Last Updated on 12/17/2018 by Mark Beckenbach
“AudioPhotography” is certainly one of the most creative and experimental photography projects we’ve come across this year.
Over the years, we’ve seen a lot of talented photographers and impressive projects that were truly inspiring and creative. Many of them tackled eye-opening topics, and some of them challenged the boundaries and norms of genres and approaches. However, this work of Italian film photographer Mario Cipriano certainly tops our list of favorites. If you’re in need of some bright ideas to fuel your own drive for creativity and out-of-the-box photography projects, you’ll surely get a big helping with this!
For his project titled Light Sounds Light, Cipriano connected a microphone and a digital sound recorder to his Leica M6 to record the sound of the scene before him five seconds before the actual shot. Then, he continues to record five more seconds of audio after the shot. He then has a total of 10 seconds of audio to accompany each photo. A black screen goes with the first five seconds of audio before the photo is revealed by the shutter sound. He calls this experimental technique “audiofotografia” or “audiophotography.”
Check out the first ten audiophotography pieces from his first roll:
If you’re curious about his gear setup for this project, you can check it out here.
According to Cipriano, there are three possible outcomes (or experiences even) that comes with each audiophotography:
A. The sound prepares your mind to a specific image, and that exact image comes out.
B. The sound prepares your mind to a specific image, then an out of context image appears.
C. The sound is so ambiguous that your mind is totally free to imagine and can’t wait to discover what the image will be.
This body of work is effective and interesting because it engages two of our senses. First, the sound implants an idea that encourages us to make a guess of what the photo will be. When the photo is finally revealed, we either take satisfaction in getting it right, or delight in the discovery — or surprise — of what the image turns out to be (and how the sound fits or complements it). Looks and sounds good so far, right?
Screenshot image from the video by Mario Cipriano
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