Not Always Whole – a photography project

This is a photo series of sorts, but I’m more going to simply call it a project. It’s an experiment, really, I’m exploring a different style of photography that is slightly out of my comfort zone. I have used myself as the subject in most of these pictures, integrating myself into a natural (or partially manmade) environment in a few different ways.

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I suppose you could call it a self portrait series in that sense, but I have called it ‘Not Always Whole’ as I wanted to try incorporating only parts of my body in the pictures, such as just an arm or hand, hence, my body is not always whole in the photographs. I really enjoy using the shape of hands in some of my photography and with this I wanted to expand on that, using more of my body to create shapes. I would like to also just take this moment to credit the photographer Rachel Gulotta, for the inspiration behind a couple of these pictures.

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My main goal was to create interesting and unexpected images, and perhaps a couple that are slightly weird, basically to try and step away from the idea that every photo or piece of art has to be conventionally beautiful. It was also a way for me to approach capturing nature in a different way, as most of my nature photography involves close up photos of the ‘beauty’ of nature.

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I have become increasingly fond of black and white photography, since shooting a roll of black and white film. It opened my eyes to the beauty of it. I like that black and white brings focus more to the shapes and patterns in an image, rather than something being beautiful simply because it has a pretty colour scheme.

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Previously, I’ve often mentally categorised my photos into two sections. Ones I took with my phone or sometimes my camera thoughtlessly, to use as references, pictures of myself, quick snaps of interesting things or a view. These photos I never considered to be ‘art’. Other photos, that followed the ‘rules’ of photography, that had depth of field, that I would take when I specifically endeavoured to go out and take photos, fit into the second category. Photos that fit my ‘style’ of photography were the only ones I considered to be art.

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I’ve realised that anything can be art if it is intentional enough or if you simply look at it that way. Some of these photos I may not once have thought to be art. But they were part of a creative process, and they capture my thoughts. Therefore, they are art.

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