SAM HARRIS

In a shared house in south London with his musician mates, Sam Harris turned his bedroom into a makeshift darkroom, gaffer taping the curtains to the wall. Throughout the Nineties he shot sleeve art and promo for major & indie record labels alike, and was a contributor for Dazed & Confused, The Sunday Times Magazine and Esquire, making images of Jarvis Cocker, Victoria Beckham, Portishead and many others as said in his website.

In 2002, with one-way tickets to India Harris set off on what became four nomadic years between India & Australia shooting and living “The Routineless Routine”. “The Middle of Somewhere” was published in 2015 (Ceiba Editions) to international acclaim and was nominated for seven photobook awards, winning 3 including a coveted Lucie Award.

Known for an emotionally rich and playful eye Harris has exhibited internationally, notably at the Bibliotheque Nationale de Espana; Les Rencontres d’Arles, France; Benaki Museum, Athens; Delhi Photo Festival; Festival de la Luz, Buenos Aires; Encontros da Imagem, Portugal and Ragusa Foto, Italy. Living in WA with bases in Los Angeles and London he is an intimate insider, reflecting and capturing everyday authentic lives of community, friends, family and the talent he shoots.

OLIVIA BEE

Olivia Bee is a photographer and director living and homesteading in Eastern Oregon, whilst also traveling the globe for her work. She is intrigued by the beauty of everyday life and how the beauty of memories (real or imagined) touches us.

When she was 15, her work was “discovered” by Converse after they saw her photos on Flickr. She has since done editorial work for the New York Times, Harper’s, Der Speigel, Seventeen, and others. She’s done commissioned work for Katy Perry, MTV, YouTube Music, and others, and has been featured in both solo and group exhibitions.

In 2016, Aperture published her first book of photography, Kids in Love. It features an interview with Tavi Gevinson. In Bee’s own words, she is “intrigued by the beauty of everyday life and how the beauty of memories (real or imagined) touches us.” Here she discusses the difference between personal and commercial work, how to create the ideal studio, and the nature of healthy creative validation. Kids in Love will be my main influential work by Olivia Bee

ANALYSIS OF WORK

I find this image by Sam Harris particularly interesting- the image is taken with flash and features the blurriness of long grass in front of two young girls. One of the girls is looking straight at the camera, pulling the focus of the image to the middle as only one of her eyes are visible as the other is obscured by blurry grass- the other girl is looking to the right while a bright acrid yellow is above her, drawing further attention to the colours and tones of the image as the right side of the image is very dark while the right has more vibrant colours such as yellows, greens and pinks. This image seems to be staged but is just as likely to be candid- either way this image seems genuine and nostalgic.