blackandwhite

Veil of Leaves

*Veil of Leaves*
Fuji TX2 (XPAN) + Ilford FP4+
Model : Irina

The theory is that when the texture has a direction (an up and down, essentially) you should shoot the portrait and the texture in the same direction. And yet I think I have more success with the opposite. Not that I have any control over the process at this stage (I shoot both vertical and horizontal on the same rool, and some textures are directional and others are not.) Either way, I really like how this one came out, as if there was thing gauze mask over Irina’s face.

The Laurel Crown

*The Laurel Crown*
Fuji TX2 (XPAN) + Ilford FP4+
Model: N.

N. was the only model with darker skin on that photo session, and I was very curious to see how differently her skin would imprint the flora textures. Turns out that even a slightly darker skin tone makes a lot of difference with beautiful results. Here the small leaves add texture to her upper body, and the way the boughs position in her hair (unplanned, again) makes them look like a laurel crown.

The Bearded Lady

*The Bearded Lady*
Fuji TX2 (XPAN) + Ilford FP4+
Model : Lara

I have mentioned already how amazed at the element of luck in this process I’m exploring. The amazing thing is how often it works to deliver something that I could not have planned and yet somehow says something or deliveres a totally unexpected outcome. This Bearded Lady is probably the most flagrant example of that. The pinetree boughs didn’t register on most of her torso, but did register in her long hair and the shadow of her hair. I clearly remember asking her to surround her face with the hair. There the pine boughs look like a beard. And then her face is hollowed out by the glare from the sky in the original texture shot. I could not have planned this.

Fragmented Silhouette

*Fragmented Silhouette*
Fuji TX2 (XPAN) + Ilford FP4+
Model : Sarah

One of the things that stands out here in HK (compared to other places I’ve been) is the rich variety of very textured leaves. Not that I had really noticed before I embarked on this project. This type of leaf here has so much structure that Sarah’s back feels almost like a collage. Love the effect. One day I’ll have to find a botanist to figure out what all these plants are!

Naked in a Field of Flowers


*Naked in a Field of Flowers*
Fuji TX2 (XPAN) + Ilford FP4+
Model : Jelle

One of the things I could do in the studio that I couldn’t do with my first outdoor shoot (besides having fully naked models) was to have most of the body in the shade to get maximum texture. But what I discovered was how cool the pics were with low light exposure of the body but not full shadows. In this back portrait of Jelle, I love not only how the flowers pop, but how you can still distinguish his shoulderblades, the subtle lighting of the right shoulder, etc. Definitely something to explore in more detail next time.

Orchid Smile

*Orchid Smile*
Fuji TX2 (XPAN) + Ilford FP4+
Model : Madline

As I was exploring the Hong Kong botanical garden for varied flora textures, I found a little greenhouse that had (amongst other flowers) a number of orchids. I decided that it would be worth checking out how I might use them in the project although I was a little concerned that they would be too « busy » texturally. That turned out to be partially true, I think if I shot with orchids again I might underexpose them a bit more or use them in mostly lit portraits. Still, their very particular look delivered some stark pictures like this portrait of Madline with her enigmatic smile.

Consumed by Ivy

*Consumed by Ivy*
Fuji TX2 (XPAN) + Ilford FP4+
Model : Lara

With a dark haired model (especially with long hair) you get pronounced texture not only in the shadows but in the hair as well. This is not the most dramatic example of that, but I like here how the left hand side of Lara’s waist has a lot of texture whereas the right side has less, but both sides of the head are consumed because of her long dark hair. There’s something of a classical painting in the pose that I really like as well.

Lit by Leaves

*Lit by Leaves*
Fuji TX2 (XPAN) + Ilford FP4+
Model : Madline

So last month I ran my first nude studio session. I had done some nude backs a few years ago as part of the Unknown Armies series of photos, but never full nude. But the Flora double exposure project only works by superimposing the flora textures and human skin. The initial session was bare chested guys, which I suppose is nude (or should be) but socially acceptable and easy to set up. For this second session, I had 11 models, including 8 girls, and that’s a different story. Or so I thought. The truth is, within minutes of the session starting I didn’t pay attention anymore. I didn’t have time. It was all about lighting and composition. Anyway, this picture is one I really like, with the long palm leaf acting kind of like a strange lighting mechanism. It would have been an entirely different picture with a denser texture, but it’s again one of those things where luck plays a large part.

Between Two Ferns


*Between Two Ferns*
Fuji TX2 (XPAN) + Ilford FP4+
Model : Esther

One of the really fun parts of this project is how unpredictable the superimposition of the texture and the subject is. In this instance, the fact that the curve of the second fern aligned nearly perfectly with the curve of Esther’s head was entirely accidental… and utterly awesome. I am thinking of structuring the next shoots a little bit more with less variety in flora textures… and yet I wonder if I might not be losing some wonder in the process…

Leafy Full Frontal

*Leafy Full Frontal*
Fuji TX2 (XPAN) + Ilford FP4+
Model : Romain

Even when you know what you’re aiming for, you’re sometimes surprised with the results. What was super lucky here was that the leaf texture was very dense. As a consequence, Romain’s naked body in the shadows ended up covered in leaves by the magic of double exposure. The great news is that I can therefore share a full frontal nudity shot on social media without fear of reprisal!