The long exposure photographs would embody change and duration. They would not constitute a privileged moment as they would be a series of successive instants that coalesce onto a single frame. So they move beyond the pose of the above photo as they would present a time-image where the distinctions between the past, present and future are indiscernible. What occurs in the image is not a singular duration of time but the multiplicity of time relations. That sounded promising and the photography would be experimental as the blurred outcome would be difficult to predict. I read some articles on time, Deleuze and images.
I decided to do a bit of research into long exposure and portraits. One reference point in the history of photography is the portraits of Julia Margaret Cameron in the mid-nineteenth century. A late 20th century reference point is Gary Schneider’s opposition to the cliches of the studio portrait in the form of his Durational Portraits, in which he uses a small flashlight as the sole light source whilst the subjects gaze into the lens for around an hour. Schneider is revisiting the techniques of the early photography of Margaret Cameron when long exposures times were necessary due to the low light sensitivity of the processes available. A 21st century reference point is the Korean artist Kyungwoo Chun’s various kinds of long exposure portraits.
So I cleaned out the stacked up bits and pieces in the storeroom, cleaned the dust on the floor, vacuumed the dead insects and turn the storeroom into an operational studio space. It is a small space to work in, and quiet austere. There is a power point, a chair, a studio stand, a camera, a light reflector and two photographic background poles. To become operational it requires a wooden rail across the top of the two background poles plus a dark cloth loosely hanging from the rail to form the backdrop.
Then I would be ready to experiment with making some long exposure portraits.
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