Seeing Double

In 2019, whilst searching for an idea that would remove as many obstacles from the activity of taking photographs as possible, I developed a process that would take nearly all the aesthetic and thematic decision-making out of my photographic practice. I felt that such aspects were a key part to the pursuit of strong singular iconic image-making - a pursuit central to photographic arts and crafts - and a hindrance to my own practical and successful engagement with the medium. So, after a period of searching and thinking, a simple idea eventually emerged that was to take twin photographs of everything that I took a photograph of. This process was inspired by many thoughts formed over a period of time about photography and my relation to it, but the prime instigation at the time was to allow myself to enjoy the process of developing traditional photographic film as much as possible. I decided that I could not simply wait for the kind of fortuitous events that normally produced photographs, nor engage with the arduous process of searching for image opportunities in the real world, that could be captured and that might possibly lead to successful photographic results, or not. But I felt that if I could use up a film within a single day, I could develop, hold and examine the resulting filmstrips the same day – providing both tactile and optical pleasure for me. I recalled and looked at earlier photographic projects where I had used a roll of thirty-six shots to record processes that involved space and/or time. But organising 36 shots around a single idea seemed out of reach at that time, and then the idea of recording twin images of the same subject from different angles clearly emerged. It felt simple and achievable within the time I had. It was a rule that could be used to shoot a roll film quickly and that might create interesting photographs as a result - almost completely outside of any deterministic agency on my part.

I put the idea into practice immediately and was surprised by the way it allowed me to take photographs and enjoy the results, which were interesting and often unexectedly successful in an unplanned aesthetic sense. As I repeated this simple rule-based idea, other more detailed factors emerged that shaped the selection of subject, the photographs I took and exactly how I took them (which i will descibe in more detail later). The hit rate that produced 'interesting' or 'successful' pairs also increased almost by itself . And later, after a period, I also found that I could now use the same practice with a digital camera, with little loss of enjoyment, whilst still remaining true to the idea. In fact, the idea almost seemed made for digital photography, as now the quantity of photographs I take has grown significantly and now feels limitless. This proliferation feels right, given the mechanical nature of the medium, and the relationship between the camera and its operator. The viewer may also noticed a refinement (unintended or not) in the operation of the system and resulting photo-pairs, as the process got repeated over the days, weeks and months since the project started.

I want to note here that some people have noticed the 'stereogramic' nature of these photo-pairs. This was unintended, although the connotation was immediately obvious to me. And seeing it, I realised that a side-effect of what I was doing was representing the phenomenon of stereo vision which had so fascinated me as young boy - looking at the world first through one eye and then the other and seeing the resultant shift in perspective. I also liked to look at the world by lining objects up and trying to watch shadows move across a scene as time passed. I like the way these early childhood perceptions and interests emerged so easily in what in was doing.

Another aspect of this process has been the ability to avoid choosing subjects for the photographs, or perhaps reducing the number of choices I had to make when taking the photographs. This had been an important requirement right from the start. One thing I that helped towards this was the practical aspect of being able to produce these pairs in such a way that the shift was carefully lined up, and done with no technical aid as I would only walk around with my small camera and no tripod. So, by choosing a feature - most often the point where a tree or post meets the ground - I could compose automatically. I considered this to be a kind of machine vision system inspired feature detection operation that triggers the photographic event. I see a tree and I know I will photograph it if it meets the requirement..Machine vision was a subject I had studied at university and now one of its methods could be used to avoid the complexity of deciding on compositional or aesthetic strategies. It felt right.

So, two intersecting rules have at once reduced the decision-making process but also enabled me to produce photographs at a rate that I had never been able to before. And the success rate is far higher than I had anticipated. I really do enjoy preparing and looking at them – I look at them repeatedly. Of course, I am under no illusion that I have manipulated this system to move it towards a higher success rate than I achieved at the outset. But the idea remains despite the paradox, or because of it, a perspective on the nature of the camera-machine and its relationship with the person, who can be considered as extension of it and who provide a means for it move around recording and re-recording the world, without end.

Simon Lucas

October 2020.

Addendum. What you will see below on this page is a selection of photo-pairs taken at quite an early stage of the project (when I was still using a film camera) and it is quite interesting to compare these images with more recent examples that you will find at the top of the photostream. I think you will see a marked development and honing of the process.

[this is a précis of a longer essay about the project, still in preparation by the author]