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PRESS
Better Photography, print magazine
June 2010, India, Photo Feature section Living in Three Centuries Mark Story's series on people who lived in three centuries sums up age more as an attitude than a measurement View the article as a PDF file. The search for interesting faces started in 1987 after going through thousands of casting sessions for commercial films. I used to come across several young, gorgeous actors who seemed uninteresting. But, the old ones were unpretentious, fresh and naturally comedic. Initially, I was drawn to people who appeared worn beyond their years. But I gradually began photographing centenarians and supercentenarians (people aged over 110). Ordinarily, I would walk up to anyone who seemed interesting, ask them about their lives and take their permission to shoot them. However, to connect with the supercentanarians, I took the help of an organisation called the Gerontology Research Group. The intense intimacy of the portraits and the simple stories, revealed the depth of a lifetime to me. The conversations I had with these people were as meaningful as their photographs. While photographing such record-holders of human age, I found that it is not about how many days you lived; it is about how you lived those days. 
Shooting Portraits that Tell a StorySimply walk up to anyone who seems interesting to you, ask them about their lives and take their permission to shoot them. You will be amazed at the stories and thoughts that you come across. To emphasise every hair, pore and scar of your subject, shoot extremely close portraits of only the face in strong overhead or sidelighting that produces sharp shadows. Ask a lot of questions as you shoot your subjects to help you draw out stories. Take the help of an interpreter if you do not understand the language, but do not compromise on the conversation. View the article as a PDF file. |
