Tuesday, June 11, 2013

"Of White and Black" "A Giant's Grace"



Grace, there is no other way to describe grace other than the word Grace itself. With slightly below the shoulder length brunette hair, and a smile that is essentially always on her face she screams classic “I’m not even trying beauty.” which intrigues me to no end. We were accompanied by her younger sister on our shoot, a sister with a beauty of equal caliber but unique in her own style. With as beautiful as Grace is she was equally as nervous during our time together. I see several forms of nervousness when shooting different people. Grace is the type to be silly when nervous, which doesn’t bother me because I am always joking as well so it made for a fun day. As I photographed her I could sense she was beginning to loosen up a little and after I showed her the photo “A Giant’s Grace” her words were “That’s awesome” and then I knew that we were getting somewhere. It’s that pivotal point in a shoot where the model realizes they are doing a good job, and it isn’t as stressful as they had imagined and the switch flips and the fireworks really begin to explode. By the time we had gotten to the last shot “Whispers of Flowers” Grace was responding perfectly to my direction and I could tell a trust had been built between us. 

"Whispers of Flowers"
 


As me and Deanna delicately placed dandelions in the cracks of the bed of rocks that Graced laid upon I thought to myself I feel as if I am preparing her for burial, Which disturbed me a little because I try very hard to avoid dark emotions or trying times. As I continued places flowers however I then thought death isn’t always a bad thing. The element of nervousness that Grace felt as we walked down the path to the meadow where we picked the flowers had now died. I sensed it’s death after I showed grace the Image “A Giant’s Grace” that I had captured 20 mins previous. As I continued meticulously placing flowers my thoughts moved past that of death and onto what the flower’s role in the piece were expected to be. I won’t tell you my logic behind them in hopes of making you think for yourself and letting them mean to you what you desire rather than I. I will however tell you that it is in depth yet simple at the same time. The questions I ask myself as I look at the completed piece are these:

Why is she clenching her torso?
Her hand is open as if she may be contemplating new ideas, what are they?
Her eyes look at peace, is she?
What does the doubling mean?
Why a overlay of flowers?


                                                                   "A Giants Grace"

 Personal struggles always seem to plague me while I shoot. Yet I find a sort of relief once I see the final piece. As I shot grace financial troubles kept trying to nag their way to the forefront of my mind, however now looking at the pieces we created together brings me peace, a sense of clarity even.  Especially “A Giants Grace” because of the negative space that engulfs grace’s beauty. Beautiful space, a peaceful sweep of light as it flows down through the trees creating a glowing effect of the leaves resting high above her head. Again I will leave the symbolism of how the shot is composed, and her pose to you as the viewer not plague your mind with my thoughts or reasoning behind it. This image represents a story within my head. A story I will share with you one day, but for now I want you to contemplate it and create your own story.

I mentioned in my my post describing my time with Jessica as we created “Embrace of Betrayal” about my attraction to a woman in white. Grace is no exception. In fact I will go on record here to the ones who are still with me and tell you this. There are 2 girls well women now, that I know and consider to be the prettiest girls I have ever personally met or seen. One of them being Grace, and the other will be featured in a future piece. Both of them are just as beautiful inside as they are out, I know that sounds cliché because everyone says it, but in this case it is true.

                The friendships built between me and my subjects are indeed a rare
connection. A connection I cherish, the main reason being is the fact that I have shot people from all walks of life. I have shot the super popular, those others consider less popular, the rich, those of lower income, guys, girls, young, and old, with all of them though I am able to find beauty.
As always I hope you like the pieces and feel free to like comment or share any photo you see here.
Feel free to contact me at any of the info listed below for inquiries on buying prints, booking a shoot, or just to say hi J
Phone: 252 813 2977
Facebook.com/emptyframes
Instagram: @spencer_bunting










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