Light, Time, and Colour: A Photographic Exploration
What is light, time and colour? To many, they are merely scientific entities that make up the world around us, but for photographers, there are endless possibilities of how these three elements can be incorporated into their art. These three elements can be used in countless breathtaking ways to tell a story, convey emotion, and send a message. When I heard of these three elements, I thought of a theme that is personal and close to my heart: queer rights. Time, because we have fought for many tireless years just to exist, light, because through the darkness, there was also light: a hope at the end of the path, and colour, because no matter how much the world tries to strike us down, we come back with more pride than ever, radiating incandescent colour because we are not afraid to be who we are in the face of adversity.
Featured in these photos is my friend, Noah. If you've seen my previous works, you'll know that he's been my subject for a few of my shoots. I extend my thanks to him for being my wonderful subject for this shoot as well. This one meant much more to me, as it was completely self-directed, and I got to really let my creativity and passion shine here.
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The Fatal Past
For the first photo, my goal was to capture the unequivocal fear queer people in the past experienced due to rampant discrimination and executions done to queer people simply because they were queer. They needed to hide, to keep silent in order to survive. Their worlds were dark and terrifying, and if one was brave enough to show their true colours in the face of hatred, then that individual would receive certain death in return for their courage.
My goal for this photo was to have a high contrast, representing the darkness that queer people in the past were suffocating under. My goal was to make the photo feel dramatic and almost horrific, coupling the lighting with the pose: I asked Noah to hold his hands over his mouth and look scared, as if he was being silenced by the prejudiced society around him. I also made th background pure black, like a void of hopelessness. I really wanted to capture that hopelessness and suffocation that queer people felt back in the days where it was punishable by prison and death to love someone.
The Age of Riots
My second photo captures the essence of riots that bloomed in the late 1900's, when queer people began to fight for their right to live. In 1969, the lives of LGBTQ+ people were forever changed when the riot famously known as the Stonewall Riots began and lasted for five days, and the world for queer people turned a little bit brighter with hope for a better future. More and more queer people stood tall and fought for their rights and weren't afraid to demand equality and shout their pride from the rooftops.
For this photo, I brought in a reflector to make the contrast less dense, and I lightened the background. I wanted to show the world for queer people becoming a bit brighter due to the resistance they were showing, and the colour they were starting to show. However, the face is still a bit shadowed, because although change was starting to happen, there was still fear and prejudice to drown under. I also gave Noah a small flag to hold to represent the beginning of the fight for equality and asked him to look fierce, like he's standing up for himself. I wanted to highlight the Earth becoming more saturated with pride as queer people became less afraid to hold hands with their significant other while walking down the street; for minorities, existence is resistance, and as prejudice tries to crush us, we only rise up stronger than ever.
The Present
My third and last photo aims to highlight the present, how queer rights have significantly improved, and we have more freedom than ever to be ourselves without fear of being ruthlessly executed. There is more support than ever before for queer people and drastically more safety. With endless pride parades being held, and June being dedicated to queer people and their history, as well as 35 countries (including Canada) legalizing gay marriage, the future looks brighter and more colourful than ever for queer people. Although the fight is far from over, and there are still an abundance of countries' governments that need to recognize gay marriage as a harmless act, the present day is undoubtedly the most free queer people have ever been.
I changed the background to white to show the light and hope the present day offers queer people. This photo is the brightest and most colourful of the bunch, with the contrast being the least dense and Noah holding the huge flag behind him. I wanted this photo to be the most vibrant to give a sense of joy and celebration of one's identity, being happy with yourself, and not being afraid to be yourself. However, there is still a bit of shadow to represent the ongoing battle that will likely remain ongoing for decades to come. But the shadow is weak, just as prejudice will continue weakening the more we fight.
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This photoshoot was the first time I booked the studio out of class time. I was excited and nervous, especially since I wouldn't any of my professors there to assist me if I ran into an issue. I did have one major issue throughout the whole process: I was unable to get an assistant, so I was alone in the process. I had to set up everything myself; I initially wanted to use two lights, but because I didn't have an assistant and was pressed for time, I opted to use a single Aputure light and utilize a reflector to achieve the levels of contrast I desired. Although I would have preferred to have two lights, I think I did a good job with the compromises I made. I was incredibly sore the next day, but in the end, the pain was worth it.
