Emile Ebrahim Kelly

Sincere

An image we might use for Sincere’s next single artwork

Emiliano Granado - TFP project

I’m really interested in the notion of portrait photography as transaction, and even more interested when that transaction means genuine agency in the creative process for the subject. That’s why I decided to set up a portrait studio offering free portraits. Someone just pointed me in the direction of a project from Emiliano Granado called Time For Print which does it so well I’m lost for words. Beautiful work.

Elvis

Elvis walked by every day for a couple weeks before coming in. He is a local college student.

Paul

I always find it interesting when people have a “mode” they go into in front of camera. Paul is obviously quite confident and knows what he wants to look like. He didnt take much persuading to get into the studio.

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Aj, 18 & Tiago, 17

AJ & Tiago had just come out of court, where AJ had been found guilty of ABH. He was expecting to be sentenced to 4 years. He said “Its alright though, it was downgraded from attempted murder”. I asked him if he’d been to prison before “Feltham [Young Offenders] yeah, it was OK.” He was going to come back the next day with his girl and some friends, so he could have some pictures to take inside with him, but he never showed up. Tiago seemed like a good friend and a calming influence. More pairs below!

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I’ve always wished I had seen the Cruel & Tender show at Tate Modern, and I found this video of Rineke Dijkstra’s talk from the programme. It’s quite long but worth it. Finally got to see Buzz Club, which is about halfway through the talk and is incredible. There’s something about her portraits which is too moving for words and I think that comes out of an empathy with her subjects, no matter how fleeting the encounter, which seems palpable in the image. She seems to be able to break through the sitter’s armour. Sometimes it’s just a crack, and sometimes they seem completely open. That’s something I hope to be able to achieve in my own way.

The photographic act as something participatory. Hope i can shoot 5×4 Polaroid and give it to my subjects one day!

Pieter Hugo - Permanent Error

Pieter Hugo’s work is always beautiful as well as dangerously close to the edge of something troubling. I nearly always like it.

Here’s a music video he (co) made (again via Amy Stein):

Found on Amy Stein’s blog

Today I was getting very stressed out that my work doesn’t fully articulate everything I want it too, then i watched this and realised what i need to do: at least 15 years more work.

Doug Dubois