Books
Nocturna
The most dangerous demons humans ever face are their own fears and disillusions. That is the moment when we find both the best and the worst about us. At times we become so estranged from our own thoughts, feelings and emotions, that finding ourselves uncovered, naked, means we can no longer hide this alienated nature of ours. Within a period of four months, the photographic artist lost his job and separated from my wife. It all happened amidst suffering from a long term depression that he has held. He suddenly felt very vulnerable; fears of both literal and metaphorical homelessness permeated his consciousness like a dense fog. He felt abandoned and at the same time felt his anguish was invisible to others. He was left with the notion that he would not have a warm happy place or future and that he would be relegated to scavenging for survival. This photo collection consists of images of women involved in situations in which – were they to happen in daylight, the women not naked – the scene would be routine. Naked women show the neglect and loneliness we face every day, even when we’re surrounded by people. Alec’s pictures show women living with their demons, in the company of night.
Large Version / Standard Version
Diplopia
Diplopia is the abnormal perception of two simultaneous images of a single object that may disrupt balance, movement, or sanity. Through his photographs, Alec Dawson splits women’s naked bodies in two. He represents diverse situations through overlapping images, and demonstrates the duality of each character. Phantoms in ruined places, where time stopped and only memory remains; transparent bodies of one individual that coexist in the same instant, or the same being captured at a different time. Alec plays with quantum theories, where time travel is possible, and he manages to capture these travels though his lens. The resulting encounters are not fortuitous, but coldly calculated. Inviting, fun, aggressive and, to some extent, violent images are experienced by way of Alec’s creative eye, as he weaves stories in a single, unique plane Diplopia – double vision – is the principal characteristic of this series. It fuses our perception of two images in a single object. Alec transcends the duplication of naked feminine bodies, to the fusion of the moments captured with double meanings that transmit movement in a timeless instant.
Large Version / Standard Version / Small Version
Austamatic
During 2011, I joined the ranks of millions of people who purchased an Apple iPhone 4. The device is not only a mobile phone but a miniature mobile computer with a built in 5 megapixel still camera. Combined with the Hipstamatic app, the portable device packs a powerful punch and is capable of taking photos that are reminiscent of 6×6 medium format photography.
Being a fan of black and white medium format photography, I found using this little camera a great way of instantly and inexpensively getting that classic look normally reserved for cameras such as Hasselblads, Mamiyas, and Rolleiflexes.