Inspired by an amalgamation of the Victorian-era derived steampunk genre and traditional Día De Los Muertos face painting, this self-portrait is one image from a series I created April 5th, 2020.
As a single image, this portrait invites curious story building by raising more questions than it answers. Viewed in conjunction with its counterparts, this image reveals a more thorough story of this man finding a guitar case, peering in to discover the contents within, and taking it on a train ride.
The series maintains elements of curios story building by refusing to answer the various questions it evokes. Who is this man, and why has he chosen this visage? Why is this guitar case so meaningful to him?
The idea for this series came more than a year ago and met several revisions through the planning process. What was once a dangerous, gun-slinging lawman became a would-be musician who may, or may not, be of wealth or dirt poor.
This particular image is made with a Sony a6400 with Sony E PZ 18-105mm F4 G OSS (SELP18105G) lens at 32mm, f/4, 1/200th, ISO 500, with a single speed-light. A bit of white packing paper lines the bottom of the guitar case to create a brighter and softer lighting effect.
Please provide criticisms and the impact this image created in the comments. Feedback is a gift.
Sincerely,
Nathan Payne