Looking back at my original post, although this subject fits the introductory post's plan, I also mentioned that I would mix in general discussion, which hasn't really happened. I figured I'd adopt a change of pace for this entry; show you some recent work (although I'm afraid I can't show you some of my commissioned work until it's published, so I'm showing you some other stuff) and talk about plans, current artistic influences, that sort of thing.
If you want to learn about conducting yourself in the field (professional conduct that is, not holding a club aloft on a golf course in a thunderstorm) then there are plenty of resources out there online. It felt too dry and dull for my own personal tastes, which is probably why I couldn't make it work.
So, let's pop some photos down, eh? I did an unpaid, charity job recently in aid of the Homeless World Cup Foundation. I met up with three lads – An Eco Entrepeneur, a city banker and a property developer – who are being sponsored to sleep rough for three days and three nights at the end of August.
They contacted me to ask for some promotional photos to be used on a website. As it is for a very good cause and seeing as I rarely turn down an opportunity to indulge in some photography, I agreed to take on the job. The goal was to communicate to the website visitor that these three chaps – a banker, MD of a company and a property developer – are the sort of people you would least expect to find sleeping rough on the streets of London.
A few ideas came to mind, but I decided to go with making the shoot a sort of faux-fashion shoot, with a twist. The "models" wouldn't be modelling clothing, lifestyle or some sort of fashionable activity (you can tell I'm up to speed with all this fashion stuff), they would be modelling what it's like to be homeless.
The tone of this shoot was very important. I wanted the guys to use modelling style poses for things like asking for change, sitting in dirty streets, searching for food without it looking goofy or like a big huge joke. Obviously some humour would be involved, but very much on a tongue in cheek level, as opposed to making fun of homeless people.
Here's a small selection of the final images. Click for larger.
The Homeless Challenge website is still work in progress, but once their site is up, I'll give the site a mention in a future blog post and link you, for those of you interested in contributing.
That's your lot for photos this time around, folks. I've been experiencing a bit of a Wild West vibe as of late, as I've always held an interest in Spaghetti Westerns and the more factual, actual American history in general from that period but I've never really looked into it. Perversely, I have also been listening to the musical scores of Ennico Morricone, despite not having seen the films they are in, which I am due to watch very soon. My grandfather and my uncle were very much into the Wild West. My grandfather would read book after book of Wild West fiction and my uncle painted a huge scene of Custer's Last Stand shortly before his passing, which still hangs in my parents' house today.
All this has inspired me to take up a photo project that will be loosely inspired by the films of Sergio Leone. I'm not entirely sure what form this will take right now, be it incredibly literal or more of a flavour of his approach to direction. I have been toying with the idea of a photographic comic strip for some time and may take it down this road. Who knows? Well, I should, really.
For more images and info, be sure to visit www.garethdutton.com
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