I don’t have a talent for fiction, preferring to chronicle events or write guidance. Maybe that is why photography appeals so much – and why I don’t like messing with an image. For me, it is a record of a moment in time and shouldn’t be altered or artificially created.

Having said that, on a recent visit to Farley’s – the home of the war photographer Lee Miller – I was challenged by Lee Miller’s son to reassess the picture that was taken of his mother in Hitler’s bathtub. It never sat right with me, I think because it was so completely posed. But the symbolism, once understood, is potent. Using the bath and the picture of Hitler are obvious disrespect – but the most important items in the picture are the boots. They were the pair that Lee Miller wore as one of the first photographers into Dachau and they still had the mud of that concentration camp on them … “I even washed the dirt of Dachau off in his tub” she said. That’s the real message.

Her colleague (David E. Scherman), a Jew, had a similar picture taken of himself in the bathtub, but the emphasis on the showerhead, not the boots – again a really obvious symbol.

I’m still not sure I like the photo, but I have to respect the intent.

Farleys house and gallery