black&blancnudes
“Photography led to a profound change in peoples philosophical perception of the world because a person could now see the foreshadowing of his death captured in each portrait, he became filled with an almost sacrilegious determination to arrest life, to hold back the passage of time, it was as though man were trying to control his own destiny.”
I came across these words many years ago before I became obsessed with photography" At that time back in the eighties I had not long stopped working in Dominica and took an A level art class when the English Art teacher had to suddenly leave the Island.
Life drawing was soon followed by graphic design and this is where I first got involved with photography. There are several people who I should give credit for tolerating me with my camera.
Despite my reluctance to give in to the digital world and ditch my film roots, I can honestly say that I don't miss messing around in a dark room and having to wait for what seemed like an age to see my results.
In the collection of images on this site some of the images are from film shoots. I am not a fan of retouching, I would much rather return to the scene of a shoot and reshoot to get the shot I had in mind.
"Black and blanc" started life as "What's in a face" this was in response to a brief from my tutor who asked the class to convey beauty without using someone who was considered (in the western sense) typically beautiful. I interpreted this by using the body and working with natural light (which is still how I prefer to work today.) One day I was at the home of my boss "Timbo" and he suddenly came up with the name "Black and Blanc."
There are so many facets of photography that I love, and so many heros who's work ive admired for years from Helmet Newton, David Bailey, Robert Maplethorpe, Herb Rittz, Bob Carlos Clarke... All masters in their own right.
Anyway, here is black and blanc, my dream is to one day hold an exhibtion and produce a hard back coffee table book like one of my heroes.
I hope at least one of these images strikes a chord with you...
Gibson
