Page 55 - NyghtVision Magazine Volume 3 #3

conversation. Sometimes a simple question like, that word has, yes. The word facilitator might
"Which room would you like to work in?" can tell be better, but really, what we call it doesn't
me much about the model. It can also help me matter.
begin to understand her range of emotions. We all carry a lifetime of emotional expe-
Francois: Interesting. Are you saying a mod- rience with us. Some of those experiences are
el's emotional response changes as you go painful and as a result we don't want to talk
through a shoot? about them. Others we can and do talk about.
Falcon: Yes. Precisely. Part of the key to creat- My responsibility as a photographer and artist
ing emotionally powerful images is quickly get- is to create an environment of trust, comfort,
ting into the moment with her and letting her and safety that allows each model to express
emotional response meld with mine. his or her experiences for my camera to see.
Most recently, I was working with a model Francois: I know we touched on this in an
named Hannah at Belmont in the Gentlemen's earlier conversation, but why are the models
Parlor. She wore a red dress that seemed to with whom you work most often sad? Do you
have been designed for the dark paneling of the ask them to be sad?
room. Hannah has ballerina-like movements Falcon: You know better than that. I simply
and as she sat in a rocking chair she reached invite the model to be in the moment with me
over her shoulder to touch a plant. I felt her and share what she is feeling.
grow calm and then even though I couldn't see Francois: Then why the sadness? Again, I
her face completely I could feel the calm be- know we have touched upon this but I feel it
come happiness. I pressed the shutter. is important for people who don't have access
When I am working with a model or creat- to the last interview to know about that dis-
ing a portrait, my goal is to become as invisi- cussion. So, please........
ble as is humanly possible. I am there, in the Falcon: Despite the progress we have made
moment. So completely there that as far as the over the last fifty years, we still don't treat
model is concerned, I am like another shadow women well or equally. If I recall, a recent
on the wall. study suggested that 60 percent of the wom-
Francois: If I recall correctly, in a previous in- en in our country have suffered some form of
terview you mentioned, I am trying to get the sexual abuse. I suspect that that percentage
phrase exactly right, creating a safe space for is actually greater. As I said when last we dis-
the models you work with. So, I assume that cussed this, imagine being measured against
creating this safe space is both critical and in- Barbie your entire life, or never feeling want-
tegral to eliciting an emotional response from ed, beautiful, desirable........... You choose the
the model. adjective. Ask a woman to show you what she
Falcon: Absolutely. While there is more to is feeling, really feeling, and she will show
it than simply creating a safe space, that is you her sadness.
critical. Francois: So, lets go back to this series. You
Francois: So, collaboration for you is the com- didn't scout the scene before hand and Kath-
bination of creating a safe space for a model to erine and Amber Starr either had worked to-
express herself and entering into the moment gether once before or not at all?
with her. Falcon: This was the second time.
Falcon: You seem perplexed. Francois: Okay. So, you decided to work in
Francois: I suppose I am. This isn't how I en- that cemetery.
visioned collaboration. You are functioning Falcon: I had driven by it for years and from
more like an enabler than a collaborator. what I could see, it looked like a great place
Falcon: Aside from the negative connotation to work. We met Amber Starr and her then

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