The Virgin Suicides

I've been reading the Virgin Suicides by Jeffery Eugenides, and I'm really interested in basing a project off of the novel/film (which was directed by Sofia Coppola in 1999). I think it does a beautiful job of capturing this strange intersection of maturity and innocence, which is something I want to emulate. The mystery of the Lisbon sisters is what captivates the narrator throughout the novel, as they seem to simultaneously embody both the mundane and extraordinary. Though the girls are constantly cooped up in their house with their parents, they seem to know more and have experienced more than any other characters. Their own parents barely seem to understand them, which is a concept I also want to explore. The project I'm hoping to do would involve shooting portraits modeled after the style of the film (i.e. white dresses, soft colors and lighting, girls), then frame the photos in old-fashioned, home-y frames, accompanied by particularly powerful quotes from the book. Here are some stills from the movie that inspired me: 

Multiple Exposure Diptych and Triptych

Here are my attempts at multiple exposure portraits. My first intention wasn't to solely use nature shots combined with the portraits, but they seemed to create the most interesting images. This also allowed me to easily put together the diptych and triptych, because the natural elements unified the photos. It was definitely challenging doing the double exposures in camera, as I couldn't quite remember which images I had shot previously, and thus I was unsure of which portraits would be matched with which backgrounds after the roll was fully shot. After I printed the images, I used copper toner to give them a warmer look. Unfortunately the pictures I took of my prints aren't the best quality,so you can't really see the toning. My apologies. 

These two images were matted as a diptych

These three images were matted as a triptych 

Petra Collins-- The Teenage Gaze

I absolutely love these photos by Petra Collins. I'm definitely interested in exploring this style of photography, that is much more relevant to my life and based off of my experiences. A lot of what I've done this year and in the past is based more on the aesthetic of the photographs, which is obviously important, and less on the meaning or significance of the images. I want to capture things that matter to me; preserve a feeling or memory that is unique and genuine, not staged. I'm really interested in youth, and this strange middle ground we're in right now, almost perfectly balanced between child and adulthood. We're controlled, but expected to be independent. We should make our own decisions, but there are still authority figures watching us, ensuring we take the right path. We can't wait for the future but are nostalgic about the past. We care so little and are so uninterested in some things, but are so obsessed and passionate about others. There's an unavoidable tension in youth that I want to try and capture.