THE CRACKED EGG
A portrait by Irving Penn of Joan Didion was an influence for me. The way he uses light, and a lot of his portraits are in black and white, always with a neutral background, so all the focus was on her eyes and face with no props or distractions. To me, it felt so intimate. I used a grey backdrop, off-camera flash, a soft-box, reflector, and ambient continuous diffused light. I found that I had more control over the flash. It didn't matter if it was day or night; I always seemed to get the same results when shooting.
I have taken egg portraits in the woods, a small flat in London, someone's garden, kitchens, sitting rooms, church halls, and a homeless drop-in centre. I purposely made the equipment small enough so it fits into the boot of my car. It doesn't take hours to set up, and it doesn't look grandiose. This is to make it less intimidating; some people can get really nervous, and I wanted it to be a positive experience, especially if I'm encouraging them to share something so personal. While we talked, I would take photos. I use a small 28mm fixed lens camera, so it's quite intimate. After a while, they forget the camera is there. That's when I get the shot, that microsecond, when the camera becomes completely invisible. That's when they seem to look beyond the camera lens. The camera is only a tool. It's how the photographer engages with the talent that makes the photograph real.
FLOWERS 0.1
How I got the idea for this project was from a photographer called Kathrin Linkerdorff. She told me on Instagram that she dries out her flowers, then paints them with ink. Unfortunately, she wouldn't tell me how or what she uses to make her flowers so transparent. So, I thought of bleach. I naturally dried out some tulips, then put them in bleach. After a while, they virtually became translucent, then dried them out again. Before the photo shoot, I used a powder called Nutilis clear that thickens water, poured the water into a clear glass baking tray, and submerged the prepared tulips in it. Using ink, I started adding colour to the tulips. Because of the thickness of the water, the ink doesn't spread and can be easily sculpted. Also, ink is transparent; that's why I can create these amazing effects. How I set up the shoot is by using a glass top table with a flash, soft-box underneath, using an ambient light to help me focus, and a handheld camera on manual.
FLOWERS 0.2
In lockdown, I needed to occupy my mind with something. So I turned my flat into a makeshift studio. It was a very simple setup: a black backdrop, ambient light with a diffuser, and an off-camera flash & box. I used a projector stand as a reflector using tinfoil. With the flowers, I would paint them, burn them, or drip wax over them. I would photograph vegetables, then photograph them again when they started to rot. I collected fallen leaves, dried them out, then bleached them. The longer I left them in bleach, the more transparent they became, just leaving their skeletons. I wouldn't just randomly photograph things. For instance, I took photographs of tulips while they were withering away. This was fascinating to me because they would change into something else throughout their life cycle. For me, there needs to be a narrative every time I start a project. Thought and preparation are important to me.
THE BEACH
The beach photographs were taken at Southwold in January 2020. I haven't had much luck in the past when it comes to night photography. So this was more of a learning curve. I set the camera at F/11, used a 28mm lens, set the shutter speed at 2-2.50 minutes, and used an ISO range of 50 to 250. I used a torch to help me focus, fixing the camera to a tripod half submerged in the sea. I didn't use any filters because the moon was so bright, and the light coming from the lighthouse gave the photos this shimmering effect; it was amazing. There was a completely clear sky and no wind. In the edits, I brought up the exposure and did some dodging and burning. This was a completely unique experience. Everything was right: the moon, calm sea, the lighthouse, and no wind to shake the tripod.
WOODS
I did a lot of walking during lockdown. I had everything I needed in my rucksack. I would find a small plot in the woods, then revisit it every day for a week or so. Every time I went back, there was something different to photograph. I loved the solitude; I would find parts of the woods that nobody hardly went to. So I felt I was the only one experiencing the life that was unfolding around me. Every photograph I took was unique because every day was unique. I would go back to my designated plot and find that the environment had turned into something completely different. I had everything I needed, so the woods were like having my own studio. I had the perfect backdrop, perfect light, and endless photographic opportunities. The camera encouraged me to stop and sit still; it gave me access to a world that I wouldn't even have thought existed. It's endless.