*Jamaican Dress*
Canon EOS300 + Ilford Delta100
Model: Chi Chi
Texture: Zamia furfuracea
Chi Chi is a dancer who is developing a very specific style with her troop, inspired by, among other things, Jamaican rythms and dances. Little did I know when I took this image of her that I was blending her silhouette with zamia furfuracea, more commonly known as the Jamaican sagotree. The coincidence is nearly too good to be true and yet…
*Fragrant recline*
Canon EOS300 + Ilford Delta100
Model: Cath
I had an epiphany recently, one that on reflection was so obvious I can’t imagine why it didn’t strike me earlier. When shooting on a dark background, I have a lot more freedom to frame my model not only standing, but seated, lying, etc. This image of Cath exemplifies that, and I find it simply beautiful.
*Misty Grove*
Canon EOS300 + Ilford Delta100
Model: Michelle
This may sound strange considering I’ve been working on Photosynthesis for over two years now, but the technique really is super sensitive to exposure, both on the texture side and on the model side. Lately, I’ve been getting a lot of faint imprints, many of which look like regular portraits (sans texture). On some though, like is the case here, the texture while faint creates an interesting pattern, like it’s lost in fog.
*Repairs*
Wista 45VX + Ilford Delta100
Garages in Hong-Kong are mostly open air, and this makes for great street photographies. Of course, the spontaneity of a large format shot is questionable, it probably took me 10 minutes altogether to set-up… But I really like this image, and not just because it was my first ever.
*Spares*
Wista 45 VX + Ilford Delta 100
I finally got into Large Format photography. Last week I shot four sheets of 4×5, two out in the streets and two in the studio. This is the second image from the street shoot, the spare parts of Hong-Kong mini-buses in the street outside a garage in Wong Chuk Hang.
*Pulling Up*
Canon EOS300 + Ilford Delta 100
Model: Iris
There are essentially three areas of experimentation in Photosynthesis: the textures, the double exposures and the portraits. I realised recently that I focused a lot of my effort on the first two, but didn’t spend enough time working on my model direction. It’s a big focus now, and this image is one of the early attempts to get out of the more classic poses I tended to use until now.
*Frayed Profile*
Canon EOS300 + Ilford FP4+
Model: Pauline
I really love these Parisian treetops from the Jardin des Plantes. I will definitely be on the lookout to reuse that at some later date…
*Ivy Wrapped*
Canon EOS300 + Ilford Delta 100
Model: Melville
Texture: Hedera Helix
Melville was one of my very earliest models, when I was still testing the Photosynthesis technique. It wasn’t even called that then. Since then we both wanted to organise another shoot, and after some irritating issues on my side, it finally happened last September.
*Needles in my Back*
Canon EOS300 + Ilford Delta100
Model: Lorah
Sometimes I don’t know why some things work and others don’t. When we did this session with Lorah, a lot of texture focused shots didn’t quite work, but every single one of the « lateral treetops » as I call them was fantastic. Go figure…
*Mottled*
Canon EOS300 + Ilford Delta 100
Model: Manon
When it comes to lighting, I went through phases on the Photosynthesis project. I started simple, then added lights and directions, tried various things, and right now I’m back to a simple lateral light (apart from the white background which is really tough to achieve…) I like the simplicity of it and the subtle reinforcement of the texture on the unlit side. I’m sure I’ll go back to more complex setups down the line, but that’s the current mood.
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