Confluence: A Tale of Collaboration, Chance and Creativity
Photography thrives on those serendipitous moments when luck and skill fuse to create something truly unique. This type of happy accident reached new heights when three photographers from across the globe collaborated on Confluence.
Ramya (Bangalore), Shayne( Burlington, Vermont) and myself (Olaf, London) may have been separated by three continents but we were united in our passion for the unexpected. Our core idea centred on Triple Exposures. Each of us, in three different locations, shot the same five rolls of film, capturing whatever felt right at the time.
No consultation. No brief. No previsualisation.
Using film was ideal. We couldn’t see what each other had shot.
We had to let go of the normal desire to control everything from exposure to lens choice to framing…etc. It was wonderfully chaotic!
The triple exposures revealed a surprising synergy. Disparate aesthetics, locations, and styles which could so easily have been disappointing, instead offered rich, layered images defying logic and full of mystery.
The beauty of this project lies in it’s purity. Plus the realisation that true creativity lies not in control, but in letting go.
Shayne Lynn
Shayne Lynn is a born and raised Vermont artist and entrepreneur. In 2011 Shayne founded Champlain Valley Dispensary, the first medical cannabis dispensary in Vermont. In 2015, Shayne created Ceres Natural Remedies, Vermont’s first CBD store. Ceres went on to create trētap CBD, the country’s first CBD-infused beverage made from organic tree water. Shayne has always loved cameras and film to take photographs of everything and nothing.
Ramya Reddy
Ramya is a visual storyteller, photographer, author, and entrepreneur. Her acclaimed book, "Soul of the Nilgiris: A Journey through the Mountains" explores the UNESCO-recognized Blue Mountains and its indigenous communities, highlighting their cultural and ecological richness through narratives, writings, and photographs. Deeply engaged in the Nilgiris, Ramya works closely with the Toda artisans to ensure their GI-tagged art form is preserved, celebrated, and integrated into the contemporary landscape.
Olaf Willoughby
Olaf Willoughby is a London based Photographer, Writer and Educator. His work has taken him from Antarctica to Alaska to Africa. With a passion for creativity, Olaf runs workshops and exhibits his work in the UK and USA. As a co-founder of The Leica Meet, a Facebook group with 18,000+ members, he has built a vibrant community of photographers breathing life into their stories. Olaf has published several books, including an ebook on Antarctica used by the WWF and a collaboration called "Visualising Poetry." His artistic journey reflects a lifelong fascination with the creative process and a desire to explore the boundaries of visual storytelling.
