L’Orage: a Self-Portrait Through a Glass of Water
For a while, I have been fascinated by the surrealist paintings of René Magritte and the quiet dreamlike symbolism behind them. I wanted to explore some of the same ideas through photography.
One summer night in 2017, I decided to give it a shot.
I was determined to create the effect entirely in front of the camera in a single exposure, using reflection and refraction, with no compositing or digital manipulation apart from converting the final image to black and white.
A table.
A half-full glass of water.
A camera with remote trigger.
One flash from camera left.
That's all this photograph really needed.
Influence
This self-portrait was intended to become the first image in a small series directly inspired by one of Magritte’s paintings, although it ultimately remained the only one.
The title inspiration for this photo.
The cryptic French title, L’Orage (“The Storm”), comes from Magritte's 1930 “codebook” painting La clef des songes, where a simple glass of water is given the unexpected subtitle l’Orage.
