Manga, Moonphases and Movies. Daniel Jon, The Backstory

Surreal and sublime, Daniel Jon's photography is an old curiosity shop of grim wonder.

IIn both his still and moving images there seems to be a sense of secrecy illustrated by the techniques he uses to capture his images. There is often a sense of daydream to his work, which draws the viewer into a sense of mystification. Daniel's 'inspirations are dreams or how people react psychologically' to the world around them. This inspiration led him on to a project on alzheimers. In his series Dementia, Daniel's mixture of heavy shadow with diffuse glow helped illustrate his subject's slow descent into madness.

'I was trying to make them look as if they were the moon phases,' playing on the etymology of the word 'lunacy' from the word 'lunar'.  'Different phases of the moon changes the personality'

and these lunar characterisations are striking in the gentle vividness of light used to highlight his elderly subjects. The softened lines of their faces, now representing the lunar landscape, are sharply lit against the darkness that threatens to engulf them.

In correlation with the duality in Dementia, which uses stark contrasts between light and shadow, in his series Women in Future Daniel focuses more on stasis and movement to emphasis his theme. Inspired by Japanese manga, he used a tilt lens to capture an image that shows both stillness and the passage of time. The blurred effect of the image gives a dreamlike quality, which is a central mood in his photography.

'If you use a tilt lens to photograph landscapes, it will become minature, like toys. I tried to make the models look like toys, but I kept taking pictures and it felt like someone really iconic, a holy figure rising from the mist.'

Women are icons in his view of the future, drawing on the manga style of girls carrying big guns Daniel hopes to show an apocalypse where 'in the future women are the lethal weapons, because they have a womb and can give birth to give new life. To give new life is a big thing.' His images, although vague because of the use of blurred effects, are nevertheless dynamic.

Daniel has been involved in a lot of freelance work, especially in fashion. However, it is his interesting take on portraiture that his unique style is most obvious.

'The human form is very interesting and I like to look at its darkside',

and there is some dark humour in his portraits. There is the grim, yet enticing world of the old curiosity shop about his portrait work. Every person transformed into a circus like figure of objet d’art.

The highlight of his career so far is winning Young Photographer of the Year for his work with Design Against Fur, something which Daniel speaks very humbly about. 'There were so many really good photographers alongside me. They were really good, with striking images and I think they chose me because I had sets of photographs that have a story behind them. The other photographers had strong concepts and images, but they didn't have connections.'

Daniel's goal is to move further into the film industry, but he is still very passionate about photography. His film work shares the same intensity of his photography. He is currently working freelance, but look out for more of his movie work soon.

Daniel's tips for budding photographers.

Take many pictures even from your camera phone.
Examine your photos big, on screen or prints.
Try not to delete pictures from your digital camera, start cropping and adjust angles to create something new.
Have a simple concept and build on it.
Believe yourself as an artist and think as one.
Always research and look around and be broad with the infinite ability of your eyes and mind.
Study nature and the environment or even pshychology, it gives you a platform so that you can stand proud with your camera.
A camera is only a tool.

Although Daniel wanted to primarily go into film work, he discovered a natural talent for photography while studying toward a career in film. He was one of five runner-ups of the BBC London Photo Competition in 2002, while studying a Foundation in Art and Design at Kingston University.

 In 2003 he started a BA in Graphics with Photography, at Kingston University. In his first year at university he was the winner of their Best Film Competition.

 In 2007, he was runner up for Design Against Fur. However, although he was only second place, Daniel was still presented with the Persula Award, which was donated by the Persula Foundation.

 2008 would prove a very prestigious year for Daniel. He was shortlisted for the Top Best Photographers in the UK and he was the College Winner for the Nikon Discovery Awards.

In 2009 he was awarded an 'In Book' status for D&AD Student Design Awards.

Find out more about Daniel by visiting his website in the related articles section below.

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