Many photographers are influenced, or inspired, by high-end equipment and digital enhancement. But I am inspired and motivated by older, more traditional and unusual materials and processes. “Cheekwood Gardens,” was photographed using a vintage camera with no light meter and color infrared film. A light meter wasn’t necessary because color infrared, like black and white infrared, records heat, not light. This image was not digitally enhanced. This film “saw” the cool sky as black, foliage as magenta, and hot, bright light as white, making the image eerie and surreal.
In my figurative art photography. aI am highly influenced by my subjects. I choose models who are unafraid to be themselves or characters they assume. Sometimes, my part in the creation is merely releasing the shutter. Models bring costumes, props, and ideas to the shoot. And many are also artists with an innate sense for composition and natural poses (not the generic, cliched, and artificial poses of many pro models.) My subjects are natural and real; hence the photos are too. I often give the model a lot of credit for creating a memorable image. In “Juliet,” Alexandra picked a dead rose from the ones she had brought. She placed one on her mouth and took on a subtly sad expression. “I am Juliet,” she said. And so she was. She might be saying, “A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” But the rose she was smelling, and perhaps kissing, was long past beauty and aroma, foreshadowing her character’s tragic end.
