Black and White photography by definition is a reductive exercise, just by stripping away colour, to focus on light, shadow, tonality and texture. In this portrait, we go even further; only the eyes and hands are unobscured, but even so the model packs a lot of expression into her eyes and hands. On of my favourite portraits of 2011!
Picture taken with Mamiya M645, 80mm f2.8 lens with 25A red filter, Ilford SFX Infrared film. One shoot through umbrella to model’s right.
A musician from Ottawa answered a casting call for my Broken project; he would be in Toronto, and was I interested in photographing him? Yes, and I am glad I did! The image below won’t be part of the broken series as the object is not visible, but I really like the intensity that comes out of this image!
Interesting guy” he collects vinyl LP records, so naturally he had an interest in real film 🙂 It was also fun chatting about guitars.
Masks are interesting things. Sometimes meant to hide or obscure, in a performing sense they can channel energy and personality into a performance. In this image, the actress is definitely using the mask to channel the energetic and creative spirit that her made her a lot of fun to work with!
This image is from my Broken project. The model is actually a film-shooting friend (along with her husband). She filled in one day when a model couldn’t make it for the shoot. She brought a lot of focus and intensity to the image!
I originally purchased the mic in this image for another photo shoot, but when the team for a “Film Noire” shoot saw the mic, they immediately wanted to work it into an image, and I can’t blame them. It’s a real Shure 55 “Elvis” mic, iconic and quite collectable. I am not sure if it can be made to work again, but it would be worth the effort!
This image is another one from my “Broken” project. I had the pleasure of working with “Rae Gun”, an alternative model who brought a lot of creative spark and enthusiasm to the shoot. (As an aside, it has been my experience that alternative models — tattoos, piercings, different hairstyles etc. — have almost aways been amazing folks to work with!)
The prop is the remains of a metal bucket that has been rusting away in our back yard for at least 5 years. I think it’s a perfect prop for the Broken series.
This image is from a photo yesterday afternoon with a multi-talented actress/model/poet. It is simply lit, with a simple backdrop, and no funky post processing. And it just may be my favourite portrait from 2011. After years of shooting anything but formal portraiture, then forcing myself to try it this year, it is ironic that it has now become far and away my favourite genre, because of images like this. It is simple on one hand, but on the other there is a lot happening with the model’s expression and her energetic and bright personality. Faces and expressions like this are as much a monument to the human spirit as any cathedral or crumbling ruin.
Canadian literary critic Northrope Frye was famous for his work The Great Code: The Bible and Literature, about the pervasiveness of biblical themes, metaphors and symbolism in Western literature, and as I worked with this image I was struck by the fact that while the model and I were not consciously trying to do so, to my mind at least we created an image that reminds of of the story of the Annunciation, with the combination of the head scarf, the lighting, and the model’s upward gaze. It’s ironic that at a time when I am at best agnostic (with atheist tendencies), I am still affected by the universality of the story.
One of the highlights of my recent trip to Italy was peering into the crater at the top of Mount Vesuvius. None of the pictures of took at the top in my mind capture the scale and terrible majesty of the site.
In contrast, this image of some worn steps on the trail up the side of the mountain really works for me, in a way none of the crater shots do.
My wife and I just returned from our trip to Southern Italy, so prepare for an onslaught of pictures!
I’m starting with Pompeii. Even though this image was made with a DSLR, to me almost every image of Pompeii needs to be monochrome, to capture the sense of history that exudes from this famous site. A truly incredible place.
My Third Eye 