Hans Weston - 'Unscene'
Photospace Gallery, 21st Feb-29th March, 2014
Note: this exhibition has been extended to 29th March My long held passion for photography lead me to the moving image and I studied television production. I began working as a news camera operator working with local news in Dunedin in 2004. I am currently a full time staff member at Mediaworks TV, working for 3 News in Wellington.
A few years back I stumbled across books/monographs by Walker Evans, Henri Cartier-Bresson and William Eggleston. The photographs struck a deep chord in me and I felt an incredible wave of inspiration. Seeing the world with completely fresh eyes, I picked up the stills camera for the first time in years. Eggleston's photographs in particular seemed to stimulate a dormant part of my brain. I'd been given permission to explore a more personal photographic vision. |
Looking deeper into the world of photography, I also found huge
inspiration from the likes of Robert Frank, Ernst Haas, Elliot Erwitt, Harvey Benge, Saul Leiter and fellow kiwi Peter Black. ( to name a few) I'm always learning and haven't looked back. I began taking a mixture of colour and black & white, but chose to practice in just one of the two mediums. I love the atmosphere, emotion and mood that comes from colour photographs. I also take much influence from many great black & white photographers, and I look forward to exploring that in the future. When I photograph I feel like a calm observer taking a neutral view of the world. Of course, my own prejudices occasionally creep in and keeping them out is my challenge. We are not perfect therefore our environment cannot be either, but I would like to think my photographs show that beauty and character can be found in imperfection. This sequence of photographs - 'Unscene' - is a small slice of my work from the last two years.
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