Photoshoot + Interview: “Aphrodite” by Clair Saint-Camille
“Hearing the sound of the real mechanical shutter, feeling in my hands the heaviness of a camera that’s been around longer than I’ve been alive…”
We love Oregon-based photographer Clair Saint-Camille’s ability to take expired film and make work that’s so full of youth and life. We’re bewitched by his latest set – Aphrodite, shot on expired 15mm. Clair and his model Gris, wearing the vintage dress of our dreams, take us on a romp through a clover field to create this psychedelic pastel vision. The pink smoke next to Easter-egg blues lends it all an old-world cinematic feel, like the moment Dorothy enters Wonderland.
Clair Saint-Camille’s work has featured in Vogue Italia, Thistle Magazine, Defeated, and Soft Skin, among many others – but his dreamy, summer-daze film work has been an old Whim favourite since 2013.
Q: We first saw you on Whim in 2013 - how do you think your style has evolved since then?
A: When I think about it, the content of my photographs today feels largely similar to the content of my photographs in 2013. I still prefer to photograph combinations of vintage clothes, flowers and nature, and pastel colours, so there have remained those constant elements throughout the years. But I do consider my style to be mostly the amalgamation of my and the model’s sensibilities, because I work wholly collaboratively. I start a shoot by getting in touch with somebody, usually somebody with whom I’ve worked with already and have established a rapport and friendship, and then we bounce concepts or suggestions between us. Often my favourite part of some of my favourite photographs will be something the model totally came up with. So since I moved from Maine to Oregon in 2015, I think my photography has changed insofar as the collaborations changed, I’m working with different personalities now and establishing new friendships.
To think of some other changes, I suppose in 2013 I had been doing rolls of self-portraits somewhat frequently, and now I almost never take one. I had also been doing more instant photography, which is something I have veered away from over the years, but am lately considering reincorporating.
Q: What was the inspiration for "Aphrodite"? The dress featured is beautiful - do you often base your shoots around a particular piece of clothing?
A: Typically I base a shoot around a location, because those are more difficult to come by. With Aphrodite, for example, Gris and I were driving to a grocery to get candy or something, and we passed by that clover field and made a note of it. Then when we were ready to shoot, we pored through Gris’ wardrobe for garments that would have the right colour to go with the clovers and the pink smoke. That’s roughly how it happens. Often I fall into a real slump during winter, I miss the inspiration flora and colour gives me.
Q: What's your favourite thing about shooting with film?
A: That’s tough to say—I want to say I like everything about it, from gambling on a roll of expired film or picking out which ISO I want, to reeling it into the camera and hearing the sound of the real mechanical shutter, feeling in my hands the heaviness of a camera that’s been around longer than I’ve been alive, to taking it in to a local development shop and waiting eagerly to see what comes back, and then seeing the beautiful grainy textures and contrasts and the light leaks and imperfections. I think it’s that whole process I like most—it feels real and humble, somehow. It’s kind of a lifestyle.
Q: You said in your 2013 interview with us that you discovered your love of photography through cinema - what's a film that's captured your imagination lately?
A: I saw Athina Rachel Tsangari’s film ‘Attenberg’ in college, like in 2011, and I remember really liking it, so much that I later bought the DVD. This year I re-watched it with a friend of mine and it really resonated with me as a more matured person. Now I’d have to say it’s my favourite film. In terms of the new stuff I’ve seen, Whit Stillman’s ‘Love and Friendship’ was really fun. Last night I watched ‘Cafe Society’ and that was also a lot of fun.
We love the work and words Clair has shared with us over the years – for more, visit his website, Flickr, or follow him on Instagram (@clairsaintcamille).
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Cecile Blackmore is a writer from Brisbane, Australia. She writes and edits at The Creative Issue and hoards vintage clothing – follow her adventures on Instagram at @saintcecile.