Rupert Vandervell, Photographer, UK – London

“In our crowded world, moments like these are becoming harder to imagine.”

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Rupert Vandervell, Photographer, UK – London

Born and based in London, my photographic style is highly representative of my personality. I have always been obsessed with clean lines and the geometrical appearance of things.

 I find beauty not necessarily in the subject itself but in the patterns of shadow and light that surround it.

 My work explores our relationship with the world and how we interact with our environment.

About the series “Man on Earth“

This series of pictures is less about the environment they are taken in and more about the ‘human factor’ moving through it. Captured against the ever-changing backdrop of the modern city, these photographs highlight the presence of life and the unique visual characteristics of the human form against the urban background.

“I wanted to portray a feeling of isolation and, though remaining distant from the subject, I wanted to intrude just a little on this solitude. In our crowded world, moments like these are becoming harder to imagine.”

On Influences

Inspiration for the pictures in this [series] came from many different sources. The paintings of Giorgio die Chirico, Edward Hopper and Mario Sironi have made a big impression on me. Their use of light, shape and form is beguiling.

The pictures of Gregory Crewdson also fascinate me. The sense of loneliness and emotion he gets from his characters is compelling, a whole lifetime captured in a moment.

Interview excerpt on Camera Equipment and Process

Exposing for these scenes was something I initially experimented with. Eventually, I hit upon a method that worked. I would generally expose for the highlights and then work with the depth of shadow, depending on the scene. At night that was harder because I would often be working with a limited light source. If I wanted to freeze a figure in action I would have to work with a high ISO to get the shutter speed I needed. This obviously introduced noise and that meant there were some scenes I had to lose because they were too grainy.

There was minimal work done in post-production for these shots – just a bit of contrast adjustment and the occasional bit of cropping. There was only so much that I could do in Photoshop to fix and tidy an image. Generally, if I find the right conditions on location, then it is perfectly reasonable to expect I can get it right in-camera.

When I started shooting this project, I knew I needed a camera that was lightweight and easy to conceal. I found the perfect camera in the Olympus OM-D E-M5 with a 20mm pancake lens. Lugging a big SLR around would have made the job a lot harder. The Olympus is fast and I love the design. I always felt it was right for the job.

I think there are common themes in all my work. When shooting landscapes, I am drawn to bleak or minimalist scenes and much prefer to shoot in winter when the trees’ natural geometry is stripped bare. I’m drawn to the geometrical. I hope I put something of my personality into all that I create and I hope there are elements of this project that will be evident in my future work. source

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Rupert Vandervell official artist website

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Gallery 4 – Rupert Vandervell

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Gallery 3 – Urbanities

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Gallery 2 – Geometrix

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Gallery 1 – Man on Earth

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