In January, 2018 I took the first image of what would become a seven month long project I named "On Being Woman" - tonight I revealed them to the women who participated in the project and now I'm sharing them with the rest of the world.
Technically speaking, because I'm a photo geek after all, these are not sandwiched images, and are not achieved in Photoshop - they are done in camera, as one frame. It took me a lot of trial and error to figure out how to take them, how to share the process with the women in the project in a way it would be clearly understood. It's a technique involving precise timing, exact light, camera settings on point, the right gear and lots of time. I have turned the images into black and white, adjusted contrast and levels, but other than that, these have not been manipulated or retouched. It's what my camera captured and I will be forever grateful to Veronica II (my camera) for allowing me to express how I see women.
Each photo session turned into a wonderful experience for me. If you'd like to find out more about the Journey, I wrote about it here. Each person is so complex, and I have found in every photoshoot I've ever had that a simple movement of an eyebrow or a tiny smirk revealed a new layer, a new expression, and the person in front of me transformed in a million different ways.
As a photographer for most of my adult life, I captured only one expression at the time. One single facet of a personality. It bothered me. After I take a shot, I immediately want to take another, because the person in front of me already transformed into someone else by just smiling or thinking about a loved one. I am not a videographer though, I am a photographer. So, how to capture the energy of a person to see the whole, the beauty, the mystery? This is my interpretation of an answer.
In an atmosphere of "me too", I chose a woman as my subject, because women have been objectified for an eternity. There is also a standard of beauty we seem to have to adhere to if we want to be considered beautiful. But what is beauty? Isn't it the subtle look, the gentle hand gesture, the love that comes from within to make us feel like we are looking at someone beautiful?
I am in awe of these women. I see myself in each one, and I hope it's something you too can experience when you look at these images. Because there is no separation in energy. There is no limit to what it can achieve and the height it can reach. There is only Love.
