Chiiz Volume 7 :Fashion Photography

Happenstance Crossing
As people cross the road entering Piccadilly Circus, an elaborate camera movement
drags colour and texture across the scene. Fortuitously balancing static and stationary
with photographic and painterly elements.
Canon EOS 5D Mark III 33mm F/20 1/50s ISO200
Fine Art in the Streets
my photographs are created on
site and in-camera. It is crucial to
“All
me that they are not re-worked
in any image software. Only adjustments
to light, dark and cropping are made on
computer afterwards. Eavch one is made
using a technique that contradicts the
proper functionality requirements for High
Dynamic Range imagery.”
Michael Lee is a British visual artist, living
and working in London. Photography
was always a passion and mainly served to
inform Michael’s painting. Michael taught as
a full time art teacher before travelling Asia
and training in oil painting. He returned to
the UK, working as an art and photography
teacher while studying a Masters Degree in
Fine Art at Middlesex University. NOOPUR
SHARMA from Chiiz gets in talks with Lee.
Below is an exceprt.
In what genre would you like to put your
photography? If it is street, then what is your
concept of street photography?
I would like my work to be considered
fine art and/or abstract photography. In
truth, it probably occupies a space between
those genres. My street photography is
about capturing the energy, vibrancy and
essence of a place rather than the telling of
a particular story.
Your photographs are like a set of paintings
that seem to be in motion within themselves.
Is it something that you are trying to make
a point with?
Drawing upon and referencing painting
is central to my practice. Exploring the
painterly qualities of my photographic
technique has always been a driving force
for me. It is the fact that the photographs
are generated through real events, my
performance and the camera, as opposed to
on a blank canvas that I find so exciting.
What is the technique you use? How do you
process them on site?
I shoot in HDR mode where the camera
automatically combines three consecutive
exposures. Typically for HDR, one ought
to keep the camera as still as possible to
avoid peculiarities, however, I will look
to perverse this by introducing elaborate
camera movements and shooting moving
subjects.
Something that inspired you to pick up that
Michael Lee
brush and that camera?
I have an innate desire to create. I find
immense satisfaction and sense of
accomplishment making something I can
be proud of. Originally, I had only seen
photography as a means to inform my
painting, however these days it is the other
way round.
When a person starts with photography, it
is generally the street photography. What
should he look for in his pictures and why?
Typically, a narrative. I am most interested
in seeing a personalised aesthetic to illustrate
the narrative.
Since developing a unique technique
for creating abstracted photographs,
he now only paints with his lens, though
painting greatly influences and inspires his
photography. Michael has exhibited widely
across London, the UK and Europe. He is
represented by galleries in the UK and Italy.
Noopur Sharma
noopur@chiiz.com
Noopur Sharma, is a content writer whose articles
have appeared in Asian School of Media Studies
newspaper and others. She has worked as a Public
Relation Executive for Bang On Target PR and Media
solutions, and is a blogger on social media as well.
Vol 7
49