Tag: cape town photography

Corporate Commission: Alan Walt Architects & Ass.
The Client Christmas Card 2011

Post author By Leah
Post date September 26, 2015
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The Client Christmas Card 2011

Be Cool

If there’s one rule to this game
Everybody can name real plain
It’s, be cool!
If you’re worried or uncertain
If your feelings are hurtin’
You’re a fool if you can’t keep cool
Charm ’em
Don’t alarm ’em
Keep things light
Keep your worries out of sight
And play it cool
Fifty-fifty
Fire and Ice

Joni Mitchell

I had worked with Alan Walt in 2007 when I produced our first collaborative end-of-year card together. This would be our 3rd collaboration (our second was unsuccessful in 2008).

Alan had a reference image which would be the basis of his 2011 card; it was an image of a woman’s bum after she had been sitting on a woven chair for quite some time. The seat of the chair had left an imprint on her skin and it was the combination of the mark-making on a private area of the body, which Alan was interested in.

I eventually found these references Alan sent me... — I eventually found these references Alan sent me…

We had the “Alan Walt Architects” logo cut out of black perspex and I asked a friend who had posed for me before to come into the studio to sit on it for half an hour before I took a photo of her bum, now branded, for Alan’s card.

The idea of branding or ownership is interesting, especially in the sense of this being a corporate commission. There is a play here on elements of the private/public sense of identity which, combined here by Alan with the Joni Mitchell lyrics “Be Cool” make for an expressive and personal statement from my client to his.

Elements of this commission left my head bemused with ideas about “branding”: branding cattle, branding clothing, brand advertising, branding my friends bum with my clients logo, etc.
The other side of Alans commission which also interested me were the elements of the business game which he points out quite unabashedly: being visible, sensationalism in marketing, staking acclaim to material objects or property/ownership all connected to, again, private/public notions.

Below is the laid out document he mailed to his clients at the 2011 year end.

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Women I've Shot

Pregnancy Portrait: This is Ursula

Post author By Leah
Post date September 18, 2015
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I met Ursula a number of years ago and was thrilled to be commissioned to shoot a series of pregnancy portraits of her as well as capture some family moments afterwards with herself, her daughter and her husband.

Ursula was pregnant with her second child, and in her third trimester when we worked together. The pregnancy portraits we shot were very simple but bold. I lit her with one light, set back, to just highlight her silhouette plus a little bit more detail created by a poly board on her other side.

There is a decadence in the profile of a pregnant women which I love. The shapes are so beautifully abundant. Every line of the female body becomes enhanced so that a series of interconnected spheres take over the body.

Heavily pregnant women, especially when shot in this style, remind me of the Venus of Willendorf, a paleolithic sculpture associated with fertility and childbearing (picture below).

Ursula and I also shot a few images with her young daughter in an embrace, the resulting image I find to be a special reflection of motherhood.
Together their bodies become a knot of warmth, love and nurturing.

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Women I've Shot

“The Housewives”, Private Commissions:
This is Louise

Post author By Leah
Post date September 10, 2015
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This is Louise

(Note: “The Housewives” was a term I fondly coined in 2006 after I started getting shoot requests from private, individual women who became my clients. Many of the women who contacted me were married and in their mid 30’s and were doing the shoots as gifts to their husbands. The folder in my archives is still called this and so I’ve stuck to it, in part just for the irony: most of these women are not “housewives” at all, but strong independent and forward thinking women who I have had the honour of documenting.

All are private commissions and the demographic has changed substantially over the years. Some I’m still in contact with, others I’ve totally lost contact with, some have become friends, some may wish not to have their real names used, others don’t mind, some may have their faces obscured for privacy reasons, others have generously shared their experiences of being photographed.)

I met and shot beautiful Louise in September 2006.

She may have been the first private commissioned job (in this genre) that I photographed on location.

Louise inspired me then and she inspires me still. She had a strong sense of self and a confidence about herself and her body that I admire.

We started her shoot on Witsands beach early in the morning. It was overcast and freezing, a few surfers were braving it out in the swell, we began in the dunes, a little way back from the beach. Louise must have been quite cold but she was also determined and absolutely accommodating to each of my ideas. Her goosebumps show the temperature but also add to the vulnerability of the open-air environment and therefore to the tone of the resulting pictures.

I brought a handful of natural props to the shoot but focussed more on highlighting the moody ambience of the morning and the beach textures in contrast with her femininity.

We shot a series of different bedroom-type looks later.
This part of our shoot together was a creative medley of props and looks we had pre-discussed. We used lingerie, accessories and backgrounds to create variety, some playful and fun tones, others more sensual or themed. The below images are a few examples.

Louise had opted for a more outdoorsy feel overall and so, towards the end of the day, we left for Llandudno beach to catch the sunset, set against giant granite boulders there.
Just to the left of the main beach are a small series of mini-beach-alcoves which are beautiful and very secluded for shooting in, it depends of course on the time of the year, sand and the tides but we were lucky- the rock was perfectly exposed, tide was out and the light was magical.

We brought and used minimal props,- just a few items such as cloth and oil which complemented the textural quality of the environment.

Looking back 9 years on work I shot at the start of my journey is gratifying. Each interaction with a woman I document is like a peek into the nature of women, femininity, their/our vulnerability and strength.

These images of Louise remind me not just about how much I’ve learned since I worked with her but about how each experience I’ve had has moulded my own understanding of our individuality and identity within the culture we reside.

Women I've Shot

Corporate Commission: Alan Walt Architects & Ass.
The Client Christmas Card 2007

Post author By Leah
Post date May 1, 2015
No Comments on Corporate Commission: Alan Walt Architects & Ass.
The Client Christmas Card 2007

I met Alan Walt in 2007 when he contacted me via a recommendation from Heidi Erdmann of The Photographers Gallery ZA. Alan creates a somewhat controversial or abstract “christmas” card or seasons greetings type card to his clients at the end of each year. He strikes me as the kind of person who likes to ruffle feathers, challenge perceptions and so on and he uses this opportunity to do just that with his clients.
Previous cards had not been related to issues pertaining to sexuality or gender specifically. I got the feeling that he got a kick out of challenging my notions of the subject since it was the subject we would deal with for his commission if he wanted to collaborate with me as a creative.
I can’t remember exactly how the final concept came up. He wanted to incorporate his company name “AWA” into the product in a subliminal way and we discussed references and ideas and decided to use the [taboo] oriental art of Karada (rope tying) as the vehicle.

I had used Karada references, especially those of Nobuyoshi Araki a few years previously and we discussed then in context of incorporating the — I had used Karada references, especially those of Nobuyoshi Araki a few years previously and we discussed them in context of incorporating the ideas or art in Alan’s project.

I sketched my idea, we confirmed the look and went ahead with the job.

I generally work alone, I prefer it since communicating my creative vision, shoot process, etiquette with nude models or trying to maintain my patience with others working on my set frustrates me.

Alan wanted to be present at the shoot which I found totally unnecessary and purely voyeuristic as apposed to useful (he did not attend).
The shoot took place on a small budget, it was before I had my own studio and I shot it in my lounge using a mix of friends, acquaintances and family members who had willing accepted my request for them to pose for a group nude portrait all the while tied into a rope harness.
I sourced the rope from a local rope supply store in Lakeside, Cape Town and incorporated garments with fabric that would be a little reminiscent of a kimono lifted up to expose the body underneath it.
The tying process was a struggle,- it takes a while to create such an end result and with 5 models one can’t make the first overly tight while she has to wait for a good two hours still until the shoot commences. I did this alone and had an amazing amount of patience from the 5 women.

The end result was good and very close to the initial sketch of the concept. Below is the final image.

I shot the images digitally, this was my second year working with my first digital camera and was also at a time when I was still working at least 50% with my film cameras.

Alan put together a small amount of text which appeared on the back of the card. When I read over it now, 8 years later I’m surprised I agreed to it.

I shot a small series of details at the end of the shoot which I’ve only selected and messed around with now (below).
I like the strong graphic play between the rope and the body shape.

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