From Shadows to Light — a new body of work
Hello friends
I bring you my latest photo project. Beach Jewels!
For those of you who know my work you know that a lot of it is low key and dark – both in lighting and feel. I love to shoot at night and under a full moon and I have made some great images from it. But recently I have been thinking on a new look to my work – something bright, airy, and…decorative.
So this project was something new for me. An attempt at “decorative art”.
And I am loving the results.
There are certain shapes of glass that I prefer and those are the ones shaped by time and friction to resemble the pebbles they are surrounded by. A lot of pieces reveal their original shape and origins – I was once part of a bottle, See my lines and curves. These are the young ones. The ones who have not had time and friction to change.
Many many pieces of glass I return to the sea to continue to be properly shaped into ones that entice me. I will never see them again, I know, although one can never be really sure of that…
After years of walking I learned that sea glass will always be around pebbles and stones of similar size. I will never find a big piece among the small pebbles and I will never find a small piece around the stones. They are like black swans: part of the family but nevertheless, apart and don’t fit.
As I turned this into a photo project I made some choices that helped me visualize what I wanted to achieve – glass that is majestic and pebble-like, glass that is around those that shaped it, low angles that still reveal the environment are a few so far.
And my choice of using my macro lens was immediate to me. Get close. Get personal. For something as small as sea glass the idea was to “biggify” them. Make them balance. Use their light properties to enhance colour and texture. Shoot low and aim high!
The settings and time of day are very important at the moment – include the low sun in frame, keep the wetness (glass dries much faster than stone I find), use depth of field as one would when doing a traditional portrait. Focus on the sense of place, lower exposure to emphasis highlights. Make them shine and glow!
I take the photos as I find the glass and sometimes I collect them for later shooting opportunities. I create groups that work together via shape and colour or match in curves and form.
Sometimes I use larger stones like a tabletop. I create contrast by using darker stones.
This method is new to me, moving stuff. When I am shooting I have always chosen to be a purist and never manipulate the environment. For this project I totally am. And it feels like the right thing to do and I am getting a lot of joy from it!
Lying on my belly, finding the best angle for the time of day, propping and balancing the sea glass into position, arranging with design in mind. It is so peaceful and fulfilling.
I have always used photography as a way to focus and meditate and this project by the endless rolling waves with its soothing sounds that block all other reality may be my most meditative idea yet.
I suppose the root idea behind this project was my need to make images that are more decorative (a word a friend mentioned to me that never occured to me in my work!) – my works tends to be more on the dark evocative side as I shoot a lot at night. I wanted to do something out of normal for me – shoot in full fun, create images with a lite and bright feel. Instead of brooding beauty I am going for open full saturated and intense light and with it all the colors and contrast that is inherit in it.
I would love to hear from you what you think about this project and the images it is creating.
All the best
Anthony
