*Fading into Leaves*
Canon EOS300 + Ilford Delta 100
Model: Aleks
The tricky thing with inverted treetops is that you want a lot of contrast between the top of the tree and the sky, but ideally you also want some detail on the leaves or branches at the top of the tree. Ultimately it’s always a compromise, but when you manage to get sufficient contrast and some detail, like here, it’s really powerful.
*Nubian Princess*
Canon EOS300 + Ilford Delta 100
Model: Nadia
Nadia’s prominent Egyptian inspired tattoo obviously evoked antiquity, and the statuesque pose in this image only reinforced that. I absolutely love how this one came out.
*Slither*
Canon EOS300 + Ilford Delta 100
Model: Ela
I had already shot a similar pose with a similar texture in colour during my early Photosynthesis experiments, but with a narrower stemmed plant I think the winding, serpenty feel of that texture is magnified. It conveys a certain air of menace to the image that I find quite compelling.
*Sweet Leaf*
Canon EOS300 + Ilford Delta 100
Model: Claire
When it comes to poses, there’s a fine line between confidence and provocation. I strive to achieve the former, I’m not so interested in the latter. I think this silhouette shot of Claire is a good illustration of the confidence I like in my models and poses.
*Rustface #2*
Canon EOS300 + Fujifilm Acros II
Model: Sandise
These rusty metal sheets are graphically interesting but visually disturbing when used in double exposures. The end result here may be a little less dramatic than Rustface, but I quite like the pose.
*Automatic Man*
Canon EOS300 + Fujifilm Acros II
Model: Sandise
When I shot my textures in Cheung Chau for these trials, guided by Christina through the jumble of ship engines and other industrial junk, I told myself that the excessively structured textures wouldn’t work. I was wrong clearly, since this one is, in my opinion, the strongest image in the initial test roll. Bonus points for whoever spots the title reference.
*The New Tinman*
Canon EOS300 + Fujifilm Acros II
Model: Sandise
(In 2022 I’m starting to use the techniques learned through Photosynthesis to apply them to other projects. This one is tentatively called Photovoltaic, where I use industrial textures instead of plant textures in my portraits. Work in progress.)
My main concern, shooting industrial textures, was that the degree of abstraction of what I shot would be too low, the structures too recognizable, and therefore the double exposure effect wouldn’t work too well. Turns out I was only partially right, but I shot these sheets of crumpled cans in the hope of finding a texture more akin to the plant textures I normally aim for. And this one, unsurprisingly, worked really well.
*Rustface*
Canon EOS300 + Fuji Acros II
Model: Sandise
(In 2022 I’m starting to use the techniques learned through Photosynthesis to apply them to other projects. This one is tentatively called Photovoltaic, where I use industrial textures instead of plant textures in my portraits. Work in progress.)
I knew from the start that using industrial textures would result in more disturbing pictures. I also suspected that just shooting random textures, like I did in this shipyard in Cheung Chau a few weeks before leaving Hong-Kong wouldn’t yield anything workable. I was wrong on that, thankfully. But I was certainly right about how disturbing the images could be: the rust on Sandise’s face here makes him look diseased. But it’s striking.
*Zebrina Menace*
Canon EOS300 + Ilford Delta100
Model: Ben
Photographer: Siuding
Texture: Tradescantia zebrina
(This week I will share some of the images that came out of an unusual session where I was the model. I’ll talk about why I did it and what I learned from it. These will not be the best Photosynthesis images you have seen, but they form an important part of the project’s history.)
While the talented Siuding took the portraits of me during this shoot, I had to plan the textures ahead, as I normally do. One area that I rarely anticipate with models, but I could and did anticipate with myself as the model was using model features to evoke a certain feeling, in this case one of menace. I felt that that would be a good visual use of my bulk.
Siuding and I set up the lights so as to underexpose my considerable back with Tradescantia zebrina, a texture I knew to be quite dark and striking, and we lit my face properly so as to have little to know texture there. Interestingly, this is the exact same lighting set up as a very successful image of Siuding herself, Bittersweet. A fitting parallel to our collaboration, I think.
*The language of flowers*
Canon EOS300 + Ilford Delta100
Model: Ben
Photographer: Siuding
(This week I will share some of the images that came out of an unusual session where I was the model. I’ll talk about why I did it and what I learned from it. These will not be the best Photosynthesis images you have seen, but they form an important part of the project’s history.)
A couple of years ago I attended David Boyce’s great history of photography course at the Blue Lotus Gallery in Hong-Kong. When the course covered nude photography, David mentioned a project that some female photographers had undertaken (in NYC, I think) to photograph (in the nude) male photographers specialised in nude. I loved the idea of that.
I found the process of posing myself really interesting intellectually and emotionally. I didn’t know how I would feel before hand. Turns out the nudity itself did not intimidate me. Siuding is a pro, and it was clear to me she was looking at me as a subject, not as a nude person. There was no judgement in her gaze.
It helped me understand as well the stark divide that a lot of models have talked about between the session itself and the images. When I started this project, to me the session was an integral part of the image making process, and I didn’t really internalise the fact that the shooting itself may be a distinct experience for the models. Now I do.
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