Observing people who are lost in their own thoughts has become something of an obsession for photographer Arto Djerdjerian.
“I always have my camera with me and try to be aware of what’s going on all the time,” said the Lacombe resident, whose Private Moments photo exhibit is on at the Corridor Gallery in the Red Deer Recreation Centre.
A lot can go wrong when he’s snapping a picture — the subject can become self-conscious, a passerby can wander into the shot, or the light and shadow can suddenly change as the sun emerges from behind a cloud.
Djerdjerian believes it’s nothing short of “serendipity” when everything goes right.
“It’s very, very exciting when you get the right light and the subject matter and the composition and technical parts of the execution are totally working.”
The works displayed in the downstairs hall of the Recreation Centre are examples he selected of serendipitous photos that show how interesting people can be when absorbed in their own mental worlds.
In Red Cello, a musician is completely focused on the sounds he’s creating on a one-of-a-kind cello that’s shaped like a rib cage. Djerdjerian said he took that dramatic picture while the band Pulse was playing at an arts reception in St. Albert. He was struck by the vivid blue and hot pink light on the musician’s skin, and the unusual look of his handmade instrument.
“It was mesmerizing,” he recalled.
The Juggler was taken of a practising street performer in New York City. Djerdjerian was impressed because everything from the tossed clubs, to the juggler’s clothing, to the cement wall behind him are monotonous grey — except for the vivid red of the juggler’s hair and his peachy skin tones.
“He was an Irish guy who was flying to London to apply for a circus job,” recalled Djerdjerian, who noticed the young man’s concentration. “He didn’t pay any attention to what I was doing — which was exactly what I wanted.”
Covered Face is another New York photo — this time of an Asian woman as seen through the narrow space between her pulled down hat and the scarf that’s pulled up over her nose.
Sleeping Child, of a father holding a toddler, was taken at CrossIron Mills mall, north of Calgary. Djerdjerian recalled being inspired by the size of the father’s large hands, and their ability to show such gentleness.
The most dramatic work in the exhibit, Snow Owl, shows a white owl soaring over the head of a hatted man, who appears caught in his own reverie. Djerdjerian believes there’s something almost surreal about this image. “The owl is like a thought in his head that’s manifesting itself visually.”
Out of hundreds of digital photos he snapped of that same wild owl over two days, that one was special because of the blue light and his friend’s pensive expression. “It looked like ... Mark was in a different world,” said the photographer.
Although Djerdjerian does not manipulate the colour or composition of his images, he admitted to manipulating the owl’s behaviour — through the introduction of some feeder mice. “We were shooting that owl ... while it was hunting. She was just coming around us and she was sweet.”
The only subject looking directly at the camera in the exhibit is depicted in Man in Hat. But even in this photo, the black man with beads around his neck isn’t so much looking at Djerdjerian “as looking right through you.”
The photographer noticed this stranger because of the way he moved and spoke. “The light was also pretty nice. It was at the golden hour, reflecting off the buildings and the texture of his skin,” recalled Djerdjerian.
The 62-year-old Cairo native of Armenian heritage emigrated to Montreal with his family at age 10. He remembers becoming enthralled with photography from the age of 16 — about a year after his father died prematurely of a heart attack.
At the time, he said his family was so poor he had to earn the fee for his photography classes by cleaning the building where the classes were held.
Djerdjerian eventually became a commercial photographer, specializing in architectural and horse pictures. He also teaches photography through the City of Red Deer’s Culture Services Department.
Although he once had a solo show of his works in Fort McMurray in the 1980s, he hasn’t had a second show until now. But he believes it’s about time he focused attention on art photography, since his interest is definitely leading him in that direction.
The Private Moments exhibit is on until Oct. 13.
lmichelin@www.reddeeradvocate.com