As photographers, we're used to being behind the camera, contorting and squishing our faces against the viewfinder to get the shot. Wondering what we looked like behind all of that, Richard Johnson used his latest project, "Behind the Mask," to capture the moment when photographers capture a moment.
The initial inspiration for this project came from Johnson's own tendencies:
As a photographer, I sometimes look at my camera as a shield... From time-to-time, I would catch myself making faces behind the camera and wondered if all photographers did this.
The opportunity to explore this arose while on a photo walk, where Johnson used a Nikon D810 and a 36-inch octobox to shoot a portrait of each photographer while they were aiming their camera at him, after which an assistant removed the camera from his subject's hands, and he quickly snapped another shot. Johnson notes that while some photographers only needed one take, others required multiple tries, as the sudden shock of being in front of the camera at the moment they were supposed to be behind it shook their composure. The results are fascinating, funny, and endearing. I even learned that I'm not the only right-hand, left-eye shooter who keeps both eyes open (I was beginning to think I'm a unicorn).
Photographers demand a lot from their subjects, but once you flip the camera on them, they have the same emotions and conflicts the rest of the world has.
Check out more of Johnson's great work on his website.
All images used with permission of Richard Johnson.
Thanks for featuring this!
This is great!
hahaa awesome.