Sneak Peak | Sula Fashion AW2013

Here’s a quick look at some new fashion work I shot in Hanoi, for Sula Clothing out of the UK. Sula has been a regular client of mine for a few years now, and I always look forward to their new collections. Our styles match up perfectly, and Alison, the owner and designer, is always game to take a few risks with the photography. I really couldn’t ask for a better client relationship. For most of the images this time around, we went to old abandoned factory in the capital, plus a short-time guesthouse, to get a really gritty, tactile feel to the pictures. Much thanks to everyone involved. Until next time.

Some Words | Consistency in Photography

So I usually reserve this blog for short bursts of inspiration, irreverent postings, and off-topic ramblings, but I think today I’d like to talk a little about consistency in photography. It’s something I’ve been thinking about, since I’m in the middle of a pretty big update to my website, and so I’m looking through my photographs, trying to tie things together and pace things properly and just generally create a mood and vibe that is steady across the entire portfolio. Thus I’ve come to this idea of consistency. Though hopefully not a foolish one.

I didn’t grow up in the heyday of photography, if there ever was one. The only way that I’ve ever known to be a photographer is by fighting, sometimes tooth and nail, to make a name for myself. And in time this has led to some great jobs with great clients under several different disciplines. I’ve shot for six-star resorts on small islands off the coast of Southeast Asia, I’ve traveled through Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, India, and China on magazine and newspaper assignments, I’ve done fashion shoots with designers from the UK and France, and I’ve worked on ad campaigns for some very big name clients across Vietnam. All in addition to the documentary and portraiture work I do on my own time.

The most difficult thing is having my style of photography come across these different disciplines while keeping my clients happy. I want people to see my fashion work and my travel work and my ad work and know that they’ve all been shot by the same photographer. I want that slight edge to show in my lifestyle photos, I want to keep some of my ad shoots a bit gritty and exotic, and I want my fashion photographs to have an air of mystery to them and to invoke that same sense of discovery that you should see in great travel images. I want everything to tie back together, even if the thread is sometimes a bit more difficult to find. I guess I want to show consistency in variety. If that makes sense.

Anyway, the photographs in this post don’t follow any kind of storyline. They’re from across Asia, from different projects and assignments, and they’re just images that I’ve been sifting through recently. If you have a spare minute, you can see my updated website here: Aaron Joel Santos Photography.

Vietnam | Fashion Photography

Just some quick shots from a fashion shoot I did a few months back for a local clothing company in Hanoi, Kilomet 109. The owner is a good friend and an extremely talented fashion designer. The shoot was a lot of fun. With nods to Gustav Klimt and Annie Leibovitz, among others. Plus just copious amounts of flowers and incense.

Two Women | Hanoi, Vietnam

I had the pleasure to meet and photograph two women musicians in Hanoi this week while on assignment for a local magazine. Both are very talented and very different from each other, in terms of style and approach. Linh Nguyen, on the left, currently spins as a DJ several nights a week at some of Hanoi’s most fashionable bars/lounges, while Kim Ngoc, on the right, composes more experimental pieces and is in the process of opening up an arts-based collaborative NGO with other creatives in the capital. It was a happy accident, but I really liked how the color palettes in the photographs complimented each other, the reds and greens. Sometimes it’s that simple.

One Fashion Photograph & Some Words

It’s been a weird few months. I’ve been traveling for work, moving houses, and avoiding things in general. I underwent surgery as well, and used my recovery time to read a few really big books instead of surfing the internet. That was nice. I’ve also been wrestling with the identity of this thing here, this photography blog. It oscillates between personal and professional and sometimes veers into the nearly nonsensical. But for a while now I’ve felt at a loss for things to talk about. Maybe it’s just that time is catching up with me. I started From Swerve of Shore about five years ago, when I first moved to Asia. On another platform first, and then this one. On some browsers, it shows up before the Finnegans Wake Wikipedia entry. Which is awesome and a little sad. But the point is, it’s been around for a long time, and, inevitably, one comes to question what all that time means. So please pardon the relative silence on my end. I’m not going anywhere. I’m just sitting and thinking quietly and I’ll be back soon enough with something more substantial to say.