It wasn’t too long ago that I stumbled upon a great shop in EPCOT that sold these beautiful hand-made masks, which come straight from Venice, Italy. The masks are beautifully painted paper mache masks come in various colors and gradients – even boasting some patterns.
At first I made a huge mistake and failed to bring one home with me and since then it haunted me. I had to get one of these to shoot some photos with; it could be the perfect accessory to a costume or be the perfect focal point. So I decided to go back and purchase the mask I saw, hoping it would still be there. To my surprise it was.
The photo shoot originally designed for that mask was a complete fiasco. I had a an abandoned building set for the theme of a grunge industrial feel perfect for the dancer picture. When we arrived the owner changed his mind and ran us off the premises in some kind of bi-polar rage. Without a place to shoot, we went searching for another perfect or near perfect spot (hopefully before the sun set) which was less than an hour away. In all, we did find a spot and the dancer photos came out better than I planned. The mask was so intense – it complimented the shoot and was a focal point all in one.
The result –
Now I am hooked. I quickly realized how they impact the shoot, the mood and the story behind the photos. They create a mystique that causes the mind to speculate different scenarios… “are they hiding something”, “are they trying to be inconspicuous or are they forced to hide from the world”, “is it a front to distract you from something else”? Those are all valid questions. The most important part is the mask draws you to the face and forces you to look deeply into the model’s eyes.
When I photograph people I focus on their eyes because it tells a story, it sells an emotion, it gives intensity to the work. So the mask draws you to my focal point like blinders on a horse.
I was destined to buy more masks and continue to do amazing gothic style shoots that revolve around the mask. My second mask was also from EPCOT, was a beautiful brown and tan mask that was accentuated with musical notes.
This shoot I felt needed to be “steampunk” and Spanish based. So I got a violin, I got a Spanish style outfit and got a perfect model to play the part who is full blooded Puerto Rican.
The result –
Now I have another mask that I plan on making it Italian based. The research is underway and I can’t wait to see how it will turn out. What I know is I LOVE masks and plan on using a lot more in the future.
Leave a reply