DUOTONE FANTASY: When I launched Chameleon's Cabinet and posted my first gallery, the Turning 40 Project, I got comments from several people whose opinions I respect. Among these were two constructive criticisms that particularly interested me: 1) While the characters and costumes were diverting, the pictures were not especially interesting in strictly photographic terms; and 2) In portraying the characters I often assumed rather overwrought poses and facial expressions -- overacting, in other words -- and the effects were banal, obvious, and unsubtle.While taking both comments with a grain of salt, I was inspired by these ideas to expriment with some new approaches. First, I started working in black and white, something I really hadn't done since my early days of photography study. With the limitation imposed by monochrome film, I tried to emphasize more purely photographic values of tone, composition, angle and texture. Specifically, some of the things I attempted in this series were:
- Layering, particularly the possibility of seeing the subject through another surface, such as a bubble, bubblewrap, or a sheer curtain.
- Lighting, including window light and shadow caught between translucent surface.
- Framing through the lens. In contrast to the other galleries, most of these images are presented in full, rather than cropped on the computer.
In spite of these higher photographic ideals, I couldn't resist jazzing these pictures up just a bit for the gallery, so I attempted some duotone effects with my photoediting program.
In front of the camera, I focussed less on full-blown make-up and costume transformations and more on seeing what just one or two elements might inspire. And I did try not to overact, honest I did, though I just couldn't help myself on occasion. Overall, my hope was that I might suggest character, mood, or narrative in a way that left something to be added by the viewer's imagination, rather than by spelling out every detail.
This actually freed me up to play with some costume elements that I had obtained or contemplated, but which hadn't added up to full characters in my mind. These included a commedia mask I'd bought in Amsterdam, the top hat I borrowed from the wardrobe closet at work, the combination of fluorescent ring units and fishnet stockings, or the "gown" made out of men's undershirts. The big brocade skirt I'm wearing in three of the images was created for a character that hadn't turned out. I get a huge charge out of wearing that skirt, and modelling it on camera. Of course, I'm hair-hopping as usual, with fake and real mohawks.
While I'm not sure that the pictures in this gallery completely address the two critiques that inspired them, the experimentation was exciting, and helped me to broaden my range, I hope.
Images created at several sessions sessions between Fall 1999 and Spring 2000.
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