the decisive moment

the decisive moment

by | Sep 28, 2017 | famous photographers, inspirational, life, photography, photography tips and tricks, tips and tricks

Henri Cartier-Bresson coined the phrase the decisive moment, particularly in relation to his street photography he became so famous for. Photography is all about the decisive moment, that split second in time in which the photographer chooses to create the image. It’s difficult to teach someone when to press the shutter release button to create an image, the decisive moment comes intuitively. Photographers have to learn to trust our gut as to when that decisive moment that creates magic is and react instinctively.

The other day I went for a walk on my own at sunset. I had been filming the new hovercraft in Portsmouth that runs from Portsmouth to Ryde on the Isle of Wight and it looked like it would turn out to be the perfect evening. It did and people came down to the beachfront to enjoy the sunset. The light kept getting better and better and I kept shooting. As I was about to leave I noticed a man in a turban looking out over the channel. His profile was striking and his pose almost regal, majestic. I shot a few frames of him excited about the shot. I shoot with both eyes open, a skill that took practice to perfect. The benefit of doing it is that you can still use the peripheral vision in the eye not looking through the camera’s viewfinder. I noticed two young women pushing a pram walking into the background and waited for the decisive moment in which magic is created…

 

coming home

coming home

'Coming Home - Returning White Storks to the Land' is a short film about the relationship between Dorette, her...

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allier, à la recherche de soi

allier, à la recherche de soi

by | Aug 17, 2017 | fine art, life, photography

allier, à la recherche de soi

“Allier, à la recherche de soi” [Allier, in search of self], is a fine art photography project created in the Allier region of France in 2015.

The body of work is a self-reflection, a time of deep internal turmoil and soul-searching, at a crossroads in life, decisions that will change the course of life forever.

The artworks in this series are collectible original 1/1 giclée prints available to BUY through Saatchi Art. There are no editions. The artist’s final proof becomes the final signed artwork if I approve it. All other works leading up to the final artwork are destroyed.

The body of work is a self-reflection, a time of deep internal turmoil and soul-searching, at a crossroads in life, decisions that will change the course of life forever.

Sometimes the loneliest road is the road we travel surrounded by people, oblivious.

The landscapes were created alone. Whilst wandering and wondering alone. An attempt to capture and portray the inner turmoil I felt whilst at the same time paying homage to Allier, a region of great beauty.

The intention is for the viewer to question, both the medium and the expression. The medium is chosen to confuse and delight, with the appearance of a water colour painting but the realism of a photograph.

There is a 7cm white border surrounding the print that means that the actual image size is 87.6cm high x 131.4cm wide with the total artwork size being 101.6cm high x 145.4cm wide. I title and sign the final original approved print in this border.

There is only one original 1 of 1 artwork per scene, Giclée print on Museum grade 310 g.s.m. 100% cotton fine art and photo paper, with beautifully warm off-white tones and extreme texture. One final collectible original artwork is created, printed to archival standards.

I reserve the right to use copies of the artworks for self promotional purposes, editorial and publishing use but guarantee not to print another fine art copy of the work. Should you choose to buy an artwork you are buying the artwork itself, not the intellectual property to the artwork. The copyright remains mine, my Human Right, for the sake of humanity. Should the artwork be damaged, lost or destroyed it will remain just so.

coming home

coming home

'Coming Home - Returning White Storks to the Land' is a short film about the relationship between Dorette, her...

read more
50point5

50point5

by | Aug 15, 2017 | fine art, life, photography

50point5 is a fine art photography project that examines the barriers that divide the people of South Africa as a result of apartheid. It is a project of love and loathing that I have been working on for over seven years.Love for the people of South Africa and the art of photography. Loathing for apartheid and what it did to the people.

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The images were created along the 50.5km route from my former home in Vredehoek, Cape Town, South Africa, to a private university in Stellenbosch, one of the wealthiest towns in South Africa, where I lectured in photography on a part time basis for five years. The route took approximately 45 minutes to drive, depending on traffic, giving me time to observe and think. The reality of post apartheid South Africa is blatantly clear along this route with the route running from affluent areas, overlooking the former District Six leaving Cape Town, townships, past the Cape Town International Airport, more townships, farmlands in the wine route, finally arriving at the office park where the university is based that overlooks an access controlled private residential golf estate surrounded by electrified fencing and patrolled by armed guards.

The gap between the haves and the have nots is extreme with the poor living in abject poverty in shacks, entire families sharing a shack, whole communities sharing rows of prefabricated toilets and communal water stand pipes. Serious crimes like rape and murder occur daily, seldom, if ever, featured in the news. The police are so overworked that criminals literally get away with murder. Shack fires occur frequently often destroying hundreds of shacks per fire, the people losing everything they own in the fires. Education at the majority of township schools is poor with teachers often not arriving for work, teen pregnancies high and violence commonplace. The government’s answer to the education crisis in South Africa was to lower the pass rate required to finish high school so that more pupils matriculate.

The wealthy live in luxury protected by private security companies, often in access controlled electrified fenced private estates patrolled by armed guards. Domestic servants (gardeners and maids) come from the surrounding townships to work for the wealthy, often for minimum wage, returning to the townships in the evenings. The extreme in this daily journey from township to private luxury back to township must be mind bending, driving home the inequality as a result of apartheid.

The project comprises of a BOOK of 50 and a half images as well as limited edition fine art gicleé prints, available in a series of a maximum of five prints per image.

Read more about the project here.

coming home

coming home

'Coming Home - Returning White Storks to the Land' is a short film about the relationship between Dorette, her...

read more
‘immersion’ official selection for cannes short film festival

‘immersion’ official selection for cannes short film festival

by | Sep 3, 2015 | fashion, fashion film, love, moving image, photography

That feeling when you’re presented with a tough choice. Be present at the Cannes Short Film Festival for the screening of my fashion film ‘Immersion’ or be present at the birth of my identical twin sons. The thing was that we weren’t exactly sure when the boys would be born. We knew that they were likely to be born early being twins, we just weren’t sure how early. I chose not to risk it.

The boys were born on the same day as the film’s debut screening. My wife at the time, the underwater model in this film, was in labour during the time slot the film screened in. The irony has not escaped me.

The creative process is exhilarating, yet daunting. Thrilling yet terrifying. Creative people tend to put their hearts and souls into their work, courageously daring to bare their innermost selves to the world and all those who would look, who would see, who would understand and appreciate the essence of who we are, what life and all its complexities means to us.

Immersion examines the agony and ecstasy of the creative process. The need to perform under pressure with looming deadlines and yet still produce a work of magic, the wow factor that will embed our work into the minds of the people who matter the most to us.

Immersion is a short fashion film by Deryck vS