“The grey warm evening of August had descended upon the city and a mild, warm air, a memory of summer circulated in the streets. Like illuminated pearls the lamps shone from the summits of their tall poles upon the living texture below which, changing shape and hue unceasingly, sent up into the warm grey evening air an unchanging unceasing murmur.” —Excerpt from “Two Gallants “ by James Joyce
and ritual of making a picture on a large format camera appeals to me. The richness of a well-made negative contains such beautiful, smooth clarity and detail,” says Stephen. Stephen follows a few self-imposed rules when photographing. One of these rules includes not adding any light to a scene, including after dark. “I rely on street lights, window light, and low clouds to light scenes for me. One of the challenges this creates is that when I am photographing people in their work, home, or recreational environments, my exposures have to be quite long. It’s not unusual to have people posing for up to a minute.” “I’ve figured out a trick,” he says. “During a long exposure, one of the things that makes a person jittery is an effort to keep from blinking during the exposure time. I’ve found that if a person blinks comfortably they are more relaxed and able to keep still — even little kids. In the photograph their eyes are still clear
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and sharp.” He does very little in terms of posing people, as they are to look relaxed, comfortable, and like themselves. “Another challenge is the skepticism I encounter,” says Stephen. “People are typically proud of their neighbourhood, so after a short conversation I try to demonstrate that I am there out of respect. Then their guard goes down. Of course, the curiosity of my big, old fashioned—looking camera also seems to help diffuse any tension.” Stephen’s laborious process influences not only how his images appear, but also his audiences. When people slow down to understand the technical factors involved in his work, they gain further insight into the narratives he creates and presents as documents.
stephenbrookbank.com
