Tim

I decided to explore tension in a compositional sense for my contribution to our second Stolen Echoes assignment. Starting out, I revisited some of my favourite spots in Katoomba and began experimenting with ways to create tension and imbalance by composing various scenes in ways I otherwise never would have thought to try out. Feeling unsure about my results I eventually hit on the idea of shooting with my camera tilted to create slanted, off-balance images. Nevertheless, I didn't feel any of my images were exemplifying tension in any meaningful way so I headed home wondering how I might approach a second attempt. Thankfully Dan Sackheim had some great advice for me during our next Stolen Echoes Zoom meeting and suggested I persevere with shooting slanted images, but search for ways to make the tilting of the camera less obvious.

Kris

Here in the United States, it seems we’re on the cusp of something. The gap between what powerful people declare as truth, on the one hand, and the experience of reality in the grind of everyday life on the other has grown huge. I’m thinking about the gulf between the financial markets and the real economy, the gap between the rich and poor, or proud declarations about the strength of our Democracy juxtaposed with billion dollar popularity contests. Within this gap between lived reality and fiction is where I find tension.

I walk and wonder. I wonder if we’re standing at some sort of apex. Is the country falling off the rails? I imagine this massive thing that we’ve built. We built it to run things. But as it grows and becomes more powerful, it seems to want to run us. We internalize it. We think like it. We become more efficient. We race from one task to the next. We’re mesmerized by screens. We’re addicted to more and we can’t sit still.

Pushed, pulled, and unable to locate a center, the light is my hope and faith. The protagonist that shows me the way.

Hugh

I don’t mind admitting that I have found the assignment “Tension” to be a very challenging one. My initial thoughts were to try to make an image that showed something at tipping point – a raindrop about to fall from a shopfront; a puddle about to be disturbed by an incoming boot… However, these images escaped me. Having almost given up on the idea of finding the image, I, instead, resolved to continue with my usual regime when out on the street: that is, to go out with an open mind and to follow my instincts; if anything that said Tension came to hand then so be it. The three images here are only connected by me, the photographer and the fact that they were all made in London within three days of one another. Whether they speak of Tension to you, the observer, is another matter.