Camera Obscura

9th shoot - Re-shoot Zachary

This was my first opportunity to re-shoot Zachary (my son) The previous shoot had included some of his friends, but I felt that I needed to capture his alone to avoid creating a second ( different) narrative. I have often been told that I am trying to present two different project in one, so I would try to avoid that here. My previous shoot with Zachary had been without the Bonfoton lens, so I was expecting better results here. I did not want to try to recreate the first shoot with him. I liked the images but this was a new day, the room had changed, and in my opinion it was be a mistake to try and recreate a moment that has already gone. That is to say that, while I would be able to re-create the frame and surroundings, the image would (for me) feel too contrived. Zachwould have an expectation of what was to come, and the organic nature of the shoot would possible be lost. For this shoot, I would start again, and work the whole room.

The back wall in Zach’s room has the sharpest focus from the Bonfoton lens but was also the blandest projection. Taken by Chris Arrondelle - Canon 5d mkII - Sigma Art 50mm lens.

Because Zach’s room is fairly small the projection on the side walls is very good, and puts me in mind of an impressionist landscape. Taken by Chris Arrondelle - Canon 5d mkII - Sigma Art 50mm lens.

My personal favourite from the shoot combined a good mix of light and projection. It also is the image that I have the strongest emotional bond with, and communicates something to me about the world that my son is growing up in. Taken by Chris Arrondelle - Canon 5d mkII - Sigma Art 50mm lens.

I felt that the last two shoots (taken on the same day) had moved the project along somehow. I had always maintained that I would continue to shoot with the Camera Obscura technique, and see what narrative the images fed back. The initial plan was to photograph people at transitional stages of their life, such as my course mates. All would be moving on soon both with where they live and work BUT this was not what I was getting from the images I had been taking. I was discovering a different narrative within my own household that was forcing me to ask questions of my self, and my own perceptions of the world that I place my son in, and the expectations on both of my children in the world that they are growing up in. I was not entirely sure where this was going, but it was something that I needed to pursue.

To move this forward I would work up some of these files, and print them off at university to A3. This would allow me to spread the images out, and view them all together.