Experiments in the Human Form

Things don’t always go as planned in art.  And that’s a good thing!  Experimentation has a key role in creativity.

I am a big proponent for experimentation, both in science as well as in art.  Planning and execution are all well and good, but it’s the unexpected results that tell us the most, either about our biases or about ourselves.  In this session I was working with Derek and Courtney, two of my favorite models who just happen to be a couple.  I had been wanting to try combining images of two people, but had not been able to find a way to do so that was not cliche.  My original idea was to use two overlapping metal mirrors that while pointed at different models, converged their images onto the camera.  My first attempt could have used a bit more planning on the geometry!  We made a few images, but I scrapped the setup and went to a more conventional single mirror with two figures.  But back at the computer, some of the overlapping images had a certain promise, so I brought one of them into Photoshop to experiment further.  Once I got rid of the bright line between the metal sheets with a little clone/stamp, the image started to work.  The rest was adjustments for tone and shadows.

It’s almost like a fusing of forms and bodies, with contributions from both the masculine and feminine aspects.  This experiment turned out to be more intriguing that I had expected!  I’ll have to revisit this set of experiments and see what else I can do once the geometry has been refined.

Lucas James is a fine art photographer based in Manchester, NH.