Combining old photographic techniques with new.

This image like all my ‘through the viewfinder’ images was taken through an old Kodak Duaflex IV or a Yashica 635 with a new digital camera.

TtV Concept…

All I do is crop the image and enhance colours as I see and remember them in the landscape. The dust specks are very real and I make no attempt to hide them, as is the black frame in fact I have left a piece of grass to hang over the edge for added authenticity.

I have abandoned the use of a tripod because it feels less contrived and I enjoy the nonchalant feeling of “it’s meant to be” which can be a hard feeling to achieve with so many technical issues related to photography. So more and more I find myself using the environment to help construct the images.

I have always been obsessed with age concepts in my art, it is a recurring theme for me revisited again and again in various forms. The oldness, the square image, the colours, the use of ‘old’ equipment makes me feel at home. I have idealised my childhood and old things have my absolute respect and admiration. Old things can trigger a fleeting memory just like the photograph records memories, precious old possessions can remind me of a particular time and place or person. No amount of gold can replace such richness.

There has been a lot of discussion on the net re TtV and some dismiss it as a gimmick to make bad photography look interesting and that could certainly be possible for some but I feel it has its place in the right context. The same argument could be said for many tools used to create visual arts…

In writing this, I hope you (the viewer) will gain a brief insight into the madness behind the method :)

cheers jules