Ron no. 1 (below)
Was awarded an Honourable Mention at the Monochrome Awards 2020 - Professional Portrait
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This medium format black & white film series was captured in February 2020, approximately 1 month before the pandemic lockdowns in March of that year. These photos were to be part of a new idea, a new series that I wanted to create & explore. This session was a pilot project that involved an evening of dinner - that I made - fun & deep conversation & finally the portrait session. The series was to explore my ability to read people's micro-reactions or expressions.
I was in the middle of creating test prints of these portraits in Ottawa, Canada & the photos had a specific exposure that I needed to lock in & it was taking some time for me to develop what I had in my head. The pandemic hit, slowing things down to such a frustrating level & it was taxing my enjoyment of the portraits I had created & what I was exploring in my own psyche as a result of the creation & reaction from the subjects as a result of these portraits.
Photographing this series came to a complete stop due to initial lockdowns & restrictions - that I was & am in support of - for so long that I lost focus & went onto other things. I was also in the middle of learning how to make digital fine art prints; I was in the process of bringing my print development & print making in studio as the pandemic came to town & I was faced with supply-chain issues, paper shortages etc. & it left my learning curve very steep & long.
I scaled back how I spoke about the pieces & the project. I submitted the photo, Ron no.1 - 120 from this series, to a competition & was awarded an honorable mention, Professional Portrait category. The photo was not the precise example of what I wanted to create & didn't love the idea that I had placed in this completion even though I was so thankful. I moved further away from finishing these images.
I shared these photos on social media as examples of what I was 'capable' of at that moment in time but I kept looking at these portraits trying to find the energy & excitement to go back and finally finish them.
Each time I look at them, they tell me something different, their voices echoing something foreboding, something menacing & looming on the horizon. I just wish I knew how to listen to them back in February of 2020 because now I see what they were trying to tell me.
I’ve finally decided to finish these portraits as I intended. I am still working on the final physical prints but digitally this is what I am intending. I only have some fine tune adjustments & clean-up to ready for physical print. So far I am very happy with the results & these portraits.
I want to resume this exploration & series but these days these photos now serve as a reminder of the experience of 2020 & I will see where things go from here.
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![Psalms 34:17-18 NIV [17] The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them; he delivers them from all their troubles. [18] The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/015b79e7-69f0-4a71-b175-508f07ef3f09/91ed4c04-2cd4-4934-8713-97818028c247_rw_1200.png?h=35c9c3a1486339884cb20cdc3065d11a)
Psalms 34:17-18 NIV [17] The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them; he delivers them from all their troubles. [18] The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.
![Psalms 34:17-18 NIV [17] The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them; he delivers them from all their troubles. [18] The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/015b79e7-69f0-4a71-b175-508f07ef3f09/190db4dd-e9ee-4654-9d15-48d0134056fe_rw_1200.png?h=6b6c0de1d3866085fa7093b659b2e5ad)
Psalms 34:17-18 NIV [17] The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them; he delivers them from all their troubles. [18] The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.
![Psalms 34:17-18 NIV [17] The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them; he delivers them from all their troubles. [18] The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/015b79e7-69f0-4a71-b175-508f07ef3f09/5ca8e7bf-e45e-4dde-8076-1121b530468a_rw_1200.png?h=ef55627ff4207e4a7c19a528657a5430)
Psalms 34:17-18 NIV [17] The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them; he delivers them from all their troubles. [18] The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.
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Psalms 34:17-18 NIV [17] The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them; he delivers them from all their troubles. [18] The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.