This weekend has been amazing. The hard work of reaching out to beekeepers and commercial ventures as well as the extensive organising of shoots is finally starting to yield some fun. IMAGE MAKING! Initially I was terrified with the scale of this project, and soon realised I had opened a literal can of worms when it came to the logistics and scope of it. Then there were the early nerves and internal battle that my skills were good enough to manage the various levels of this photoshoot as a whole. I’m happy to share that those early nerves have been replaced with pure joy and excitement as I meet more people who are vital for the sucess of the project. I’m genuinely stoked at how warm and inviting the bee community has been, and the people who I’ve spent time with for portraits have been fantastic subjects.
I want to quickly discuss my obsessions with monochrome vs colour too. I’ve posted multiple updates with regards to the turmoil faced choosing what medium to use, and after yesterdays portraits I came to a realisation that the early critique at ARA which had posed the question WHY do I want to use black and white so much over colour, had knocked my confidence. Just like the studies ay Ilam Fine Arts, under the teachings of Tim, the WHY? was also posed towards of the majority of my earlier image making too, and it, like now derailed my whole process of image making. It’s quite a profound relationship to the WHY, and my gut reaction was because of the aesthetics, and ability to tell a story, and cohesion of images in as as a set.
All of which are valid reasons, but I still felt like I had not explored a more meaningful reasoning for monochrome vs colour. Yesterday I came to the realisation that as a photographer I allow the the scene to invite me to capture it in colour or monochrome. I don’t actually have a preference, and it’s the elements of the image that dictate I shoot black and white or colour. The thing is that this process has always dictated my choice to capture colour imagery, but it was such a subconscious process that until being asked WHY?, I had never stopped to examine it. I was thrown into a mild frenzy over the past month, and I’m now at peace with it. Does this insight matter? For me yes, as I’m now not anxious about what medium I employ- I will, as i’ve always done, let the scene dictate the choice and allow that process to continue.
Yesterday I met up with Leiah and Rowan, from
Mt. Lyford Honey at a place that they like to spend time outside of work, alongside the River at
Leithfield. We captured portraits and chatted about their roles working at a commercial honey making operation. On route the rain was so torrential that I was concerned that the images would look like drown rats! I was also worried about my gear from the 1950’s and 60’s getting trashed, as these cameras are not weather sealed in anyway. Once I arrived the rain became lighter and we managed to create a set. I did have water droplets on my viewing screen though, and that made for some interesting focussing. Later that afternoon, I then met with David who works on the hives at ARA that are set on the roof in the city. David is also involved with the Christchurch
hobbyist beekeepers club too, and has engaged a connection to this club, with an invite by the hivemaster to shoot images of their members. David’s property had such a nice feel to it and we chatted more about his role at ARA where he has worked for more than 25 years, as well as his love for beekeeping. He had a few hives in his yard that with his ‘loud’ shirt called out for Kodak Portra. Please see above.
I look forward to each week at ARA with the feedback form the group now. It also motivates me to keep making images, and it pushes me to make better photographs too. So yes, this week has been quite interesting towards not only my process as a whole, but also how the project is starting to make some traction. One thing is for sure though, there will be no discussions about light metering or my torment over monochrome vs colour moving forward!
