I've always liked to work in series, but when one series ends there is the inbetween times. For me a series usually is built on constraints I place on myself that help in exploring ideas and collaboration. A view point, a space, a way of processing. Maybe it seems contrary to logic, but I feel more creative when I'm working like that than when I'm free from constraints.
Temperance was a room, shot through reflections, with one light.
Journey to The End of The Night was a room, changing furniture, one light, one view point.
The Room (a series that has all but disappeared from my portfolio, the internet, and possibly lost in a hard drive crash) was shot all on a single backdrop.
But right now I'm in the thick of exploration. I have established series I can play with like Into the Wild, The Jungle, and Ask the Dust, but I'm looking for something to fill a void left by Temperance. A series to look to when the weather is to monstrous to go outside. A series to play with studio lighting, and just experiment in a different way.
And I'm working on it. Nicole is helping me build a set that could be the sequel to Temperance, while I experiment in our green houses with natural light. I like what I'm getting I'm just not sure that this is its own thing. Am I just shooting for The Jungle right now? I kind of think I am. Currently files shot in the green house are being saved in The Jungle or The Green House depending on if I remember that I have a folder specifically for these shoots.
That's what experimentation looks like for me. Am I doing something new? There was a time between Journey and Temperance that felt the same. I knew I was onto something with a couple shoots, and then one thing changed and Temperance actually became its own thing.
I'm waiting for that thing to happen now. Creating photos I love, but the work needs a thing, and then I will know.
I wonder how long that will take?