In my photography of men’s fashion, I explore unconventional ways a man can wear a garment. In this project, the concept of itinerant figures is explored. In the first photo, subject and stylist Adam Boehmer had seen a homeless man on the way to the shoot and wanted to arrange his clothes based off of the man he had seen. Adam himself had a nomadic life for a while in a van traveling around the country.
The idea in the second photo is a reference to a shepherd through a fusion of a suit with lamb skin. I wanted rich, warm tones for these photos so I went with black velvet as a backdrop to completely absorb any shadows and a warmer white balance.
This project is about determination. In the first photo, the subject is looking with determination at something the viewer can’t see with burning eyes. The second photo is more about the result of determination. The subject confidently buttons his coat while slightly looking down to the camera.
The viewer might imagine he is in his garden coming to cooly welcome the viewer into his estate. Both photos show the subjects in a lush garden area to reference the cultivation and beauty that results from striving towards a goal.
The concept of these photos are influenced by Japanese fishermen. In the first photo, you can get a sense this is not necessarily a wealthy man with his mismatched and unusually fitted attire and bent back from work or being in motion. The colors allude to the sea.
In the second photo, the texture of the scarf over the face reminded me of a net with the sleeves rolled up and the shirt undone so he won’t be too hot or encumbered by his work. Black and white gives this photo a sense of antiquity. I had been seeing large draped clothing and felt a strong interest in that. When Adam Boehmer showed me his collection of textiles for styling the shoot I knew we could make that look a reality in my photos.
