Initial Ideas and Concepts - Week 1

During week I explored the possibilities surrounding my initial idea of storytelling and portraits. These ideas consisted of photographing people, significant stories in Australia and conducting a interview based on a person's life and background. Intergrating South Australian Landscape with people and portraits, Exploring both studio and outdoor spaces that are intimate to the person and can represent the concept of life and what an image can do for a bibliographical presentation.

This is an image of a “First Nations“ man, who I captured when I was in Canada in 2019. It sparked my initial idea behind the interview process and delving deeper into an image of a person. The image becomes more than a photograph, where the process allows an avenue to experience more...

The image was taken in Alberta Canada while I was working at Lake Louise as a photographer. I asked him for his name and where he was from, he replied, “My name is Huck, and I’m from the Cree nation tribe in Alberta”. I wanted to capture his strong posture, clothing and the mountain setting behind him featuring Victoria Glacier, Fairview Mountain and the lake. I ended up asking him if I could do a short interview based on his culture and tribe. He told me that his grandfather was one of the first people in the area that encountered the white tourism industry which escalated from the early 1900s. The process of interview and a story behind the image, presented a intimate setting with significance and I would like to explore this type of work through my studio practice. This planted a seed for thought process to begin the idea of interviewing significant people and setting.

Thoughts:

Thinking of contacting significant Australians and interviewing based on their personality, values and position in significant roles. For example:

- Shane Jacobson - for his role in acting and an ambassador for many worthy charities and organisations.

- Firefighters and experiences in South Australia

- CFS crews, plane pilots, managers in fire danger areas, CFS service centres and stories

- People in areas of disaster after fires

- Kangaroo Island and residents ( fire affected areas )