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‘Photos by Vincent Perini’

Using a refined technique, a big camera, and an eye for catching people when they’re not quite expecting it, Vincent Perini shoots a gallery of subjects.

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A note from Vincent Perini: I only take photos twice a year, because the camera I use is huge and expensive to shoot on. The huge expensive camera I use was just stolen, so I will be shooting even less frequently now.

I have never been into carrying a camera around and ‘capturing’ something going on, or some moment or anything. I prefer paying attention to lighting and setup and make a point to take my time even if it means having the subject get a little bored or self-conscious. In fact, making the subject bored and self-conscious has become a trademark of my photo style, I would say. I use a 4x5 view camera, which requires a heavy tripod and the use of a dark cloth over your head to focus, and this is intimidating to the subject. Often I use televisions to play a video of something, and then have the subject mimic whatever is on the television. Having people stand in front of a camera makes them affected, and making them watch a TV and do whatever is on the TV distracts them, too. Sometimes I set up the shot, turn off all the lights and wait for a while, even a minute or two, before taking the photos suddenly—after the subjects have been standing in the dark long enough to forget that they are about to be photographed (Jim and Robert). One time I went up to my parents house in CT with a friend, and we got up at 4 or 5 in the morning and started drinking, then downloaded the guitar chords to George Michael’s ‘Freedom.’ A few hours later when the sun was rising, I took photos of him playing my SG and singing ‘Freedom’ by the river. It was a collaborative piece with Jason R. Ladewig called ‘The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Rockin.’’ I was pretty drunk though, and the exposure was so bad I could not even fix it in Photoshop. Jason got sick, but by 10 or 11 he was fine and we had a nice day after that.

I use Photoshop compulsively. I would say I overuse Photoshop, actually. When I get started in Photoshop, I can’t really stop until everything is just right. Many of the photos here are Photoshop composites. I will set up my tripod and take photos of two people sitting next to one another, and then after I get them developed, pick my favorite of each person and put them together to create a special moment. Sometimes I have completely recreated spaces by painting in reflections, windows, and framing.

All of these images have been cropped to fit this photo template. These are just details of whole photos that would not have looked that good here in their original 4X5 inch format. To be honest with you, some of these look a lot better in their original format, but I figured everything should be consistent and easier to digest visually.

—Published May 29, 2003

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