Efacts Photography
  • News
  • Portfolio
    • Cinematic >
      • Dream Control
      • Escape Route
      • Fear and Loathing in Brandenburg
      • Honeymoon Noir
      • Invisible Menace
      • Quiet, Disquiet (In Search of Tarkovsky)
      • Rebel Heart
      • Retour à Marienbad
      • Stopover in No Man's Land
      • The Emigrants
      • The Lost Cinema
      • True Velvet
      • Welcome to Twin Peaks
    • Conceptual >
      • Art is a Lie!
      • Art is a Lie! (Vol. 6) - Intervention on Jinran Kim
      • Bear in Remembrance
      • Blood and Iron
      • Border Crossing
      • No Sports
      • Not amused, anymore
      • Once Upon a Time in the Midwest
      • The Forgotten Land
      • Twisted Landscapes
      • Welcome to Jordan River
      • What Remains
    • Contemporary >
      • Dark Siblings
      • Interview with a Contract Killer
      • Landscapes of the Swedish-Mexican Border
      • Mixotarians
      • Modern Fairies
      • Rites of Spring
      • Sisters Grimm
      • The Hopper Files
      • The Weekend
      • Youborn
    • Editorial >
      • Asian Persuasion
      • Out in the Wyld
      • Peaceful Warriors
      • Previously Undated
      • Time Flies
      • Vive les Mariés
    • Portrait >
      • Bon Voyage
      • Cuyén on a Sunday
      • Meanwhile in Paris
      • Nuances
      • On the Rocks
      • Portraits on Expired Film
      • Summer Love
      • Venus in (Fake) Furs
  • En Vogue
  • Publications
  • Exhibitions
  • Shop
  • Commercial
    • Art reproduction
    • Commissioned portraits
    • Documentary
    • Set Photography and Film Stills
    • Stage photography >
      • Komitas Festival
      • Shadowless
  • Backstage
  • Contact

Rites of Spring - 2015

Bild
"Bored and Confused"; Fuji GX 680 II, Provia 400
Heureka!; Fuji GA 645, Provia 400
Tow, Tow, Tow Your Boat; Fuji GA 645, Provia 400
Enchant Me, Island; Fuji GA 645, Portra 160, soft focus filter
Disbelief; Fuji GA 645, Portra 160, soft focus filter
Serenity; Fuji GA 645, Portra 160, soft focus filter
Unrest; Fuji GX 680 II, 250 mm, Portra 160
Unease; Fuji GA 645, Provia 400 X, soft focus filter
Should I Pray Or Should I Go?; Fuji GX 680 II, 250 mm, Provia 400 X
Reach Out; Fuji GA 645, Provia 400 X
Confession to Self; Fuji GX 680 II, 250 mm, EPP 100 expired, double exposure
Can't Hide It; Fuji GX 680 II, 100 mm, EPP 100 expired
A Feeling of Leaving; Fuji GX 680 II, 80 mm, EPP 100 expired

Production notes

Rites of Spring is a narrative photo series on coming of age, inspired by concepts of the Australian photo artist Aliki Smith.

The idea originated when Aliki and I were both nominated by Film Shooters Collective to team up and create new works inspired by the respective team partner. This so called FSC Challenge connects photographers from around the world and encourages them to interpret the works of their fellows and to explore new territory.

I found this new territory in many aspects of the creative process: the choice of films, for example. Although the final pictures of the series are all in black & white, every single frame was recorded in color, either on negative film or on slide film (see captions). More specific: three pictures were shot with expired Ektachrome film that subsequently was cross-processed in order to increase contrast, before it was scanned and digitally desaturated. It was this hybrid workflow, using analog and digital techniques, that proved to be challenging - and rewarding. In earlier works, when I wanted to get a black & white picture, I simply used panchromatic films, not color films. For Rites of Spring, however I changed the workflow and used a variety of color films because they all render color in a specific and different way - leading to visible nuances in the resulting greyscale images. Also, the different gradations of negative and slide film show up in the final pictures.


Aliki's works inspired me in yet another way: in earlier cinematic productions I relied heavily on the use of artificial light since I wanted to be able to control it as much as possible. This time, most pictures were made with available light only - which proved to be much more challenging, as it cannot easily be controlled. You just have to take what you get - and work with reflectors if appropriate. The absence of artificial light was especially complicated in frame 11, "Confession to Self", a double exposure that was made in a rather dark room.

In the meantime, one picture of the series was featured by Vogue.


Location: Chorin Monastery