Monday, March 28, 2022

Saki: l'auto-préservation


When I was a kid, I took my camera everywhere.  I loved taking photos of myself, my pets and my friends.  When I was in my twenties, I took fewer shots of myself, fewer shots of my pets and friends, and more shots of architecture and landscapes. When I hit my thirties, I pretty much stopped taking pictures all together.  


In part it was because I was working full time, so there was less time to hike and travel with my camera.  I also had boxes full of pictures of my pets, and after you've lost a few pets, you quickly learn you only really that one great image to remember them by.  The rest, just made me sad.


I still pulled out my camera, and then my phone, on trips, at weddings and  on special occasions, but documenting my life became less important.  Like most, I went through a short phase of taking daily selfies, but never really kept that many of them.  Now, I don't really like pictures just of me, I still like having to have my picture taken, but not with the focus just on me. I like to have my arm around a friend, in a group, or be posing  in front of a unique building or location. 


I think in part, it's because I'm less creative when it comes to taking images of myself.  When taking pictures of others, or of other things, I till  look for ways to creatively capturing them in new and different ways.  I think many can relate to how I feel, and the changes in my shooting habits.  I also know there are others, that do not.


Over the last ten years or so, I've come to respect and admire those artists who are able to turn the camera on themselves.  I'm not necessarily taking selfies, but creative self-portraits that contain the same care and creativity that goes into shooting another.  Artists like DirtRoad, Luke G, JayK and many others, artists who continue to create dynamic, erotic and unique contacts with themselves in focus.


Also at the top of that list would be model and artist  Saki.  Although the Paris photographer shoots models other than himself, it was his self-portraits that first drew me to his imagery, and it's  his self-portraits, that keep me checking out his Flickr page and Instagram to see his latest work.


I first featured Saki's work back in 2015, and have continued to feature his new work and images on a regular basis.   My 'selfies' all tended to look the same, but Saki's self-portraits are always creatively posed with a quiet beauty and sensuality that I really both love and respond to.  I recently found myself back in Saki's portfolio choosing new favorites that he's posted since my last feature from 2021.  I narrowed my favorites down to these ten shots that Saki again graciously welcomed me to share. 



1 comment:

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