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.

Harvey Petito + A Fishy Friend

I’ve been testing a lot in the studio lately, but a few weeks ago I had my youngest model on set yet. Harvey Petito is making a huge name for himself in Melbourne, and no wonder- he is a champ! I had been following Harvey on Instagram for a while, but had never thought to ask if he wanted to test. But a little emoji comment on one of his pictures caught the attention of his mum, Sharon (who manages his account), and it snowballed from there.

I was really excited to work with Harvey, because I hadn’t worked with a model of his age and experience before. What I liked was that he was just himself. Asking questions, telling puns, eating the lollies that I purposefully placed out on the bench. He was full of energy, but also knew how to work the camera. It was fascinating to watch, and I found that I approached the shoot and my way of reacting to him differently than when I shoot older talent. I really liked that fluidity, and the way that we both kind of adapted to each other’s rhythms.

One (silly) idea that I had, was to do quite a dark portrait, involving Harvey holding a squid. Something quite deadpan and a bit faded or washed out. Long story short, I couldn’t get a squid, but I did get a garfish, which provided a bit of fun and a little bit of “grossness” to the set. Something different, that’s for sure.

Thanks Sharon and Harvey for coming down to the studio- I had a great time, and I think I would like to do more testing with young models. It’s a different way of thinking and working and I liked that a lot.

 

Look Here Please

Here is a little portrait series I’m working on. Just shooting really quick portraits of models after a shoot, wearing their own clothes. These images were photographed after a shoot for Upper Volta, and I only took 3-4 frames of each subject, as they were heading off set.

What do you think?

Test With Jess Singh

I love testing, and sometimes I spontaneously get a team together just to make pretty pictures. This was impromptu shoot with the lovely Jess Singh, who I met in the Botanical Gardens. I love my studio, but sometimes it’s nice to get outside and make use of natural light and nature.

Have a look at what we created in only a couple of hours.

Thanks Jess for your company and a lovely afternoon. And also for being patient when I was trying to shoot with my arm in a cast!

If you need portfolio shots, or just want to create images together- feel free to get in touch!!