Strangers at F1.8

In Tokyo last year I challenged myself to walk up to random strangers on the street and take their portrait. I had a roll of black and white Ilford, and a plastic 50mm lens. I am inherently shy, so asking people if I can take their portrait is pretty intimidating. With my lens choice, I had to be close, and I also wanted to capture engaged (rather than candid) portraits.

These are a few of my favourite ones. I spent quite a while talking to the man in the glasses, after taking about 15 minutes to work up the courage to approach him. He was dressed very eccentrically in bright colours, and was sort of pacing on the spot in Akihabara. He seemed like a real character, but from the way he was moving I wasn’t sure if he had been drinking for a while or not. But I knew I’d kick myself in the butt if I didn’t at least try to ask him. He ended up being really really lovely, and I talked to him for a good 20 minutes. He told me about how he made his own earrings out of metal and bottle tops. He had a very calm, gentle nature and complimented my terrible Japanese. I’m so glad that I got to speak with him and learn a little about his life.

This girl is one of the many school kids who approached me at Asakusa shrine to ask “what is your country” and “what is your favourite Japanese food?” If you have ever been to Asakusa shrine, you will know that being bombarded by school kids is to be expected if you are a foreigner. I think that the English teachers all take their classes there, as this happens literally every time I go. In any case, this girl was part of a group of 5 that were asking me the aforementioned deep and philosophical questions. Because the ice was already broken, I took the opportunity to ask her to take a picture.

I kind of cheated on the last one, it’s my friend’s son. Isn’t he just a nugget! Gorgeous light from the balcony door.

Finally, a non-portrait. This may look like somewhere in developing Asia, but it is actually a game arcade in Kawasaki that is designed and fitted out to look this way. The design is actually more interesting than the games themselves (in my opinion.) It is meant to look like the slums of Hong Kong, and the attention to detail is amazing! To get in you have to cross a misty aqua body of water, carefully stepping on rocks. The doors also make noises as you go through. It’s called Anata No Warehouse (あなたのウェアハウス). I loved the hanging chickens.

Stunning Dayana

Can we just pause a moment and look at how beautiful this girl is?

I might have a new model crush haha. A while ago now, I did a test with Jimmy Ford, and his girlfriend Dayana came along too. She had only been signed to GTR a few days before, and this was to be her second shoot. As usual, I spent some time at H&M gathering garments for the shoot, but this time I decided to get a hair and makeup artist on board too, to add that extra polish to the images. Que my go-to MUA and super-bro Jyoti Chandra.

I photographed Jimmy whilst Jyoti worked on Dayana’s makeup. Then we got shooting. Dayana was fantastic, especially for being inexperienced. She wasn’t stiff, and kept moving, experimenting with poses and expressions. We worked through the outfits really quickly, continuing to change garments and lighting.

I will not be surprised if this face becomes world-famous one day. Dayana was really fun to work with, and I was overwhelmed with how many great frames I had to choose from. Good luck in your career Dayana!

Oh and don’t forget to check out some more of Jyoti’s work too. Clicky click.

 

 

 

Dodging Puddles

So much testing lately! But it keeps me on my toes so that’s a good thing. A few agencies have been keeping me busy with model portfolio updates, and I really enjoy working with different talent. I also love getting out on location to shoot- it gets me away from the studio and the computer for a while. Those who know me will also know that I hate looking at screens (yup, I’m in the wrong industry, I know!), but unfortunately there is so much back end and admin work when you freelance, that spending a long time in front of my computer is inevitable. So as I was saying, I embrace the opportunity to work with a model on location, especially if the natural light it working in my favour. Whilst I love my flash, sometimes I just want to streamline the process and not have to worry about positioning the light or deciding how I want to blend it with the ambient. It’s faster just to spin myself or my subject around, or find a great patch of golden sunlight to work with.

For this reason, I have been getting back to using natural light when doing test shoots on location. Aside from being quicker, I also allows me to work solo and not have to worry about an assistant or bringing a huge pile of gear. It also keeps me reactive, as I have to find the best light around, no matter what the weather is doing.

Shooting with Chloe, recently signed with GTR, provided a lighting challenge for me. We had planned to shoot on a Sunday, as Chloe is still studying, but the weather wasn’t looking the driest.. Huge clouds hung in the sky, and it would occasionally pour with rain. Still, I met Chloe and her mum at the meeting spot and hoped that the rain would hold off.

As you can probably see from the shots, the rain did subside, and the clouds acted as a huge softbox, which actually worked in our favour. I was really impressed with how Chloe moved, especially being so young. She didn’t need any warming up and just got straight into it. She seemed really aware of her body and the shapes she could make, and took direction well too.

I styled the shoot myself (something I have recently started doing, and that I am loving!) and I loved the colour palette of the garments I had chosen. I think they suited Chloe well too. The tough bit was not keeping everything, as some of the pieces were super cute (I’m looking at you blue and white shorts…)

When we were shooting our last shot, a friendly walker stopped to comment that “the model had arrived” (referring to himself.) I played along, asking him to get in the shot and pose, which he completely didn’t expect. I think he loved it though. Haha.

Thanks Chloe for a fabulous shoot, looking forward to working with you again soon!

Chloe is represented by GTR.

 

New World Soul Fashion Shw

Photographing a fashion show is always an exciting time. Being backstage with the models and hair/makeup teams, feeling their excitement and nerves, you really get a buzz from being a part of it. In December, just as the weather started to warm up, I shot for Upper Volta’s latest fashion event, New World Soul. Having done their campaign photography, I was also given the honour of being the official photographer! That meant that I got to boss everyone around and elbow other photographers out of the way in the media pit (just joking!)

The event was held at Clifton Street Market in Prahran, which is an amazing warehouse space. It was the same location that we shot the campaign shots in. Look at my photo gracing the homepage of their website! ^_^

I arrived around 6pm, but the models and hair and makeup teams had already done a few hard hours. There were around 40 models, so to have everyone ready on time they had to start early. As soon as I entered the building I was stopped in my track, because my photos were printed HUGE on fabric, and were suspended from the mezzanine! One portrait was taller than me, and there were 8 of them! There was also a full lenght shot that would have easily been three metres high. I was thrilled, they looked brilliant! My shot was also on the little brochures for the afterparty- it looked great with the copy on it, and I was not-so-secretly chuffed.

I took a lot of backstage photos of everyone doing their thing- relaxing, getting their hair done, and eating the amazing food that was provided. A lot of the models recognised me from previous shoots, so it was nice to catch up and have a little chat. I even got to wear a KWAMEE t-shirt to feel like part of the crew.

Whilst there was still daylight, I tried to capture a raw portrait of each model. I didn’t quite get everyone because of all the commotion. I love the diversity of faces that Kwamee had chosen to walk the runway.

Finally it was nearing start time, and guests started to arrive. Champagne was served, lights were dimmed, and backstage we were hushed. It was really tricky to shoot the runway, because it was incredibly dark, there was no spotlight at the spot where the models were to stop, and it was totally backlit. Add a heavy smoke machine, and you’ve got a recipe for trouble. I prefer not to use flash in these types of events, because it can kill the mood and atmosphere of the shot. So I ended up using two cameras; one with a fast lens to capture the models as they were walking, and one with a slower lens, but with flash, to grab them as they posed on ‘the spot.’ I probably looked like a maniac switching between two cameras constantly, but luckily there was a table right next to me that I could rest one of them on when needed.

Needless to say, my arms were pretty buff afterwards.

At the end of the show, everyone cheered and I overheard lots of the audience complimenting the designs. Kwamee even made a little speech to thank everyone for coming. I know he’s a little shy so it was great to see the relief on his face when he felt that the event had gone well.

A few days later, my shots started appearing on the designer’s instagram page. There are many many shots, so please go and check some more out here.

RAW Awakening

Well, after many stresses, RAW Awakening is done and dusted. After thinking ‘it’s not for a long time, I have ages to prepare,’ the entire night surged forward and then disappeared into the distance just as quickly. It snuck up on me so fast, especially as I had been booked for 8 days of assisting work at a time when I was supposed to be preparing. In any case, I was excited to set up my little RAW wall, and have everyone come and point their eyeballs at my photographs.

The day started out happily, with my (un-prepared) interview going well. (You’ll have to wait a few weeks to see that one. #Rawkward) I then had to pick up a few last minute items before collecting the boyfriend and driving back to the exhibition building to begin setting up. This is where things turned haywire.

No method of attaching my work to the walls resulted in my work being attached to the walls. Failing at life.

After 4 hours of stressful, sweaty, emotional, painstakingly slow, horrible, miserable, failed attempts at hanging my prints and mounts to the temporary metal fences, I was on the verge of giving up. Thank god for boyfriends who use reverse psychology to spur me into an angry determination to succeed. If it wasn’t for my boy, giving up there and then would have been highly likely. But his idea of buying bulldog clips from officeworks was a lifesaver.

I had just enough time to race home and eat a home-made hamburger (with boyfriend’s secret sauce) before returning ‘fashionably late’ before anyone noticed I was missing.

In the end, the night was so much fun, and I felt so special having friends, family, work colleagues, and complete strangers compliment my work. My mum even pretended to be a random stranger so she could eavesdrop on people’s comments. Then she would report back to me with their top secret feedback. Bless.

I realised once I had taken the entire thing down, that I forgot to put up my little print with the names of everyone who supported me by purchasing a ticket for the night. So here it is in the eternal/permanent records of the internet.

Thank you to everyone who supported me buy either buying a ticket to the event, or just wishing me good luck. I had an amazing time showcasing my work, and can’t wait to create some new pieces to share with the world!