Week 7 - Reflection
‘To an outsider, it may look like it was an overnight thing… But one of my project has always built off another and led to another’
(Berton 2006)
This quote from Hido’s interview with Justin Berton for American Suburb X gives me reassurance. At times it feels as if my project are going nowhere and once I have completed my work my inspiration and life as a photographer will just stop, the nightmare is that I won’t be able to get it started again. It reassures me that projects lead into each other and I can see there has been a pathway so far with the work I am producing on Reading.
‘Part of Hido’s success is based on his work’s appearance of simplicity. He’s able to dredge dark moods from nothing more than existing lighting and the will to stand across the street late at night.’
(Berton 2006)
This pull quote jumped out at me from the article and made me consider what I am aiming to create in my work. I want the air of simplicity, I want the quiet atmosphere, I feel I can achieve this.
‘Instead of titling his prints by location, he assigns each a number. So many people respond to his work by say. “That looks like the house I grew up in,” that he doesn’t want to ruin their experience “I like them to let their imagination take over and fill in the blanks,” he said.
(Berton 2006)
This part of the interview made me think of the conversation I’d had with the landlord of The Nag’s Head. He was looking at my photographs and guessing where on the road the image had been taken and they were making him remember things he had seen and experienced in those locations creating his own narrative around the work. I want people to be led by my images but also have their own narratives, preconceptions, and ideas to add to what they see.
‘”The sequencing is the hardest part,” he said as he studied the work [looking at a mock-up of his book Dark Quarters]. “I spend ninety percent of my time getting it just right. One new photograph can change everything.”’
(Berton 2006)
This is inspiring and terrifying. I enjoy editing and sequencing a set of photographs but it is not a strong part of my practice. Knowing that Hido spends a great deal of time order and reordering prints make me think I need to work more on this element of my work.
The article also describes new work that Hido was making, nudes that are a diversion away from the work is was famed for and his approach towards this.
‘As it is, directing models presents a new challenge. Hido says he purposely allowed for long, silent pauses with his models to catch them unguarded. Startled is the best way to describe some of their expressions in Dark Quarters.
“There’s a tension that comes from not directing a person,” Hido explained. “That tension makes for good pictures.”’
I don’t want my portraits to have tension but I think I can take inspiration from the direction of people. In my images. I usually approach a person and allow them to control how they are standing, however a more controlled approach may allow the sitter to be more at ease as they are not used to being photographed in a formal manner.
Moving forward I aim to edit sequences of my work and when out shooting I plan to give more direction to the people that agree to sit for portraits.
Bibliography
BERTON, Justin. 2006. ‘Todd Hido and the “Art of Darkness” (2006)’. AMERICAN SUBURB X [online]. Available at: https://americansuburbx.com/2009/09/theory-todd-hido-art-of-darkness.html [accessed 15 Mar 2024].