Project: "Other"

We are different, we are the same, and we are all wonderful!

My inspiration for this project on observing the work of photographers that captured iconic figures and state leaders,

My intention was to individualise my photo’ subjects, to focus on their lifestyles and personalities and, like my inspirational photographers, capture as many intimate moments and images as possible of some of the most powerful entities of the world.

The four photographers: Heinrich Hoffmann, Ghitta Carell, Andrei Pandele, and Sir Cecil Walter Hardy Beaton, all

influenced my approach to this project in both technique, and use of lightning. Shooting the human iris using the practices I’d observed from these masters photography was hugely beneficial to my learning and results.

Not understanding the challenges involved from the outset, I hadn’t realised one of the biggest obstacles to master would be lighting. Taking time to experiment patiently I am pleased at my end result

Based on the challenges I came across shooting solely the iris, I had an idea to further the story and combine portraits with the iris. A further effort to portray the individuality of human beings. For this reason I applied the focus to people’s differences. Their Nationalities, ethnicities, family origins and lifestyle choices.

Based on the my final images

I can assert that the radius of origins is very similar. My biggest surprise came shortly after, when I started to complete the Census 2021 form. One of the questions posed was “How Will You Describe Your National Identity".

This question was exactly what I wished to express

from the beginning of my project planning. To my surprise the answers were quite simple and vague. Most of the people would choose the option "OTHER".

After seeing this form, the title of my piece (“Other) became a clear choice. It relates to a much wider group of people.

It’s a subjective title, based on the mindset of the people, but It can represent the thinking of each person. Our own nationality is always much more important, and closer to our hearts, than others.

Being a perfectionist in my work, there’s always room for more. More experimentation more trials and errors, and I will always find room for improvement.

I did as much as possible during the ten weeks of the project, testing and playing with many techniques and styles. From colour changes and adjustments, to, in the end, an almost total modification of the project. As I grow and learn as a professional in a department, in areas of photography, I become harsher on myself, and I constantly raise my own bar.

I would like to take the idea of National Identity further, to develop it and extend it in the future to create a gallery exposition.

In the end we are all the same.

This project was sent to an art gallery, and exhibited on another platform owned by artists.