Falling in Love
Falling in Love is a visual representation of the romantic story, told through an intimate diary of photographs, which covers the first moments of acquaintance through to the marriage ceremony. It’s a tender story, which displays the development of the couple's relationship. We are taken to the most intimate moments through graphic images and experiences, such as getting a tattoo, self-portraiture, sex, leading to the culmination - a wedding day.
Luke Abby and Carlos Darder are photographers from England and Spain, respectively, both interested in the representation of people though through distinct prisms. Abby’s body of work gets overtones of dreamy atmosphere, fashion-oriented, while Darder focuses on realism and experiences.
Falling in Love, a 46 pages book of photographs, is currently available in a limited 100 copy edition. 10% of the revenue will be donated to Visual AIDS, a non-profit charity organization, founded in 1988, which is supporting HIV+ artists through art.
46 pages, 48 photographs Soft cover: 5.83 x 8.27 inches, 14.81 x 21.01 cm Self-published; printed in Barcelona, Spain
Purchase The book, limited edition — Falling in Love
‘We originally had this idea to do a self-portrait of us both as if we were both going to prom together. Then the idea went into a wedding day direction, I guess, it could also be a prom photo’
— Luke Abby
Tell about the wedding day.
Luke: We originally had this idea to do a self-portrait of us both as if we were both going to prom together. Then the idea went into a wedding day direction, I guess, it could also be a prom photo. We looked all around the thrift stores in New York for a cute dress for him; we ended up finding one in my apartment that was a long and tight cream color with crystal drops attached all over it. I used a suit I found and borrowed a green tie from my roommate then we shot it up on the roof of the building in new york.
‘I was kind of in love before meeting him physically, so I freaked out, he was even better than I imagined’
— Carlos Darder
What is 'love' in your opinion?
Luke: It goes beyond sex, it goes beyond desire, it goes beyond me, I'm not entirely sure, but it's a feeling that's difficult to put into words.
Carlos: LOVE IS… A state of peace and happiness with someone, bliss, and state of home with a person. That body becomes your temple connected to yours.
You met in Mallorca, in the summer of 2019. Do you remember what was your first impression of each other?
Carlos: I was kind of in love before meeting him physically, so I freaked out, he was even better than I imagined.
‘I think selling art you make and donating a portion or all of the funds is a great and very effective way to raise funds for a good cause’
— Luke Abby
10% from the sales of the limited edition, Falling in Love, will be donated to Visual Aids, a non-profit charity. In what additional ways do you think artists can affect the social, political, or environmental change with photography?
Luke: I think selling art you make and donating a portion or all of the funds is a great and very effective way to raise funds for a good cause. Documentary photography is my favorite style of photography and speaks to me the most. I think National Geographic has done a great job with this for many years.
‘When we first met, Carlos told me to never look directly into the camera when he takes a photo. He shoots mostly landscape, and I tend to prefer portrait more’
— Luke Abby
How would you describe the main differences in the approach to photography, both from the observational and technical perspectives, when you compare each other’s work? Do you tend to comment or critique each other’s photography?
Luke: When we first met, Carlos told me to never look directly into the camera when he takes a photo. He shoots mostly landscape, and I tend to prefer portrait more. He also prefers film that is more colorful and saturated, and I prefer more desaturated.
