John Balsom gained unique access to the before-and-after moments of competing sports legends.
"Lots of people say no to pictures. They don't want a photographer invading their space," John says."This is an edit of the people who said yes. The Lusophony pictures I didn't look at for eight years, but I guess now I'm revisiting them, actually sitting down and working them out." The book saw John collaborate closely withArchitecture + Beauty
."Most of the book is based on these scrapbooks I do,” he says. “[In the book] they're exactly how I did them years ago, without thinking too much,” referencing the early collages that appear inside the cloth-covered hardback.Lusophones are people and nations that speak. At the 2009 event in Lisbon, where John shot many of his pictures, over 1,500 athletes from 12 countries took part.
Integral to his practice, and especially paramount at the Games, is conversation and body language."It wasn't just grabbing them and taking their picture; I tried to speak with them and learn their backstory," he says."I like that it's down to you [as the photographer] to get them to relax and reveal their personality -- it's about engaging with them, being inquisitive." While some people spoke English, John relied on the other great communicator: music.
While much of the project's mood is heightened on account of the potent colour of the photographs -- frequently matching the energy of those in the frame -- several black-and-white pictures offer an equally effective reading."I shot mostly with the Pentax 67. I'd always have one colour [roll], one black-and-white, and I would just have to decide on the spot if he or she would be great in colour or vice versa.
John's favourite image from the series is illustrative of how intuitive the overall project feels. Created in a few short seconds, it features a Goan hurdler, pictured in monochrome, smiling and turning away from his lens."Her energy was just so lovely," John finishes."I like all of them, actually. But that one picture, it's just a moment. The only picture I got of her.
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