Photographer James Simmons was looking for a different kind of travel photo when he met Horace and Mary.
Each year I make a big effort to get out of my comfort zone and away from my normal commercial work. I love my work in commercial and domestic photography, don’t get me wrong, however the release and inspiration that I get from travel is like oxygen for me, I need it.
This year I headed to India for the chance to experience something different and something challenging. Challenging it was. In the first few weeks I found it very difficult to get away from the standard tourist haunts. Stock photography was not what I was after. I was struggling to create a simple story-telling image as the streets are so chaotic and busy. I needed to meet locals to engage with and tell their stories, so my ideas shifted from outside to inside.
It wasn’t until we travelled down to Kerala that I met Horace and Mary by total luck. Accommodation was thin in Fort Cochin and Rosa-Rio had a few spare rooms. The guesthouse was very interesting and once I saw it I knew I had to shoot it. So after a long broken conversation with Horace and Mary, I asked if I could photograph them. I took reference shots on my phone then carefully planned their positioning and the different exposures I would need to put the image together.
I set up my camera on a tripod with a radio trigger for my speedlight. With a remote shutter release plugged in I set my focus point, then went and stood behind Mary in the doorway with the speedlight and the remote trigger and proceeded to fire off a few shots. I then repeated the process for Horace and also for the room. Meanwhile Horace and Mary thought I was crazy.
Canon EOS 5D MKII, 16-35mm f/2.8L lens @ 24mm. Exposure: F8 @ 0.25s, ISO 200.
Article first published in Australian Photography + digital, December 2012.
'Horace and Mary.' Photo by James Simmons. (Canon EOS 5D MKII, 16-35mm f/2.8L lens @ 24mm. Exposure: F8 @ 0.25s, ISO 200.)
