It is done… as of yesterday, I entered the LensCulture B&W Awards 2019, my second participation in the competition. I have yet to work up the courage to read the reviews from that previous participation, but I am feeling that I am getting closer to doing so. I certainly was flattered that one of my photos was, according to their e-mail, “top-rated”, though I still do not precisely understand the exact meaning of the phrase in this context. Still, I am excited to be part of the competition and will look forward to seeing the outcomes of my participation.
For my 2019 participation, I submitted the following six images:
42 Steps You might have correctly recognized this one as being my homepage photo. In some truly pessimistic and twisted way, I feel that the photo is one of the many interpretations of life (hence the title) that I was able to come up with photographically. As it is inherently negative, I will save you the details of that explanation here; I may make a dedicated gallery somewhere else to explore those photos that I feel aptly represent life as I see it!
Streaks One of the legacy images of a shoot I did with Anja Takera and members of her posse (the model here being, to the best of my recollection, Alfa) to showcase her fashion designs. Although the memory of arriving only at this result has not left me (it was probably more difficult than it should have been!), I keep coming back to this photo as one of my favorites of the day.
The Violence of Colors At a Holi! CLR session where I was shooting with model Sophie Bègue, colored powder was literally flying in all directions at once. Sticking to models in more or less random patterns, the colors would ‘enhance’ the models in an aesthetically pleasing and, as is intended, very playful manner. In looking at some of the same photos in B&W, though, I noticed just how stripping colors away (yet using them to set a tone) could change the interpretation of the image: where the colored version is an image of frivolity, the black & white lends itself to darker interpretations.
Waiting for a Storm (That May Never Come) For this photo with model Cristiana Bodnariuc (wearing a dress designed by Michèle Beaudoin), I sought to create an atmosphere of expectation and uncertainty. For me, this atmosphere is anchored in the tension between the main elements of the photo: the woman, young and beautiful, but seeming apprehensive (of the future? of her current predicament?), remains immobile; her possible fates are illustrated by the rusting truck or the flowing grass, growing, blowing in the wind and becoming visually intertwined in the folds of her dress. As I see it, this photo is a commentary not only on time and beauty, but also on self-actualization.
Breaking the Rules A different take on the concept above, with the same model.
White Fabric I don’t know if I am able to put into words what this image makes me feel, how I would describe its atmosphere. With model Kate Snig, during a one-on-one shoot with the #ottawaphotographymeetup.