When the hunter becomes the hunted

Photographer Yvan Rodic is causing a fashion frenzy in the streets,

writes Leni Andronicos.

Yvan Rodic has a sharp eye for detail. “Why is there no sugar,

but salt?” he challenges the waitress, seconds into our early afternoon

meeting in the tranquil setting of Kawa café on Sydney’s Crown St.

It’s the first time we’ve met, but the porcelain-skinned, Swiss-born,

33-year-old, who is wearing a tailored shirt and cigarette trouser

combination, greets me with "faire la bise" and is far more charming

than I had imagined.

Rodic, clad with a black Napa leather briefcase and a Canon

G-12 cast around his neck, is the inventive persona behind street style

blog phenomenon, Face Hunter.

His seemingly candid observations of the world’s style elite have

transported him to the upper echelons of what is considered a

community of “far more photographers than the stylish”.

There are few of his kind who manage to capture style, culture, attitude and emotion on film, so exquisitely as he does.

Perhaps it’s his modesty or objection to the label “photographer”, but Rodic prefers to describe his creative pilgrimage as “a fascination for people and their individuality”.

“I don’t think I’m doing fashion photography at all,” says Rodic. “What I’m doing right now is more of a cultural exploration. One way to understand contemporary culture is to observe the way its people dress.”

In search of a greater understanding, Rodic travels the world hunting the stylish, capturing “moments not images” and letting the world in – for a mere moment – to his gaze.

So what does it mean to be stylish in the eyes of the Face Hunter?

“Style is just an expression which allows individuals to expose themselves,” says Rodic. “If they feel good in their life and in their skin, it will also be reflected in their style.”

As for choosing his subjects, the criteria is – yes, you guessed it – beauty. “I like to get beautiful photographs, so yes, I like beautiful people – it’s no mystery. But a lot of girls are beautiful and boring; and I will not photograph them. I look for a global feeling of attitude, creativity and happiness. I like people who stand out, but in a healthy way.”

From approaching his subjects to capturing their emotions in frame, Rodic - despite being of a quiet disposition - describes the process as very intimate.

“You want to be surprised,” he says. “I hope, every time, to find something that I have never seen or expected before. It’s like being seduced. You don’t know what is going to seduce you until you see it”.