The Alternative Viewfinder

updates, behind the scenes and extras

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going to try and be a bit more active on here again - who’s still around? 

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Kit & Sophia album cover

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(CW: Self harm) New project - ‘Self harm: Behind the Scars’ 

Although we as a society in recent years have made great strides regarding mental health awareness in general, there is still a long way to go when it comes to the topic of self-harm. Whereas awareness campaigns have led to a lot more openness and understanding of mental disorders like depression and anxiety, they have done little to break the stigmas surrounding this particular coping mechanism that can sometimes come attached with it. To help raise awareness and break some of these stigmas, I've photographed the scars of 6 people who have struggled with self-harm, and interviewed them about their experiences. Please find the full project and interviews here.

Leia (photographed) in response to being asked what she’d like others to understand better: 

“In my years of inpatient treatment I’ve seen that scars can in fact sometimes serve the purpose of “a cry for help”. I don’t understand why society devalues this. If cutting is the only way you feel seen or can out your pain I find this deeply tragic and worthy of sympathy rather than shaming someone. Although I’ve never deliberately self-harmed to “communicate”, I can understand why someone would do this. Whereas some people cut themselves for this, I for example go into social isolation and sit there alone “hoping someone will notice I’m gone”. It’s ridiculous to continue the fallacy that nobody is ever desperate to be heard or seen, and resorts to indirect forms of communication out of fear of rejection. If you have such little faith that someone will hear you or see you that cutting yourself seems like the only way, then isn’t that deserving of listening, rather than rejecting? What is wrong with a cry for help? I get deeply angered by this stigma on self-harm not only because of the “attention-seeking” element, but the stigma itself on “attention-seeking”. Since when is hiding your pain and doing everything alone the new norm to live by? Since when is it wrong to depend on others or to want others to understand you? I find this psychopathic." 

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self-portraits born from stress

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Do you see me seeing? 👀

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Hello, I just wanted to say you're photography is absolutely beautiful and inspiring. I hope to be nearly as good as you one day and I'm just so happy people like you are in this world. Please never stop making YOUR type of art, ily.

❤️❤️

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And even though I can see the skin on his back live up as I run my fingers over it, he doesn’t turn around.

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It was 2AM when I first saw him. The darkest hour of the night, in my opinion. 2AM is when you start missing people. Start to question things. 2AM is when the monsters come out. And so he did.

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“Maybe we’ll meet again, when we’re slightly older and our minds less hectic, and I’ll be right for you and you’ll be right for me. But right now I am chaos to your thoughts and you are poison to my heart.”

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Hi. I just wanted to tell you: I love your photos. Because they aren't just pictures, the are art with a message. I love love love it. If you had a gallery or something I'd go there every week I think. ❤

That is soooo sweet! ❤️ I wish I had a gallery... If I ever get one you are hereby invited to the opening haha! And thanks again for the sweet words, they hit home every time. ✨

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"The world is full of magic things, patiently waiting for our senses to grow sharper."

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“What Real Men Cry Like” & “What Real Women Laugh Like” - Maud Fernhout

Photoseries aimed to combat stereotypes and gender roles. For the rest of the (40) photos and quotes of the participants click here. 

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> 200.000 notes this is crazy

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What do you use to edit your photos? They all look so amazing

Thank you! ❤️ I mostly use Adobe Photoshop. Often I shoot my photos in RAW format and use the Camera Raw program, which I think often has an effect on my photos. As for mobile apps, I use VSCO a lot.

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Evgeny, Moscow

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I love love loveee your work. All of it. Seriously, every single picture is so beautiful, I hope I can become half the photographer you are!!

Wow, you have no clue how much these messages mean to me, thank you!!! And in all honesty, half of the time I have no clue what I'm doing - just keep your camera at hand and capture what you find beautiful and I'm sure you can surpass me any day. ❤️✨