UNEXPECTED DIMENSIONS

An interview with two Photographic Artists whose portraits flower in the most unexpected way by Contributing Editor Olya Titova /collage_department

Electric Blossom series, Hot House series Photo: Torkil Gudnason

HOT HOUSE

Interview with Photographer Torkil Gudnason

La Botanica: I find your artwork so striking but may I ask how you achieve these unusual colour effects without using Photoshop? Really!?

Torkil Gudnason: My pictures emphasise light to enhance its reflection on plants. It is simplistic to look at a flower only in terms of colour as both texture and reflection are more vibrant. In practice though, it is difficult to predict initially how each flower will react and reflect light from its surface as each plant is unique and can be unpredictable. It is only through my extensive process of experimentation that I achieve the final result which aims to be transformative.

I did try using Photoshop at first, but I quickly grew tired of re- sulting images appearing both inauthentic and unnatural if not fake. We know that retouching has been around for ages in pho- tography but in different forms. Originally, it was done by hand with lead or pen on negatives, which was part of pictorialism. In today’s digital world, I believe we are even more attracted to ‘new reality’ and my pictures show the magic of real photography.

LB: What inspires you as an art photographer in cre- ating this plant and flower series?

TG: I am inspired by nature which is all around us, always there, with no pressure, go- ing through its seasons and progress. My job as a photog- rapher is to capture that mo- ment which is never the same.

Everything will change, but this exposed moment never will which is the human fascination with photography. We can look at this 1/60th of a second for the rest of our lives. If we look back on our lives, some years may be more informa- tive than others. From our current vantage point, we can reflect on how fast and important were our prior years. In the progress of time, our understanding of these flower and plant images may be different. From the moment they were created through to our current time, the images will reveal different mean- ings depending on whom you become in life. I can now look back at some of these photos which are now over 15 years old!

LB: What are your inspirations? Any exciting plans in the near future?

TG: Lately, I am inspired by my immediate surroundings. I am working on books of photo- graphs taken mainly in the area around my studio in Brooklyn and from visits to my home country of Denmark. Artistically, I aim to simplify and go with the flow.

WINTER SLEEP

Interview with Photographic Artist Allan Forsyth

LB: It must require a lot of patience to photograph flowers. Personally, I have worked with you on many photoshoots and I am con- fident that you will always find the perfect light for the final shot. It is not just me, the whole team recognises this as well. How does your patient approach bring to life the flowers in your artwork?

As a still life photographer, I have learned a lot about patience from photographing plants which has greatly enhanced in my Fashion, Beauty and Fine Jewellery photoshoots for mag- azines and commercial brands. Photographing flower and plant photography is not a single setting but instead is a process which flows naturally from the object. Take flowers which are different every day; from the moment you bring them from the market when they are not at full bloom, to the time when they are fully open and at full poten- tial in a week to ten days. Each flower evolves in its own unique way, which gives each one a life of its own. They are truly living species as flowers are not dead upon cutting. Instead, they continue to evolve in their own unique way, changing shape and colour through time. I do not see a plant behind the camera but a living organism. I take pictures every day as some plants do not look as I had expected initially. Some plants transform into photography better than others. In fact, sometimes it is purely by accident that I discover the perfect picture. Plants develop every day independently from humans, and we cannot escape this fact.

LB: How do you see humans and plants connecting?

TG: It believe it comes down to our genes which allow us all to relate to plants and we adapt to them as they change. There is a constant dialog as humans never get tired of na- ture because it is always differ- ent and constantly changing. The process of natural life whether human or plant is quite similar as you cannot separate the organic species. In the end, it is a new bloom in a new season. Some plants take many years to bloom, and only some come back next year.

LB: Do you think of plants as an aggressive species?

TG: I see plants more as more patient and constantly evolving. The way they are changing through time creates balance as plants are patient. They have this survival instinct in them, as well. For example, many flowers avoid being eaten by developing a solution from their immune system that upsets digestion. Also, it is well known that trees communicate so it is clear that plants are living organisms and part of our Universe. The whole question comes down to whether you choose to believe in it or not wether it is the Milky Way galaxy or living plants.

LB: Do you have a favorite plant?

TG: I do not have a favorite plant, but cacti are fascinating to me and I have a few now. It amazes me how they can survive without water for such a long time. Their exterior appearance with sharp needles appears so still as to be without change. But we know there is life inside of them which is continuously developing. This process is new to me but I have been observing it recently. These plants are more hidden, while some are more obvious, but most are very subtle. They are quiet and so different from the green texture of a leaf.

La Botanica: You have been described as a “photographer who doesn’t like the camera” by Independent Magazine. That is a most unusual title, but is it deserved?

Allan Forsythby: I am a photographic artist and I use photography in my art but not in the ordinary sense. I am not exactly the image of a photographer with a camera around his neck [laughing]. Most of my work is studio-based. The way I create these images is by reconstructing photography in a lab. It is like old school photography when you expose paper with light and then use different elements, shadows, and layering textures. This art has a different feel and experience.

LB: What is your connection with flowers?

AF: When I photograph flowers, I see them more as surreal and spacey. They are beautiful in their construction and they are not static. I try to turn these flowers into a more surrealistic vision and make them look completely different. I want people to look at these images not once but two or three times.

LB: What is your special touch in working with flowers?

AF: All the floral art I have is shot using a different technique. Underwater pictures are shot at high speed.

With frozen flowers, it is all about experimentation and var- ied techniques. If you boil and filter the water first, the images come about more clear. Sometimes you surprise yourself and come up with new ideas.

LB: You have a long career as a photographic artist. You started exhibiting in 2004, and your last exhibit was just last year. This is impressive. Did you study photography or art?

AF: Not really, when I left school, all I wanted was to be a rock drummer. I was work- ing on photography from the lab side, worked by experimenting in the lab and on Photoshop. One thing led to the other, and in my early 30’s I decided to take the leap and to show my work for the first time at the Olympia show in London. I put all the expenses on my credit card and did it. It was sold out, and the rest is history.

LB: What are your plans for projects in the near future?

AF: Camera-less photography on a large scale and may- be a book of my flora works

From: Born in Scotland Based: London UK Represent himself
IG: @allanforsythart www.allanforsyth.com