Okay...so I took some time off. Six years is one year shy of an "official" sabbatical, and now I'm back. (Actually, I was inspired to return to blogging by my friend, Brian, who just started a blog of his own.)
This blog is designed to offer insights into my photographic process; what compels me, what I'm thinking, who inspires me, and any other random bits and pieces that seem relevant to making images. Your feedback, offering your own thoughts and insights about my pictures in particular, as well as image making in general, is highly valued and seriously encouraged.
So, now that I've returned, let's get at it:
After ten years of street portraits using a 4x5, we've shifted to an 8x10 format. (The "we" is my wife, and assistant, Linda). We still stop people on the street and ask them to pose for a portrait. Two years ago, as an acknowledgement that everyone has a story to tell in addition to the face that they present, we started asking people to write something about themselves.
We initially stopped this twenty year-old student, Lawson Jingsang Ling, because we were attracted to his serene personae and his simple, black outfit accessorized by his stylish white eyeglass frames. His poignant, revealing anecdote, however, underscores the idea that everyone has a backstory. It offers a wonderful, and vulnerable, parallel to his portrait. How does his writing alter your perception of his portrait? Or does it?
6 comments:
Hi Robert,
I've enjoyed your photos on Flickr for some time.
I'd love to find out what are the motivations "behind the lens" for what you do, beginning with a stupid question: why 8x10 ? Wasn't 4x5 cumbersome enough? Is it for the shallow DOF, or because you will want to make bigger prints?
Marek
www.mondoinbiancoenero.com
Hi, Marek,
I appreciate the compliment, and your taking the time to comment.
As cumbersome and unwieldy as 4x5 and 8x10 are, they create a presence that no small or medium format camera can match. People respond to the large format in a serious, respectful way, and I believe they relate to me very differently as a result. The large format creates a ritual and an event.
We've all had hundreds and hundreds of snapshots taken of ourselves, so we all have a background, a schema, in having our picture "taken." The large format helps me to enlist the person in "making" their image; one that is unlike any other they have ever had. The large format requires me to concentrate differently; because the film is expensive, I shoot conservatively and with more precision. (And, while technically the process of setting up the shot is supposed to be slow, with all of the practice I've had, I'm pretty nimble at making it all happen fairly quickly).
So, in the end, it's not about DOF and not about producing larger prints. It's about the creation of a unique experience for both me and the subject.
Hi, I came across your photos on the LF Forum. I think it is great how you set up these shots and continue doing so. I think it is a "dream project" that many people would like to do once, but it takes commitment.
I think the writing by the subject is great and also terribly moving at times. Which brings me to the point, how do you deal with the "competing" written statements, because there is a potential problem that it can take over the power from the actual photo. Or do you not see this as a problem?
Hi, Yona,
It's true, there are times when the subject's writing doesn't align well with the portrait. But, since I only make two exposures, there are times when the portrait doesn't work even if the writing does. (And, because I'm standing next to the camera while making the portrait, not looking through a viewfinder, I can't "see" exactly what I'm getting when I fire off the shutter.)
Part of the "rush" I get in working with film is that you have to wait to see any results (unlike digital). Likewise, I never read what the person has written until the film is processed and printed. That way I get a double rush.
Thanks for asking!
Hi Robert, thanks for your answer. I think what I meant is that the writing can in itself be a very powerful message for the viewer, so that's why I felt it is "competing" with the photograph. I'm not even sure this is a problem. The ideal situation would be that writing and photo complement each other, but I think this is by chance and if someone wrote something really moving, then the photo might drop into the background of the overall viewer experience. Again, I'm not sure if this is even an issue, because competing attention-seekers are now common place.
(Sorry, Google used an old account name in my previous comment)
Hey, Dirk,
As I keep asking people to write, the possibility that their words may overpower their portrait is always there. I do believe, however, that most folks can compartmentalize their experience and separate the words from the picture.
I appreciate your question, it's taking my thinking in new directions.
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