(Eds Note: Thanks to Sandi for taking the time to share some thoughts on her latest photo shoot.)
Photography to me, is a funny thing. Simply photographing something, [be it human, animal, inanimate object, whatever] does not quantify its existence: Your image is not absolute reality. Instead you are taking your subject and interjecting your own thoughts, perceptions, and emotions, to create what it is that you as an artist actually see. Very rarely do I start with a definitive concept; seldom does that abstraction come to complete fruition.
This shoot, in it’s embryonic state of development began very simply: I saw a burn-pile that I wanted to ignite, and a barely clothed model ‘posing’ in front of it. The logistics of starting a fire in my backyard however, were slightly more complex. The obvious factor, [especially here in the Northwest] being the weather. Not only did it have to be dry the day of the shoot; the rain also had to be on hiatus for at least a few days prior, to allow the combustible material time enough to de-saturate in order to be lit off. Fortunately Spring graced the Willamette Valley with her presence, just long enough to make it happen.
I knew without a shadow of a doubt, that I wanted Angela Graves as my model. We have worked together before: She has this raw energy, a quiet passion that cannot be tamed but instead merely harnessed for the duration of production. She showed up to my house looking svelte and smoking her cigarette. She stripped down, clawed her fingers through the mane of her overly teased, bleach-blond hair and we got to work.
True to my earlier statement of reality, the original concept did not ‘come to be’ exactly as I had envisioned. The giant inferno of my dreams was instead a collection of spot fires and smoke plumes, fueled by excessive amounts of diesel and a leaf blower. I am far from disappointed: While the final images do not replicate what I envisioned per se, they [more importantly] embody the emotive intensity I was unambiguously looking for. That is satisfaction enough, for me.
-Sandi Elle