Sara Bettencourt - Photo Mário Pires

On the previous post, i talked about the genesis of this portrait series, but after the general theme i needed to narrow it down further, and decide who to photograph and where to find them.
The gender issue was clear to me, i’ve always loved photos of woman smoking, so that choice was easy. But i needed a way to find woman willing to smoke in front of the iPhone4 camera. Asking random woman on the street is not something i’m confortable in doing, i needed a different approach. Then i remembered that i already followed some woman that smoke on twitter, and figured that i could tweet them an invitation to pose. At this point i already made 4 portrait sessions, so this method turned out to be a good choice.

Sandra Gaspar / Photo: Mário Pires

Having left my Lumix in the closet, and relaying almost exclusively on the iPhone for all my photo needs, i wanted to put myself and the iPhone to the test. Thinking about possible challenges, i remembered that i never did a portrait session.
Portraits are a bit vague, how could i make a series that makes some sense and it’s within my reach ?
I also wanted to draw some attention to it, so it would need a element of defiance. I remembered some talks i had with fellow photographers about wonderful portraits of women smoking. Smoking has gained a rather negative aura in recent times, and because of it the defiance element would be smoke.
Having established portraits of people smoking as the main theme, i needed to narrow it down a bit in order to establish some logistics that i could master for some time.

• Where to find people to photograph ?
• How to ask them ?
• Which gender and age ?

Those questions will be answered in the next post

O.D. series - Photo: Mário Pires

P. series - Photo: Mário Pires

Subway series - Photo: Mário Pires

B.C. series - Photo: Mário Pires

I always think of series, regardless of the imaging device i’m using. From the moment i surpassed an “amateur” mindset and started to think about the concept of a “series”, i’ve never been able to work differently. Even when i’m not consciously thinking about it, after some time, a series emerges and i can’t help but notice and pursue it.
These photos are from series i’m developing now, all produced with the iPhone4 (the subway series has some photos that where shot with a Nokia device, but edited on iOS devices).

I bought a Glif tripod mount for the iPhone4, now i can secure it to a tripod and avoid camera shake in some situations.
The only problem i see with it is the need to take the phone out of it’s protecting case. But it was inexpensive, and until the Jumba from Canopy becomes available, it will have to do.

Palm tree, Photo: Mário Pires

In January 2010 i made a list of photo projects i wanted to develop in 2010, a year later it’s time to access the status of those.

Chiado Project

The “7 Visões no Chiado” project was successfully completed, It was shown in Lisboa, Vila Nova de Paiva and Coimbra (more dates coming soon). I made a series of blog posts about it. I wish to take it to Porto and back to Lisbon before the end of the year.

Prazeres Graveyard

I did three sessions on this project, and was unable to advance it further. But after i had Brenda Turnnidge review the work, i lost some doubts i had about the focus of the work. I expect to be able to schedule some more sessions in the spring.

MobileOne

I started this series with Nokia mobile phones, then i added a iPod Touch and iOS photo apps, and then the iPhone4. it’s no longer a series, it’s body of work that grows everyday! The iPhone is constatly with me and i haven’t used the Lumix in months. The camera is good enough and all the photo applications that i can mix and match give me endless creative opportunities. We can be mobile artists with nothing but this small device!

“T” Project

Postponed. Without a couple that knows how to T, it can’t be done right.

4 Cars…

I finished photographing for the project and then got some doubts about the whole series. It’s sleeping in the archives until i pick it up again and start editing it into the final form.

And for 2011 ?

Publishing some POD books is my goal, hope i can pull it off.

For some time now that i try to organize the bulk of my photo activity around projects, i still photograph on a loose base when i’m in that mood, but i find it more fulfilling to structure my work this way. For 2010, these are the photo related project i wish to work on.

1. Chiado Project

The Chiado Project is already in motion and is to be completed until the end of February. It is the object of a series of posts that will detail it very thourogly.

2. Prazeres Graveyard

This project was started at the end of 2009a, i hope in the end to put toghether an exibition and self-publish a book trought Blurb. It will be completely in B/W, something i haven’t done in a very long time. The plan for this project is a self-published book and a show if i find a venue for it.

3. MobileOne

This project is about photos taken with mobile phone cameras. Raw unprocessed ones and also some of them processed with applications developed for the iPhone mobile platform. Mobile photos are no different from photos taken with other image capturing devices, when you see them, they must convey a feeling, be somehow worthy of showing to other people. So i take them as seriously as any one i create. Adding effects for me only makes sense when they bring added value, and extra meaning to an already interesting photo.
I don’t focus on the hardware (not really important to me as i don’t care that much about the resolution of the photo), only on the unprocessed photos and also on the mobile applications (at the moment only present on the iPhone platform) that allow us to edit them on mobile devices, avoiding the computer and giving us the ability to capture, edit and share form everywhere there is a net connection.
One thing i dislike a bit about the community that formed around the iPhone photo processing applications, is their focus on the hardware and the unwillingness to accept mobile photos from other platforms. Yes, the applications only run on iPhones and iPods, but i use them to process photos taken on Nokia phones, so if it’s possible to do it why not ?. When i mention this fact i am told that i can not post my work. I know that the rules are made by the people who builded the community and they have every right to do so, but i find much more interesting to build communities “platform free” and focus only what can be achieved regardless of the hardware or software that made i possible. It is the idea and the ability to “see” that really is important.
At the moment i only plan to do a video with some of them, but this is a on-going project so only time will tell what comes out of it

4. “T” Project

Just had the idea and the team to get it up and running. It envolves Lisbon, dance and music. Final outcome is still unknown.

5. 4 Cars…

The last one, is a project i started last week after reading about color and serialization. It’s my “conceptual art” project. Involves cars and color, it’s going to be performed with my Panasonic Lumix TZ6.
It’s not one 356 type photo projects, the concept around it is also time based, but different. There is nothing wrong with those kind of projects, they allow you to train discipline, awareness and can focus you one simple task, it can make you grow as a photographer. But this project does not involve a predetermined time frame, at this point i can find it satisfactory after 3 months, or i can decide to make it last 5 years. The final outcome will be a show and self published book.

After the first series i returned to the Prazeres graveyard. This graveyard is huge, and every visit can unlock a corner gone unnoticed in previous ones. I will continue to go there until i feel i have some 30 or 40 pictures that can be published as a coherent lot.

Some time ago i went to a photowalk that took part in Prazeres graveyard in Lisbon, me and Pedro Pinheiro, Luís Amaral, João Nogueira, Nuno Correia, Bruno Rodrigues,Sérgio Bernardino e João Almeida. The results that came out of it made me want to make a longer series.
Before this photowalk, i decided to just look for details to avoid dispersion, and as a way to get a more focused series. But when this one was over i had some photos i liked a lot, and the idea of returning started to emerge.
To be enthusiastic about a subject and feeling the need to develop it further it’s not usual these days. Most photowalks are a end to itself, fun occasions of sharing photography with like minded people. But from the results of this one i felt the need to develop a full series about this particular graveyard.
Ok, but to do what ?
It’s very important to know the possible outcomes of a series early on, so that we can use the means necessary to show it properly.
Will i make gigantic prints ? Or a very small book ? Will i only show it on-line ?
In my case i’m thinking about a POD book, and maybe a gallery showing if i can find one that is wiling to show an unknown photographer. But before that i need to gather a body of work that deserves to be shown, and that is the first thing i must do, starting now.