“I’m an artist first and my camera is my visual tool. My highest inspiration comes from painting literature and music. When I saw my first Caravaggio I was paralysed by the genius of light to take photographs is to paint with light. I aspire to make all my photographs of that standard.
Herb Ritts was one of the greatest photographers to ever grace our planet. He worked in the golden hours of LA to capture the very special light from the beaches to deserts. This is what I do in South Africa. The shoot that inspired me to create this body of work was his Versace shoot. Colour film was available then yet he chose black-and-white. Why? Black-and-white film takes harsh lighting conditions and makes it into something out of this world.
I prepared the shoot unlike any other. Extensive research on what kind of black-and-white filter would work best in the conditions. I wanted every single negative to be perfection and 98% of them were. I could have chosen to shoot the trendy pastel colours of Kodak Portra. I’m not trying to be trendy, for my mission is to capture the essence of our existence. Immortalising all that capture like the classic paintings that inspire me.”
