Bronson

I'm busy - or at least trying to be - with portrait shoots of friends. I'm trying to push boundaries; my own and also theirs.

Recently I photographed my friend and clothing designer, Sheila-Madge Bakker. You can read about it over here.

I had also been tossing around another idea to have a portrait sitting with my friend Dietmar Gerber. The idea behind it was from the film, Bronson; based on a true story. Dietmar kind of reminded me of Tom Hardy's character in the film and I wanted to recreate the imagery from the film.

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A happy accident, whilst testing my lighting.

Earlier this week when our schedules finally aligned we met up at StorySpace to make some images.

I started off with him in a suit and tie, to just get some sort of flow going and to get comfortable; we had some time, otherwise I would've gone straight into the setup like the one above.

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I like these images, but they weren't the end goal. I wanted grittier, darker, harder light with an element of intimidation to it, so we moved on to the next setup and got out the body paint. I believe in the film he might've used shoe polish, but I wasn't going to put Dietmar through that much hell :)

I want to reiterate how great it was to have Dietmar as a subject and how he took what input and coaching I gave him and ran with it. Especially in the final image I wanted him to give me a scowl, however to make it come across as real I asked him to laugh almost maniacally.

It's always gratifying creating new work and I need to keep reminding myself of that; to create more often, practice this craft, become better, get off my ass and get the f*ck to work, like Zack Arias would say. So that is a bit of a call to you reading this; friends, strangers. Let's get together, conceptualise and make images and get to work!

Thanks for reading,

Rebirth of Venus; in the Garden

Three weeks ago I photographed designer; and friend, Sheila-Madge Bakker.

I have been wanting to start a personal project where I photograph friends. Not just photograph them, but do something conceptual that tells their story in some abstract way.

To me, friends are the most difficult subject matter to photograph. To give an example; it is like when you meet a stranger and you share something really intimate with them that you feel you cannot share with friends or family. It's sort of like that.

I decided to invite Sheila over for a breakfast and to explain my concept to her, which was sort of a reimagining and combining of, "The Birth of Venus" meets "Eve in the Garden". 

Birth of Venus

Adam & Eve

Even before I could finish my sentence she said yes; which instead of making me feel at ease, made me slightly more nervous and of course damn excited.

After some back and forth and figuring out the logistics of it, we decided on a date. Like with most projects I never feel ready and I was trying to push the shoot date, however Sheila convinced me otherwise and we went through with the shoot.

I'm proud to present you "Rebirth of Venus; in the Garden".

Rebirth of Venus; in the Garden

I'm really honored that Sheila allowed me to photograph her in such an intimate and vulnerable way. Thank you Sheila and thank you, dear reader.

StorySpace

Time for a shameless plug.

If by chance you follow me or the work I do, you've probably noticed that I have not been shutting up about the studio I started with Ett Venter (whom you probably all know as the nicest guy in photography).

This year we are really pushing to make it work. We totally believe in it and we want to offer it to people from all walks of life to come and utilize. This isn't just for us. We still believe in building a community around it. We still believe in sharing this space and with it, the knowledge we have.

We're trying to be more proactive and to promote it, because we've given ourselves a very limited time to try and reach a point where it sustains itself to some extent. We can't do it alone though, so this is for you out there. From the student, to the pro; the hobbyist to the die hard photo buff. Come and make/take awesomely dumb photos like this one; or perhaps not. The choice is yours.

You can check out StorySpace on our shiny new website at storyspace.co.za and on Facebook.

Thanks for reading

Year One: What I've learnt

My social media sabbatical is almost at an end and even though I didn't do as much as I had intended to do over December; I did manage to do as little as I wanted, which was pretty damn great if I am going to be honest.

I did shoot a tiny bit of work and my sister's wedding, but other than that it's been a lazy December. Here is some stuff I shot for Wêreld Records, just to give you something to look at.

A Hollow in the Land for Wêreld Records.

James Robb for Wêreld Records.

Unlike last year upon my return from the States having a fire in my chest and wanting to get to work right away I knew what to expect this year come the holiday season, so I was prepared for it. I won't lie, it's been a good year for me.

I know some close friends whom have not had such a great year and can't wait for 2015 to get behind them and I hope 2016 brings them awesome challenges, new work and good times. This is not to say that I didn't have some difficult times and challenges. Winter totally kicked my ass and I spoke about it here. I started a studio with a close friend of mine and that has proven to be equally awesome and challenging and we hope to get a handle on it in the new year.

As for my own work, I can't complain really. I completed my Dudes with Beards project (the shooting part of it anyway, I still need to make the book), I went to China, photographed old and new clients, made some rad new friends, took part in the Sasol New Signatures art competition and joined a small music revolution called Wêreld Records - read about that here. I've been able to pay rent and electricity and buy groceries and even spoil myself with some "new" gear which I am stoked to start using in the new year. The only complaints I may have is in not pushing myself more and I am hoping to change that by lighting a fire under my ass and enter work for the Barclays L'Atelier art competition, which I have less than 2 months to do.

I presented my first workshop on how I approach workflow and retouching in late October and it was pretty damn cool. I hope to do some more of those in the new year so keep your eyes peeled for that if you're interested in things I have to say.

So, what have I learned exactly?

It's damn difficult making a living out of being a photographer, however I can't imagine doing anything else with my time. Do I always feel this way? Hell no! There are days I really don't like it. It happens. You just don't always like what you do and that's perfectly fine. The great thing? YOU can change that at any time. Some days you just need to put the camera down and step back and just enjoy the view. And that's what my December has been about. You need it, I need it; we all do and it's okay, really.

Be safe and responsible, because I'd still like to see you in the new year. Sleep over, call for an Uber; hell, call your parents. I am sure they'd rather pick your drunk ass up at 3am in the morning than receive a call that their son or daughter are in hospital. 

Cheers to 2015 and hello to 2016.

Thanks for reading.