"Fragments" - my current photo project

I mentioned in an earlier post that my current photo project is a gallery I've called "Fragments". I thought I'd do a quick write up on some of the background of this project, the objectives and where I plan to take it. As I mentioned earlier in my Year in Review, I was hugely inspired after seeing the Victoria and Albert Museum's Twilight exhibition in London in Oct. There was a load of great work there but in particular, Gregory Crewdson's highly staged, cinematic images were the ones that grabbed me most. Already having explored the idea of storytelling images in some of my previous galleries, it seemed this was what I need to give me a sustained and focused push in that direction for the new year.

So when I got back from the UK, I sold all my photographic gear, purchased different equipment which I felt was more suited to my style and this kind of work and started on a new project. However, starting a project is often a lot easier in theory than in practice. Too many ideas and potential directions can sometimes develop, leading to stagnation and 'paralysis by analysis'

For me, very often all it takes is a single image to break that inertia and lay a path for the rest of the project to follow. In this case, it happened to be this image:

From the gallery Fragments

After that, things kind of took off by themselves. Using a series of models including Akuri, friends / fellow photographers and occasionally myself, I managed to put together a series fo photos which have, for the most part, achieved my goals of showing something more than pure aesthetics. The comments and feedback I get on the images whenever I post them on Pbase, in terms of interpretation, vary wildly. Some see the images as scenes of depression while others see hope. For me, this is a huge compliment as that very ambiguity was one of the things I wanted to convey right from the beginning - providing more questions than answers. Other consistencies between the images is a particular focus on the lighting (something Crewdson takes to barely mortal limits), and also something which I consider interesting - that all the images are taken at the same location.

In terms of the ideas and concepts for the photos, I'm frequently asked whether the images have been planned beforehand or I've just turned up at the location and thought "ah that looks nice". The answer to that question, certainly for the majority of images, has been that the shots have definitely been thought out in advance. Usually what happens is that I go to the location and take a series of pictures which I consider to be good candidates from a lighting or atmosphere perspective. I then spend the week thinking of the scene I want to create within the pictures and at the weekend, go back (usually with a model) to shoot it. Of course, it doesn't always work out as I plan - I have over a thousand images from this gallery that will never see the light of day (although maybe my recycle bin) - but for the most part, the intent is certainly there.

While the photos won't suit everyone's tastes I'm very pleased with the work so far. The project is about halfway through and although I always wonder whether I'll be able to continue finding images or concepts to fill it with, I've so far been fortunate that they've kept coming. Hopefully the good light will continue :).

A couple of further sample are attached below. Please feel free to check out the full gallery - Fragments

From the gallery Fragments

From the gallery Fragments

 
From the gallery Fragments

Comments

[Stu Egan]

I bought Crewdson's book 'Twilight' after visiting the exhibition the other month; I can see how that would inspire you particularly as you've been leaning towards staging photos.

Coincidentally, I'd just seen this earlier today:

http://www.pbase.com/type/image/72600197

[Ben]

Freaking Amazing Work.
Inspirational, I need to get out more :)