Into the void

20th November 2015

 

A quick post as my lids are heavy and my brain a cloud.
Black and white is something I crave to return to more regularly at the moment but when shooting it needs to be a commitment. I don’t have the ability to switch between colour and black & white and for an irrational reason have a fear of missing out. It is as if shooting colour guarantees Ill capture more, which is mad, as the magic of monochrome is to record real life in a different form. Tone, light and shape are like words of opposing languages and unravelling both at once is a pointless task.

I have decided that in future the simplest thing to do is to load a roll, not over analyse it and simply think in that choice.

This image is from the Wales shoot when I decided to experiment with black and white and one reason was that the sun was insanely harsh. With no shade and running low on time it seemed like a fitting opportunity.

Asking those I shoot to close their eyes is something I adore. It opens the situation up to an interpretable circumstance. I see it as my subjects being empowered. They are in a world that is protective and I cannot enter. They can relax with the security of not having to confront the camera.

Others may argue it offers the photographer more power, a chance to prey and pounce without the consent of their victim. I can’t help but notice that most people do relax when they shut their eyes. Their focus shifts and a sense of relief arrives. For me it never loses the novelty of providing mystery; like a closed door.

On that note..I’m off to bed..OAO x