insomnia
this is a story about insomnia. beginning with the fall of night, these scenes explore the contrast between quiet night and lively consciousness, activity vs inactivity, and moving through to crashing fatigue, the familiar setting of "well-past-bedtime” and the fading in and out of consciousness. as the story descends into restlessness, quiet and alone in the dark, the slow rise of morning clashes against a depleted, weary state of being. upon first light, we face components of bloodshot eyes, second winds, double shot espressos, and a somber settling of the tides.
descending steps | sunset strikes | falling into dusk | lapses
our story starts with sunset, beginning to fall into the night.
my first image here [descending steps] is sunset itself, taken from a bridge with a super-telephoto lens at a low exposure, composed with the streetlights positioned in a downwards slope towards the sun, to emphasize the feeling of winding down for the night ahead.
my second and third images [sunset strikes], [falling into dusk], also highlight the setting of the sun and beginning of night.
my fourth image [lapses], taken on a regional bus at sunset, is here to encapsulate the feeling of going home for the evening, again, winding down for the night. this was taken with a wide aperture, focusing on the plexiglass of the bus seat, the comfort of a trip back home, with the day in rearview.
lights on | 2am water | shattered 01 & 02
the second chapter of our story moves into night, the electricity and energy past midnight that drives us into sleeplessness.
my first image [lights on] was composed with pieces of broken glass and various, colourful lights. in this image we feel that sense of cold, wakefulness that keeps us engaged and up for hours at a time.
my second image [2am water] was taken through the neck of a half-full glass bottle of water, with other various lights illuminating in the background. with this we pull in the 2am trips to the kitchen we've all experienced for a quick glass of water, before falling back to sleep- but this time with the lights energizing us, keeping us up a while longer.
my third and fourth images [shattered] were taken with shards and dust left behind from the broken glass. these images together bring us to the height of this chapter, as well as our story, building up and breaking into the fall of fatigue and restlessness, the last real burst of energy of the night.
welcome home | light in dark corners
in this chapter we face a great slowing of energy.
my first image [welcome home] taunts us with the promise of sleep, comfort, but leaves us outside, still awake, and with still a long way to go.
my second image [light in dark corners] shows along that journey back another light, another reminder of the comfort far ahead.
both these photos were taken on a cold night that lasted well into early morning the next day.
witching hour
in our fourth chapter we wrestle with late-night restlessness.
stitching the two images together, the righthand side with a piece of glass obscuring our view, we feel that sense of our vision losing focus in our weariest of hours, clarity slipping away from us and transforming into a more distorted state of consciousness.
6am rain | 7am ties
moving into the morning, we experience the resurgence of sunlight against sleep deprivation.
my first image [6am rain] was taken through a window, directed at some lights across the streets, focused on the screen at a very wide aperture. this slowly pulls us into the start of a new day.
my second image [7am ties] was taken of cobwebs obstructing the window of a dark room. the cobwebs symbolize a sort of restraint, a barrier against the light, not yet ready to start the inevitable morning ahead.
static movement | glimpses
our second last chapter, we settle into our second winds. these images going hand in hand, we catch scenes and imagery of the early morning commute, focusing in on minuscule details, nothing more complicated than bus seats and handles.
i took these photos with a very wide aperture, blurring out background noise and any other occurrences.
lost time | as light falls again
the final chapter of our story, we skip ahead to late afternoon/evening, much like in the first chapter, the light falling and the comfort of winding down.
my first image [lost time] was taken very close and focused on a couple flowers in full bloom, directly under a sliver of sunlight. in this image we feel the loss of sleep and the day ending before us.
my second image here [as light falls again] also plays into the day ending, the last bit of light hitting the window before sun sets and night begins again.
hopefully this cycle through, we actually get some sleep.
