Truth through a photoshoot
On Monday I did my first fashion shoot for the year. I was modeling my sister’s fashion line (she’s a fashion student at Sydney Tafe) with Gilbert Rossi, an amazing photographer who I’ve remained friends with over the years.
Rossi was standing about 8 metres away with a long lens, instructing me what to do. Holding myself in a ridiculously awkward position with my elbows out, one hand under a jacket hole, my feet crossed over and trying not to wobble on my ridiculously high heels, I had the most unexpected epiphany about “truth”.
You see, the photographer was seeing one version of the truth – a version edited by his lens, his lighting, his framing, and by his finger on the shutter.
But there I was, awkward as all get out, seeing and feeling a very different truth.
My sister was seeing a third version of the truth from a location of an outside observer. She could observe both my and Rossi’s truths, (seen in the photo above) and was also experiencing an entirely different truth that focused on how what she liked and didn’t like about her designs, and how she hoped they would look in the photo.
On one hand this could be judged as three relative truths: all three of us were obviously seeing a perspective of the “truth”, and each was seemingly a correct interpreting the shared reality, when one viewed at the situation from our positions.
How does this relate to the big question of the last fifty years of great thinkers: Does such a thing as an objective version of the truth also exist?
I think yes. Yes, the Truth with a capital T does exist. I think this Truth is one that encompasses all the relative truths, and more. It would come from the location an all-knowing perspective, that can completely comprehend the relative perspectives and combine them together in a bigger perspective.
Can we ever really know the Truth? I think not. Not unless we can become each of these people.
However, by learning about the other’s perspectives we can get closer to knowing the objective Truth.
Another thought I had was on the creation of the Truth. On Monday any of us could have changed the Truth, for example, I could have pulled a horrible face and created a bad photo. But experience has built a level of trust in the photographer’s perspective, so I didn’t pull a face, knowing that the temporary pain I experienced in awkward positions would be worth the photographic results.
Rossi reminded me of his perspective during the shoot, showing me a sample of the images he was capturing. This positive affirmation motivated me to hide my true feelings and create a better Truth (and better photos for my sister).
How does this apply to other situations? Well I guess when it comes to conflicting views, different understandings of reality, and the debate between modern and post-modern, it provides an analogical way to think about relative and objective perspectives.
If each party analyses their position in spatial and temporal terms – looking at where they are located, and the historical factors that brought them there; and if they do the same to understand the “other”s perspective, a dialectical relationships between the different perspectives will allow each relative position to move closer to an unattainable objective one.
The closer you can get to the objective truth depends on your ability to reflect on yourself and to empathise with others.
The more we “conscientize” as a scholar by the name of Lederarch calls it, the more we can gain awareness of our self-in-context, and others-in-context, the closer we can get to understanding the bigger context of our microcosmic-macrocosmic position: with universes seemingly existing both inside and outside our consciousness.
Some are a few images from my sister (Nicole Bennett – remember that name)’s new look book:
Credits:
Photography & Copyright – Gilbert Rossi
Fashion – designed and produced by Nicole Bennett
Make up – Maria Buavo.
Featured Image:
Behind the scenes with Gilbert, taken by Nicole on my iPhone.
Side note:
Also this day I met Margaret, a 17 year old Aussie blogger who has built up an international following of her fashion blog: http://shinebythree.blogspot.com/ Pretty impressive stuff!
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Early days
Some of my stuff from a few years back. Most of these are from Paris and London. I can’t hardly remember the feeling of having a shaved head… it was liberating, that’s for sure.
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A short biography
This is a short summary of the twenty-seven years I have spent on this planet – giving you some background to where my philosophies and theories are coming from.
1982
I was born
at 630am on 6 July 1982 during the longest Luna Eclipse of the 20th century. That makes me a Cancer and a Dog, which do tend to describe me quite accurately, and the Luna Eclipse, 
well, I’m not sure if that has any significance but it’s pretty cool.
1982-1984
I spent my first two years in Jakarta, Indonesia and traveling the world. The adventurous nature of my Dutch mum and Aussie dad seeded in me a passion for travel and I think the lovely Indonesian ladies who looked after me as a baby probably seeded in me a love for people and cultures.
1984- 1999
Returning to Sydney my sister was born and I spent the next 15 years in a Northern Beaches suburb attending a small Christian school five minutes from my house. I excelled at my HSC (94 UAI!) but I don’t feel as if I learned all that much.
1999- 2002
At 17 (the youngest in my grade) I followed my Dad’s advice and went straight to the closest university to my house and for the next three years I completed by Bachelor of Business (Distinction!) but again, with majors in Marketing and IT, I really didn’t feel I learned that much.
2002- 2004
I was 20 when I finished uni and after a couple of years working and saving I left Australia to “see the world”.
2004-2005
After a short holiday in Thailand I landed in Japan where I stayed for the year and a half that followed. Here I taught English, “acted” in TV shows, short films & commercials, and did my first on-stage parade – in lingerie!
This was a dream come true. When hairdressers turned my hair yellow, green and purple I shaved it off and was surprised when this opened an opportunity to further my dreams – in PARIS!
2006
I modeled in Paris, Berlin, Vienna, Italy, Spain, and LA. And in-between jobs I traveled around, met wonderful people and gained a new perspective and appreciation for life.
Feeling homesick for family, mangoes, beaches and everything else that comes with the Australian summer I made a rash decision: I canceled my 1 year plans for Europe, canceled my return trip to Tokyo, and booked a ticket home, turning up on mum’s doorstep on Christmas Eve.
2007
With an apartment in Tokyo and modeling agencies awaiting my return in Europe, I had some decisions to make. My Dad was in my ear with the typical fatherly “time to get a real job” speech and approaching 25 years old I (nearing retirement age for models) I had a quarter-life crisis and thought for a moment he was right. Selling advertising space for fashion magazines sounded like a good job that involved both but at the interviewer it was one little comment the interviewer made that changed my life. He said, “And you know what the BEST thing about this job is? When you see the digits on your bank statement!!!” He said it with such enthusiasm. My insides curdled and I knew it wasn’t for me. But if not this, then what?
Photography? Fitness instructing? That would be a good life. My grandfather (91 years old) had a fall and I offered to move in as I “skilled up” as I called it. I assisted some fashion photographers, did part-time modeling in Sydney and became a qualified pilates instructor. I also got lost on wikipedia and in library books – teaching myself the things I’d either forgotten from my schooling, or never been taught. I was teaching myself a lot about science, history and religion – revisiting my childhood “faith” in the Christian doctrines, trying to reconcile it with my developing understanding and experience with the peoples and cultures of the world.
2008-2009
Realising I was never going to join the corporate world (much to my Dad’s disappointment) I took the time to go back to university and skill up more formally. Then I came across ”Peace and Conflict Studies” at Sydney Uni, applied for a MA which I did leisurely over the two years, making use of uni holidays to travel South America last Christmas, which I am using to write a book about travel, life, love and contemplating the future.
2010 and beyond
I love learning so much that I submitted a PhD proposal on the Narratology of Peace approved to start mid-year. Yeah, I might be a bit crazy. But you gotta aim for the stars!
Through this blog I hope to share this spiritual, mental and physical journey I continue along in my quest for peace and understanding about myself and my place in the universe – traveling, researching, thinking and creating. I thank you for sharing my journey and I hope to share your journey too.
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For shits and giggles
Japanese TV shows, crazy photoshoots, short films and many more things to laugh at… can you guess which are wigs and which are not?!
Sakura Wonderful Jet. A short satire film about flying in different classes.
How good is my Japanese! Shame they don’t have the English version up here, it’s actually kinda funny.
Buchinuki – I was Yamu-Chan (lamb) – the gaijin (foreigner) TV host-girlfriend of one of the Garage Sale comedians.
My first photoshoot – for a hair magazine. The beginning of the end of my real hair.
Test shoot Paris Hilton style…
Yes, I really am standing where it looks like I’m standing. I’m glad there wasn’t an earthquake at that moment in time! Quite obviously my pre-backbend photo days.
Sometimes I do miss this shaved head. It was so much fun!
A promo gig at a motorbike expo. Gosh there were some kool bikes.
a Russian spy in the Smap Smap TV show – what a mysterious woman I am…
Snapshot from a CASIO camera TV commercial – I never saw the final result… I wonder what they replaced the green screen with…
Slendertone – a regular Shopping Channel client… I think they got a good deal – they matched the wig to the outfit and I became many people for the price of one 
The Ralph holographic magazines of the future! Magazine ad for an IT company, I think.