DAY 325

PORTRAITS

Painterly Lighting

POSSESSION: SNAKE

Before graduating from college, I had been on a long three-year search to find my final chosen specialist area of photography. This image is taken from my final award-winning degree show and made my mind up for me. It was exhibited with 19 other life-sized framed Possession portraits in England and Germany in 1992.

The whole series was inspired by the paintings of Rembrandt and utilizes a lighting style that is aptly named after him. After posting on-campus ads requesting subjects and their interesting possessions, I photographed over 100 people at half-hourly intervals over the course of a week, allowing myself one roll of film per sitter.

These classically beautiful portraits are timeless and represent my keen eye for detail and need for collaboration with my subject on pose and composition. It’s not easy to see, but the snake, which was moving all the time during the shoot, has its tongue out, captured in a split-second exposure. It balances the pose of my subject and her hands as they hold her pet snake for my camera. —SA