, said the project was a celebration of "normal folk" and the things and places they find important.

"It could be a bench in the middle of a housing estate, it could be a bench in the most beautiful, picturesque location you could imagine. What is important is the story," he added.

"I would like to photograph people sitting on the bench of their loved one or friend in the way they would normally do. It is not some kind of Victorian thing where you get on your best clothes unless that is what you do. You may go and and sit and have a cup of coffee and read a book when out walking the dog.

"Whatever it is you normally do when you visit the bench is what I want to photograph.

"I will also ask a couple of questions about the person whose bench it is, if the person I am interviewing knows why they chose that location and then the the third question is what did this person meant to you and why do you continue to visit them.

"I am going to record all these conversations and at the exhibition, they will play in the background just on a loop. It will not be intrusive but will be there if you listen.

"As you go round looking at these people, you also get to hear a bit of the stories being told."

Alby said he is aware that anyone taking part will be emotionally investing in his project.

"When I ask people to participate in one of the projects I am doing, I do not do it lightly," he added. "I care about the stories of these strangers because these benches are there for everyone to use. When I sit on them, you are experiencing something of the thing they experienced and why the bench is there."

Park Bench is scheduled to be held in the Rothes Hall Gallery in October. Anyone who visits the bench of a loved one, and wants to participate, is asked to contact Alby directly by emailing graingeralby@gmail.com for more information.