The Time Has Come

For us once again, to unveil this vintage gem of a boutique hotel. Polished, and refined precisely how you would like your hotels to be. Prepare to lose yourself in a world of classic charm and outdoor jacuzzis; simply stay tuned and we will tell you when

What makes us human? Is it our accidental genetic advantage owing to evolutionary fortune? Our mental faculty for reason? Our imagination? Is it our faith – our respective religious beliefs in the power of a higher order? Or is it our capacity for morality, and our equal predisposition for immorality, allowing us to wage war, conquer, destroy – even each other? Aristotle called us “rational animals”, set apart by our pursuit of knowledge, inspired to create. But beyond the bounds of reason, and the social controls of law and order, are we merely running on caveman software?

We trace our origins on the tree of life, investigating how we diverged from our common ancestors over evolution (p50). We tumbled out of the tree, dusted ourselves off, outlived our predecessors, hunted, gathered, became social beings, and our brains grew to be bigger and bigger over the course of millions of years. We began to try our artistic ability in ancient cave art (p46); rituals of worshipping several gods were narrowed down to reverence for one almighty being (p72). In turn, we started to persecute those who disagreed on this vital matter, developing tactics, strategies and weaponry to mow down dissidents – and so war became a common currency (p66). Ever the proactive mammal, we invented artefacts to build, beautify and cure (p30).

This issue addresses the origins of all things in the way of the human condition. Developments in science are allowing us to question everything we thought we knew about the origins of life and civilisation, reminding us of our human fallibility. And in our march of progress, the evolutionary tree keeps growing.

I submit that there are two major elements that define us as humans: The first is our curiosity – our ability to question. Indeed, few photographers have captured this curiosity as vividly as Steve Mccurry, whose iconic work we present in our photographic showcase (p14). The second is our capacity to envisage a future. And yet, despite this, we appear to be bent on going the same way as our hominid ancestors, devastating our only planet in the process.

This issue demonstrates our remarkable capacity for good, and our inverse tendency for destruction. In between, our humanness hangs in the balance.

ENVIRONMENTAL PORTRAITURE

Typically depicting everyday life, environmental portraiture features the subject in his usual environment, whether at home or at work. This genre of portraiture is great for showcasing a subject’s character and the objects around him symbolic of his life. It is thought that by having the subject in his natural surroundings, he will be more at ease, which translates to a more natural image.

Messy backgrounds can be distracting, but in the case of environmental portraiture, could work to your advantage too as it adds dimension to your photo. Alternatively, you can always use a low aperture for a greater depth of field to put all the focus on your subject.

STREET PORTRAITURE UNCONVENTIONAL PORTRAITURE

Think of this genre as your regular portraiture, but with a twist. Incorporating props from everyday objects can work to your advantage by adding an extra dimension to your story – you just need to get creative with what to use! In the image above, I shot this woman from a fishing village through one her old fishing traps that was lying around to create a more unique composition. It also re-emphasises the story of who she is and what she does for a living. There are two ways you can go about street portraiture – staged and unstaged. With staged street portraiture, you don’t change the surroundings of the subject, but instead the subject. Give them something to hold or position them elsewhere as you feel best for your image (remember to be polite when you ask).

Unstaged street portraiture might require a little more patience, but the results are definitely worth it. Some of the best shots do happen by chance – just make sure you always have your camera somewhere nearby!

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