Night Watch Sunset to sunrise, a photographer’s sentry duty watching and waiting for the light.

There is an obsession with sunset and sunrise that I am not immune to as a visual artist. And it is something more than the parading colours. The looming change to day or night creates a sense of weariness in subjects that my lens keeps returning to. It is as though the elements render them small—as though the nightfall asks, “Will this matter tomorrow?”

I think that is a question I am often asking myself.

A changing sky means the tangible passing of time—a reminder of our own mortality and limitations. A reminder there is a grand, elemental narrative happening completely outside of our own. Twilight tones place these scenes at the intersection of surrender and indestructibility, signalling that these moments will move from lived history into memory—if they are worthy.

These are some photographs from a series called Night Watch, photographed on film.

Out of Body Experience, Johannesburg 2019. © Hallie Haller.

 

Late Afternoon Persuading I, Cape Town, 2019. © Hallie Haller.

 

Late Afternoon Persuading II, Cape Town, 2019. © Hallie Haller.

 

Chasm Yawning, Johannesburg, 2019. © Hallie Haller.

 

Neighborhood Watcher, Johannesburg, 2019. © Hallie Haller.

 

The Blind Rise of Night, Johannesburg, 2019. © Hallie Haller.

 

I Can Feel You Forgetting Me, Durban, 2016. © Hallie Haller.

 

Womxnhood Waxing, Johannesburg, 2019. © Hallie Haller.

 

Walk Me Home, Johannesburg, 2019. © Hallie Haller.

 

A Look Persisting, Johannesburg, 2019. © Hallie Haller.

 

When You Were The Weather, Johannesburg, 2019. © Hallie Haller.

 

The Light Negotiating, Johannesburg, 2019. © Hallie Haller.

 

Night Tenant, Johannesburg, 2019. © Hallie Haller.

 


Hallie Haller is a South African writer, director, and creative strategist currently based in Johannesburg. She is passionate about media, the future, and you.