LulightThe Art Of Collaboration
L -Can you take monday off?
G -Yes.
L -Ok, let’s get the tickets and do it.
Everything started as a kind of photography retreat weekend. It was just the two of us, our cameras and a destination in the middle of nowhere…where I grew up.
Gus and I have been friends for a long, long time. We share friends, values and a passion for photography.
Gus has a background in architecture which makes him a freak about composition, perspective and lighting. My background is in communication and cinema so I love to tell stories and think about other plausible realities. We knew we wanted to create something together but we didn’t have any idea what it was going to be.
When we arrived to my home town we started looking around for inspiration and possible characters. We drove around and started thinking about the best locations. We searched around the house opening every closet and forgotten drawer. A dress from a fifth grade Alice in wonderland play, a birdcage, my great grandma’s summer hat, and my dad’s and mom’s toys became the perfect props to start the creative process.
One of the best things about collaboration is that your world is not limited to one point of view so the possibilities are endless. You start finding meaning in things that you normally wouldn’t even stop to look at. Being flexible and understanding that there are other ways of seeing, creating and feeling are key when creating with others, and that’s the beauty of it . When you start a project like this you should leave the ego at home (lock it in a closet forever! you will not regret it). With our cameras, once forgotten props, empty landscapes and no ego we spent three days creating something together.
After the weekend the post processing started. Images were coming and going in long emails with constructive criticism. We also had afternoon tea sessions when we would sit together side by side retouching different images. The images were many times destroyed so that new better ones could come ahead.
Everything ended with fourteen images that were exhibited at a one day event at the Foto Club in Uruguay. We set up couches, got some drinks and cookies, invited our friends and photography lovers and asked our good friend Franny Glass to make a playlist to go along with the images. We projected the pictures on the walls of the gallery for two hours. It was an ephemeral evening with everlasting memories. If you would like to see the finished images click here or here . You can aslo find out more about Gus on his flickr.
Mucho Amor,
-Lu
