Saturday, November 25, 2023

The Magic Hours: DJ by Elwood Photos


'We didn't get out of the water until the sun had completely set and there just wasn't enough light anymore.'


I think this series of images are my favorites from the shoot.  The most visually beautiful times of day during the Gloaming, a time when light naturally transforms.  Sunrise, sunset, and late in the afternoon when the light has mostly faded, but it's still not quite dark yet.  Each of these moments represent brief moment of calm, before, after and in the middle of our busy hectic lights.  These moments of gloaming are on stunning display in Jason's images of DJ.


The story I created and imagined was certainly told in part through the song, which I listened to while putting the piece together.  It was also told most strongly, through the visuals, especially the colors.  I love the transformation of color reflected through the sky and water, from vibrant blue tones, to muted yellows.  It was also told through DJ's face and expressions, and especially through his eyes.   As with any story, I love to hear about process, and how the visuals came together.  For this, I depended on Jason and DJ to fill in the details. 


''I was very excited about the idea,  but I wanted to make sure that it had more depth than just being " Hey, look! He's naked in the river". I suggested we go with a kind of dark ethereal vibe, and actually used the song What The Water Gave Me by Florence and the machine as a reference for the type of energy I wanted to channel LOL. I think we did a very good job with channeling a kind of dark mysterious vibe while also getting the shots that Jason originally had in mind.'

'We arrived few hours before magic hour and spent around 4 hours in the water. It was exhausting to try and stand on the squishy river bottom and hold steady against the current and the waves from passing boats, all while desperately trying not to get my non-waterproof camera wet and hopefully get some decent framing.'


'It was probably the least prepared I had ever been for a photo shoot as I arrived home from a trip to California that morning and hardly had time to deposit my bags at home before heading out. As I was rather rushed I didn't bring any props and we simply worked with what we had my body and the water.'

The water was pretty cold as well and DJ was shivering pretty badly between takes but refused to take any significant breaks. He said he wanted to suffer for art! I made sure to check in with him a lot though and let him know that we could get out of the water at any time and dry off. Besides all that, I think we both loved every minute of it! We didn't get out of the water until the sun had completely set and there just wasn't enough light anymore. We hiked back through the woods to the parking lot in total darkness. 


'I think my favorite moment was when we were trying to get this shot of me underwater looking up. But the water was so cold and I was having trouble posing underwater so we tried it like five times and never got it... But we laughed so much about it but it's the best memory

It was also a very interesting shoot as we were at a nude beach and despite the water being freezing it was rather crowded. I've never done a photo shoot with other people around before but Jason has a great energy and I didn't feel at all uncomfortable. Overall it was a wonderful experience (as it always is working with Jason) and we created some of my favorite shots ever that day.'

DJ on Instagram

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