Preface
Like there are many moods, there are many faces. A typical head shot session involves a predetermined and often practised pose of what we want to put out into the world but in reality a single or collection of these typical shots can never represent us or our stories. Some of the more intriguing photographs from these typical sessions end up on the cutting room floor but they are still often just a prepared collection of poses.
When taking head shots I look to create a conversation that teases out the subjects' story; nullifying the awareness of the camera's presence and capturing the natural faces that ensue. Again, the chosen photograph is often the "nice" one but with this approach the cutting room floor collective is not only a rejection of the most natural and expressive shots, it is the rejection of the human story that can be moulded by them.
By organising the cutting room floor of photographic expressions a story without words can be forged because we not only read facial expressions, we subconsciously read the shift between them. And of course, in real time, expressions are not static; they are in a constant state of flux.
This collection of photographs capture the various expressions that emanated from a conversation about a personal human story. A story which is a journey through the swift changes of ascent and descent whilst navigating significant health challenges.
Al Gurr
Al: “Taking a helicopter approach to the last few years including the impact of the last 18 months of challenging health, how would you summarise it? Going forward, how will your life approach differ?”
Richard: “We all have our own bus. And on our busses there are all kinds of sub personality survival characters who range from being angry, provocative, disruptive smiling assassins through to charm, love filled, well intentioned, compassionate, kind, and generous souls. All of them have a part to play and they are all on the bus for a reason. It is not about getting them off the bus; actually we need them on the bus as we drive through our lives. But what is really important is that because they are on the bus, we don’t let them drive the bus. My reset going forward is for my true self, (a place of being awake, conscious and attuned) to drive my bus.”
"Drive the fucking bus. Ha!"