Page 52 - NyghtVision Magazine Volume 3 #3
P. 52
INterVIew by FrANCOIs DewyNter
Of age was planned well before he ever showed up
all your series, well, series
that include women, I am
for the shoot. That isn't my style - and I am not
Grief." most fond of "I Know Thy saying, by the way, that there was something
wrong with Penn's attention to detail. There
I have always wondered how that series was wasn't. His was just a different approach. From
created and how you envisioned that scene. his perspective, the creative process, the cre-
You have another series - "Passion, Innocence ation of a photograph, was his and his alone.
and Death" - that strikes me as powerful as That isn't the case for me. I don't own the
well, but even that one can't touch this series. creative process. I own perhaps a third of it.
Falcon: Thank you. I was very pleased with I see my work as the result of a collaborative
the results. Even after eight years this series process between me, the model and the cam-
continues to be one of my favorites. What leads era.
you to single out this series if I might ask? Francois: The model I can understand -
Francois: Well, I am not sure where to start. though we will return to that in a moment - but
The synergy - the connection that is so obvious the camera? How can an inanimate object col-
- between the models. The emotion is incredibly laborate on a project?
powerful. I can feel the grief. Their grief. Falcon: The image created is shaped by what
When I saw this series for the first time, I was the camera can and can't see. What a camera
left speechless, and then I was overwhelmed sees is a function of which lens is attached as
with questions. For example, how did this series well as how the camera is designed and the set-
get its name? How was it created? Did you scout tings I use. The dynamic range of color, for ex-
the location before the shoot? Did you discuss ample, is a function of the design of the sensor.
what you were "going for" with the models? Bet- Dynamic range of color is also a function of the
ter stop me because there is no shortage of ques- format in which the photograph is saved.
tions I can ask. Francois: Image format - you mean RAW or
Falcon: Well, the answer to these questions, and JPG?
most likely all the others you might ask about Falcon: Yes. Given that a JPG has 80% less
this series, is "No." data than a RAW image, the dynamic range of
Francois: I am afraid that that doesn't make color in the JPG will be less. There will also be
sense. Are you telling me that this series was less detail, contrast and texture.
an accident? Happenstance that just acciden- Francois: And therefore less emotion.
tally created such incredible work? Falcon: Precisely. Moreover, if I use a wide
Falcon: No. angle lens, the Canon L series 16-35MM for
Francois: Please explain, then. example, I will portray a very different sense
Falcon: I suppose many photographers would of space and my composition will be very dif-
have scouted the location first. Some photog- ferent than if I were to use the Canon 24-105,
raphers, Irving Penn for example, sketched or, as was the case here, the 70-200 IS L se-
each scene prior to the shoot. I prefer not to. ries lens. The latter is even "narrower" than the
Francois: Because? 24-105 so it tends to draw more attention to
Falcon: Fundamentally, it is a difference in the "heart" of my composition. There are few-
philosophy. er distractions from the environment around
Francois: In what way? the models. The 70-200 allows me to move the
Falcon: Irving Penn, when he worked for viewer's eye more directly to what I consider
Vogue, was famous - or infamous - for his at- the heart of my composition.
tention to detail. Every aspect of the final im- Francois: I'm not a photographer but I think
52 | Behind the Scenes: An Interview
