Tuesday, January 26, 2016

the Visit: Luc Francois by ClareVoyance Photography


The first time I featured the work of photographer Scott Clare from ClareVoyance Photography was back in the fall of 2013. In that story based series of images we joined Adam for a Sunday Morning At Home. In this series, The Visit, Scott brings us another story driven shoot, this time, with the incredibly sensual Luc Francois.


Many photographers use their camera as an active participant. The camera acts as a vehicle for the model to connect directly with the person behind it, and of course the viewer. Other photographers use their camera as a silent participant, equally important but with an entirely different purpose. With Scott's work with Luc, and in the previous set with Adam, Scott and his camera are hidden participants, voyeuristic chroniclers of story and emotions unfolding in front of them.


Scott left the story of Luc's visit, and his possible visitor, tantalizing unfinished. Luc is clearly waiting for someone, but is it someone he knows, or someone he hopes to know better. Does the visitor show up? Does the evening end in a climatic encounter with another, or a self propelled climatic ending and transition into sleep. Scott purposely kept his story open ended, so the viewer can decidee Luc's fate for themselves. Maybe the night took a different, more sinister turn, or maybe... it was all in his mind.


It was also interesting to me that Scott send on these images while in the process of a visit himself. Not only was Scott packing and getting ready to move from Australia to The Cayman Islands, he was also getting ready for a visit to Canada for the Christmas holidays. For many of us, visits and moves often unveil baggage, both physical and emotional that have been hidden or buried. We see people we haven't seen in awhile, we go places we're not as comfortable with all surrounded by new and unfamiliar people, smells, sights and sounds.


It was during Scott's move that he uncovered this older shoot he had done with Luc, a model he describes as a true pleasure to work with. When we are going through our lives and belongings when we pack, we often find treasures from our past. Sometimes we decide it's time to let go, and throw them out. Other times, like this shoot with Luc, we decide they need another visit. Although I love that Scott left the story partially untold, I think he left us a few beautiful and erotic visual clues as to the night's eventual outcome.



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