Sometimes the Experiment Works as Planned and Sometimes….

Not so much.  I had a particular idea in mind, but only managed to partially realize the final image.

In the Mirage series I have been using sheets of polished metal as mirrors to generate my final image.  The polished metal surface is imperfect by design and allows me to re-imagine the human form.  To generate a photograph using the metal mirrors I have been clamping them to various supports then photoshopping the clamps out of the final image.  This is pretty much the only post process manipulation of the image.  At a recent critique session someone suggested leaving the clamps in the images.  I had tried it but didn’t like the results, but thought about ways to include the clamping mechanism.  I hit upon the idea of maybe having someone hold the mirror, so their hands were the “clamps”.  The model then “holds” the image, creating an interesting metaphor.  The results are here.  To some degree the idea works, but I find the hands in the final photograph to be a bit distracting.

But in the last image, the concept seems to work better.  I used a smaller square of copper where it was more difficult to focus on the reflection; the difference in focal plane helps to lessen the impact of the hands.  The final image is more pleasing to me.   In it she is holding an image of her friend- something she keeps close to her heart.

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