Joshua Hasanoff had been at school on the day he took this photo. The 14-year-old, who lives in Sydney, Australia, is on the shortlist for this year’s Sony World Photography awards youth competition. “The Australian winter sunset is notoriously fast-moving, so I started preparing for the shoot as soon as I got home,” Hasanoff says. “I knew I’d only have a 20-minute window to capture the mysterious light between sunset and darkness, which would contrast with the brightness of a torch.”
Holding that torch is Ryuji, Hasanoff’s neighbour and family friend, whom he describes as “extremely cool and charismatic, with great hair, who dresses like a DJ, although he’s actually an art student”.
The concept for the shot – a DJ who had broken down on their way to a gig – was already decided on, but Hasanoff found the perfect additional detail when he opened the bonnet. “As I don’t own a vintage Rolls-Royce, it was a real surprise to find what looked like a makeshift turntable inside,” he says. “It was a lucky bonus!”
He adds that he was inspired by the work of Gregory Crewdson. “He’s an epic photographer who uses light to tell a story. I think the play between light, dark and shadow is central to this image. I really wanted to capture the atmosphere of a suburban street and the concentrated focus of somebody trying urgently to fix their car. The focus makes time stand still.”
• The Sony World Photography awards exhibition is at Somerset House, London, 17 April to 5 May.
