For many creatives, blending into the background is something to be avoided.
But one photographer has found a novel way of using camouflaged knitwear to make his artwork stand out.
These astonishing pictures show various people merging into their backgrounds using perfectly matching clothing.
For many creatives, blending into the background is something to be avoided. But one photographer Joseph Ford, 39, has found a novel way of using camouflage to make his artwork stand out. One extraordinary shot in particular is the photograph of the man with a long mousy brown beard knitting as he blends in with the livery of the bus chair he is sitting on
Professional photographer, Joseph Ford, 39, from Brighton is fascinated by the way objects can blend into each other.
Joseph started to experiment with different objects in his photography which led him to his first image in his series known as ‘knitted camouflage’ four years ago.
One extraordinary shot in particular is the photograph of the man with a long mousy brown beard knitting as he blends in with the livery of the bus chair he is sitting on.
He collaborated with a colleague of his wife Nina Dodd, 51, who knitted these remarkable items of clothing.
It can take Nina up to 40 hours to knit one of these complex items of clothing in order for them to blend with real life objects.
The real life objects – include roads, patterned walls, paintings, and colourful tiles.
Ford said: ‘The photography is quite time-consuming, but it’s all broken down into little chunks.
‘Most of the locations are places I’ve come across while wandering around cities, and the models are also people I’ve spotted on the street and asked to pose.’
Professional photographer Ford, from Brighton is fascinated by the way objects can blend into each other. Joseph started to experiment with different objects in his photography which led him to his first image in his series known as ‘knitted camouflage’ four years ago. In this picture his subject blends into a graffiti art car while standing on a ladder
He collaborated with a colleague of his wife Nina Dodd, 51, who knitted these remarkable items of clothing. It can take Nina up to 40 hours to knit one of these complex items of clothing in order for them to blend with real life objects. Ford said he particularly enjoyed this piece, writing: ‘My favourite camouflage is the redheaded guy with the blue tiled trousers and white tiled top’
‘Then the actual pictures have taken about half a day each – there’s a lot of adjusting the position of the model and of the clothes to make sure that the blend works as well as possible.’
Joseph moved to Paris when he was 18 to study French and Italian at the Ecole Normale Supérieure in Paris.
Joseph Ford said: ‘I then horrified my parents by deciding to be a photographer. What I do is ‘storytelling with a side order of off-beat creativity’.’
Joseph moved to Paris when he was 18 to study French and Italian at the Ecole Normale Supérieure in Paris. Ford said: ‘I then horrified my parents by deciding to be a photographer. What I do is ‘storytelling with a side order of off-beat creativity’. In keeping with that quirky sense of creativity, Ford used twins in this picture to bring a sense of fun to the piece
‘I’ve always been interested in the way that objects can blend into each other.’
‘I get my inspiration from sports – climbing, running, swimming. Concentrating on exercise clears my mind of everything else and gets me into a head space where I can start to think of new concepts.’
‘Nina loves buses and knitting so we decided to shoot a picture of a man knitting on a bus.’
Blending into the background, this cardigan matches the soft blue pool tiles perfectly. Describing the process behind creating the bespoke pieces, Ford said: ‘I love a challenge of finding graphic locations, picking models who will fit well into them and then working with Nina’s knitting skills to blend them as seamlessly as possible’
Many of Ford’s work takes place outdoors where he can capture the vibrant energy of exercise. ‘I get my inspiration from sports – climbing, running, swimming. Concentrating on exercise clears my mind of everything else and gets me into a head space where I can start to think of new concepts’ said the artist
‘I love a challenge of finding graphic locations, picking models who will fit well into them and then working with Nina’s knitting skills to blend them as seamlessly as possible.’
Ford (pictured), a father to two children, lives with his wife in Brighton. He was born in London and moved to France when he was 18 – he lived there on and off until his mid-twenties
‘My favourite camouflage is the redheaded guy with the blue tiled trousers and white tiled top.’
Not only does Joseph camouflage knit wear items, he also has a passion for flying cars and taken a remarkable picture of this in Cape Town.
‘I was working in Cape Town and came across this amazing cut off highway running through the centre of the city. It was started but never completed, no-one really knows why.
‘I was shooting from a cherry picker so was able to get great angles on the shot. I then worked with a CGI artist to create the flying car.’
‘For another recent project I worked with street artists TSF Crew to lay out an anamorphic tennis court with 2.5 km of gaffer tape in a disused Glasgow swimming pool, then photographed free-runners playing tennis in it’
Joseph, a father to two children, lives with his wife in Brighton. He was born in London and moved to France when he was 18 – he lived there on and off until his mid-twenties.
Joseph said: ‘I think of myself as European.’