Saturday, October 21, 2023

ClearEye Photography: The Room Where It Happened


'Believe nothing you hear, and only one half that you see.'
Edgar Allan Poe


In addition to, creaky floorboards, possessed dolls and winding staircases, another prominent trope of Haunted Houses on television and in movies in 'the room.'  Most haunted houses have them, the room which is colder than the others, has flies or insects.  A room where the wind that slams the door shut, without even a window being open.  


Although often an attic, it's alarmingly more likely a bedroom, a child's bedroom, full of scary looking toys, dolls and clowns that appear dusty and long ago abandoned.  In some movies, these rooms are locked, with the title characters spending most of their time trying to get in.  If the room is open, it's usually covered in dust and cobwebs, with white sheets covering all of the furniture.  The lights flicker, the wallpaper or paint usually peeling, and for some reason, the bed is usually an antique, four poster bed, with sheer fabric draped around it.


This space is the source, the core of darkness and evil.  In most cases, it's the room where it happened, the horrible act of violence and trauma that infected the rest of the home.  It was the initial place of the murders, the butchering, torture and terror.  The new home owners however, never get this right away, but despite a new coat of paint and new furniture, the underlying horror remains.


When I was thinking of images for the room where it happened, I thought back to the first time I featured the work of ClearEye Photography.   I was interviewing ClearEye for a piece in The Male Form Magazine, and he had sent on these shots of Jason. Jason was one of the first models ClearEye had worked with and the results were spectacular. 


Although the intent may not have been to capture a haunted room, the setting, and the way ClearEye framed the images, gave the vacant attic room an almost sinister feel.  The room was actually in a run down, mid-1800's home that was being renovated.  ClearEye was able to use the space when it was empty.  The sunlight through the windows is beautiful, highlighting details within the empty room.  the light beautifully cascades over Jason's naked body, while also capturing the dust, unfished walls and empty spaces which surround him.


'The house was vacant, it was fall and the furnace was not working. Jason was naked and a little cold, but he worked diligently for hours. We were both somewhat tired, but the conditions were perfect. The light was falling beautifully on the cracked wall, and we were in a "groove." Jason moved quickly and naturally through a series of beautiful poses, with some suggestions from me, and it took only a few minutes to produce some of the best photographs I have ever taken.'

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