Bare Truth
‘Bare Truth’ is a compelling collection of portraits of New Zealand men. The extraordinary photographs expose the men who are very humble, courageous and vulnerable. Their edgy portraits are presented in monochrome which emphasizes their shape and form. The simple background eliminates distractions so the viewer can focus on their bodies and facial expressions.
The combination of using a soft directional light while adapting a special post-processing technique, enables me to enhance their body features so the images are raw and crisp. It is important to me to capture a highlight in their eyes so they look directly at the camera – the eyes are the first thing we notice and must be sharp.
The idea of creating a series of photographs showing men who expose their bust evolved gradually. The biggest challenge was finding the first person to agree to pose. After a few rejections and setbacks, I created a portrait with a close friend and became really engaged with looking into his eyes.
At first I asked only close friends to participate. After gaining valuable experience and formalising a consistent look, I expanded the portfolio and became confident in approaching total strangers. Having a few examples helped me to overcome objections until the project gained a critical mass with dozens of portraits. I focus on capturing a variety of ethnic groups, poses, age groups and body sizes.
I gradually became more selective and started approaching people who looked more interesting to me – people whose face and body tell a story. I capture around 50 photos of each man and use a selection process in order to choose the image which best represents his personality. While some people are very comfortable posing without their top, others feel this is completely outside their comfort zone and a few view it as a therapeutic experience.
The project gained further momentum after winning prestigious awards and becoming a Finalist in the Portrait Classic category of the 2015 Iris Awards form the New Zealand Institute of Professional Photography which then awarded me the title: ‘2015 Auckland Photographer of the Year’. The portfolio was first selected to be exhibited at Northart Gallery during Auckland Festival of Photography. It was later selected to show at the annual Head On Photo Festival in Sydney during May 2016.
Many thanks to Ron Brownson, Senior Curator of New Zealand and Pacific Art at Auckland Art Gallery, who critiqued my initial project during 2015 Auckland Festival of Photography and inspired me to continue and expand it.
Click here to order your Bare Truth coffee book today: 70 pages, 8×10 inch, soft cover, using beautiful luster paper.
William
Gregory
Andrew
Ken
Fraser
Joseph
Chris
Alwyn
Ross
Yaman
Nicky
Grant
Catalin
Yusuke
Tony
Dave
Vai
Steven
Bhima
Toops
Massimo
Richard
Hohepa
Garth
Lance
Lucio
Richard
Alejandro
John
Tom
Desmond
Glenn
Brian
Allan
Jared
Kalev
Sean
Tai
Alan
Travis
Dean
Adam
Sililu
Neville
Dave
Martin
Dion
Rodney
Alen
John
Martin
Alp
Anil
Matt
Calin
Terry
Breen
Jim
Keith
Ed
Stephen
Gal
Kahui
Jay
Alan
Toni
Tomer
Stuart
Perry
Glen
Jeff
Sean
David
Omer
Adam
Jester
Larry
Tony
Steven
Raanan
Ofek
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