A hand-made camera for hand-made shoes

Een tijdje geleden schreef ik over de Kimono schoenen van Hetty Rose. Vrolijke ontwerpen gemaakt van o.a. vintage kimono stof. Deze week stuitte ik online op de prachtige 'pinhole camera' (camera obscura) foto's van Steve Jones. Ik besloot hem een email te sturen. Hij was zo vriendelijk om wat vragen te beantwoorden, tekst en foto's beschikbaar te stellen.

A collaboration between photographer Steven Jones and shoe designer Hetty Rose has culminated in a shoot where the camera is as hand-made as the shoes.

Inspired by Hetty’s bespoke footwear, Steven used cardboard, a beer can and a radiator bleed key to build a pinhole camera that shoots onto 35mm film. The camera was then passed on to Hetty, who used kimono fabric, eyelets and lace to transform it from a little-brown-box, to a thing of beauty.
The pair then organised a day's shoot, near Steven’s flat in Putney:

All photos ©of Steven Jones
Model: Lauren Smith
at M&P Models

All photos © of Steven Jones
Model: Lauren Smith
at M&P Models

“Being based at the flat was necessary because each roll of film needed to removed from the camera in complete darkness,” said Steven.

Therefore, once they reached the end of each roll, Steven would disappear into his darkroom to remove it from the camera. Meanwhile, Lauren (the model) would change outfit and slip into a different pair of Hetty’s shoes, and then they would start the process again.

Steven said: “I've made a number of pinhole cameras in the past, but never one that shot on film, so it's always been something I'd wanted to try. I love the whole building process and how the camera is a part of the finished work – whenever I show someone a pinhole image, they also always want to hold and play with the actual camera. My cameras have never been decorated or made to look beautiful though, so I thought that it would be nice if we did it like this; as it would tie everything together – Hetty’s shoes, the photos (of Hetty’s shoes) and the camera itself (decorated by Hetty).

“I think that, especially in the digital age, there's something fun and magical in the way you can make a camera out of a box, a can of beer, a radiator bleeding key and a bit of gaffer tape. It shouldn't really be possible and yet there it is.”

All photos © of Steven Jones
Model: Lauren Smith
at M&P Models

Steven found Hetty’s work in Che Camille; a boutique in Glasgow which stocks her vintage handmade kimono shoes and accessories.

Hetty said: “Combining Steven’s eye for an interesting shot and my bright shoes, we decided that rather than just shooting with a high tech camera, Steven would hand-make a pin hole camera which I then transformed with a piece of kimono fabric. I like the concept of a hand made camera, using a traditional and simple method of capturing a moment combined with the hand-made shoes, all styled in a modern way.

“We are so used to seeing an image as soon as it’s taken on a camera, that it takes the element of the unknown away. I was really excited to be using the pin hole camera, seeing the negatives when they were developed, and then waiting to see the final images to see if it all worked.”

Rena: Did you take pictures of shoes before?
Steve Jones: Only once: as part of a series of photos that I'm working on, called 'Funny Rubbish'. As the name implies, this is a series of black and white pictures that I've taken of garbage that has made me laugh. So far I have:
- a plastic toy snail on a wall;
- a vaccuum cleaner in the middle of a large puddle;
- a huge, cuddly, stuffed dog in the middle of a street
- a pair of expensive men's shoes (one stuffed into the other), on a fence in London.
- a deflated football, in the middle of a puddle, in Glasgow, on a rainy day.
Now I see them written down, they don't look funny at all, but they made me laugh at the time.

Rena: Do you have an affinity with shoe design in general?
Yes of course: I love clothes (and all design). I was very excited to see the new Star Wars Adidas trainers! What I wouldn't give for a pair of 'Skywalkers' . Usually though, women's shoes are a lot more exciting than men's shoes. In fact, women's clothing as a whole is a lot more exciting and creative.

Rena: Did you know a famous old Dutch writer wrote a book called Camera obscura?
I didn't but I now see a vision of my future: I see a journey into Wikipedia, followed by a trip to Amazon.co.uk! My favourite pinhole photographer is Justin Quinell, who's made some great photos.