kat basics

today i was shooting with supermodel lisa seiffet for kat basics FW2009 lookbook.
kat basics is a young fashion brand established by another supermodel, katerena alkhimova
for her second collection katerena created 5 simple pieces made of 100% cashmere. all pieces are very functional and easy to combine together. my favorite one is a big cercuar scarf that you can wear wrapped around your neck, or as an elegant hood, or as a cosy shrug. check out starting from late august at katbasics.com

InFashion bridal

this saturday my team and i were shooting a bridal story for InFashion magazine with beautiful redhead alison hamilton from FORD models.

except for the gold copper of alison's hair (by dj riggs) and soft rosy color of her cheekbones (by anetta klemens) we kept the story monochromatic, adding a little bit definition and depth to the set by using crumpled paper and white branches.

the story features 7 gorgeous wedding gowns styled by urusla agurto.

soon at the newstands!

frying pan

and yet another re-make (that location is so worth it!) shot at a chelsea secret gem and one of my favorite spots in NY - lightship "frying pan". this time my prop stylist veronika ossi dressed the boat in black velvet and blue silk, and decorated its interior with antique mirrors, dry flowers, stuffed birds, and empty picture frames to create a dreamy and mysterious mood.

our model was norvegian blond nina from muse models. rebecca casciano added a touch of fuchsia to nina's eyes and defined her eyebrows with dramatic black;

dj riggs created a tall platinum blond hairstyle inspired by marie antoinette;

on top of it all ursula agurto styled nina in surreal latex gown, metal mask with horns, kinky chain top, etc.

team of 9 people, we took over the boat and had so much fun exploring its rooms filled with weird objects and pieces of furniture. (an old wooden pianio on the first floor, a creepy dentist chair in the wheelhouse, a vintage typewriter, old suitcases, and even a small cabinet of curiosities) each of us had a chance to contribute to the outcome - even though i had it all pre-panned i was trying to be flexible and closely followed my team's suggestions about good angles & photogenic spots each of us was finding around. thanks to them (and especially my assistant aric gutnick) i also ended up having a pretty good backstage reportage.

crisis = danger + opportunity

i am sure that by now many of you already heard a legend-like fact that chinese ideogram for "crisis" is made up of two characters signifying "opportunity" and "danger." true or not, that theory 100% works for me. i do believe that with the right approach and positive attitude difficult times can turn into a great opportunity to grow.

same idea was shared and extended to the constructive degree by charismatic selina maitreya during her new york workshop "survive? think thrive!". within three productive hours she showed us how to stay professionally fit and re-focus on "thrival" instead of survival. because any crisis is just a great excuse to rethink, review, re-evaluate.

instead of cutting your budget, re-direct it - and spent a little more time/money on your sales. instead of freaking out about down time in the studio, use this time to build your book and do something creative. experiment, challenge yourself, take a risk - cause there is so little to loose and so much to win. enjoy - this time will be over soon, together with great opportunities for emerging talent.

i remember my first meeting with selina two year ago. after her thorough portfolio review my head was spinning and my thoughts were gloomy. i was just starting in this business, and selina made me realize how long would be my way and how much work had to be done. but the most painful was to let aside some of my old work that was just not good enough, and do it all over again. it took me a while to accept it. but i think it was one of the most important lessons i learnt: an artist should never get emotionally attached to his own creations. when it's time let it go without looking back to be able to move forward. don't be afraid to start from scratch. "turn your face to the sun and put your talent to work."

richard avedon @ ICP

there is no need to introduce richard avedon. while mostly known for his fashion imaginary he is a master depicting women rather than promoting fleeting changes in style. black&white or color, his images are graphic and sexual. if you are a fan of his as much as i am you definitely should go to his exhibition at ICP where one can follow evolution of his imaginary from early 50s to modern 2000s.

it doesn't matter, black&white or color, he always managed to create "a kind of dream image". his series "in memory of the late mr. & mrs. comfort" still amazes me with perfection of each element: whimsical concept, brilliant execution, beautiful fashion, stunning nadia aurman..

walking from room into room you see images of "confident women striding across the page into a self-sufficient future, dancing to their own tune": elegant dovima, femme fatale sunny harnett, verushka, twiggy, lind evangelista, stephanie seymour, nadia aurman.. it's avedon's signature style, together with his famous contrasty lighting and "jumping" poses in frozen motion. (lifeless imitations of which still feed lots of modern photographers)

"you can't separate fashion from the world. fashion is the way we live". richard avedon

now & again

another color-infused beauty story from my team (dina yassin, rebecca casciano, jamal hodges) - a mix & (mis)match of vibrant epochs and styles, starring amazing diana georgie from muse models.

working on this story i was initially inspired by the colorful 60s with its exression and bravery of mixing colors, patterns, and catchy accessories. in styling this story we went even further in time and space, and created our own interpretation of the theme. here is a sneak preview from the backstage; final images to come!

in the woods

despite of non-cooperative new york weather yesterday we finally managed to do our fashion shoot in the woods, and use that dull sky and flat light as our advantage to turn the story into a mysterious fairy tale. that wouldn't be possible without my good friend anetta klemens who this time apart from doing make-up and manicure was also a producer of the shoot - she put together an amazing team (stylist ursula agurto & hairstylist ianthe foushee), organized location scouting (forest park), as well as she provided her beautiful place for us to prep for the shoot before going in the woods.

it was my second time working with jae brickman from major. (you might remember this "blond fatale" from the beauty story "dreamers"). i am in love with this girl! amazing face and great personality. i knew she would be a perfect candidate for the role of the "woods spirit", and i was right. jae was gracefully balancing on her high heels on top of sleepery tree trunks, without a second thought laying down at dusk in the midst of ferns, and bravely ignoring all the bugs and mosqitos even after 6 hours of shooting.

and of course this shoot wouldn't be possile without my assistant aric gutnick who was the one responsible for creating misterious fog (aka "dog", aka "vogue" according to my tired & sloppy pronuciation of the word during the whole day of the shoot) around our model.

look out for this editorial on NY newstands very soon!

unVeiled

today my team (anetta klemens & jamal hodges) and i shot stunning susan coble (FORD) in a neo-romantic beauty story, re-make of one of my early shoots "color.net". for susan we created 5 beautiful looks in pastel colors which worked great with her golden complexion and curls.

i love working with veil - it is such a photogenic material! transparency always fascinated me - the way you can see through smth but at the same time how things just don't look the same way any more.

and looks like my cat fidel loves veil as well. he is such a poser!

lip magazine feature

this was quite a pleasant surprise to see a little feature on myself at lip mag today *)

nominee @ 3rd annual photography masters cup

this year i've been selected as a nominee in the category of FASHION at the 3rd Annual Photography Masters Cup! the first place belongs to ander shald, photographer who does kid-like-adults fashion; the second place was taken by beloved zoren gold & minori murakami with their famous picture of omahyra mota "bleeding" with scarlet roses.

thousands of images were received from 92 countries and my humble work ("chinatown"; see below) got a high percentage of votes overall. it will be featured in the virtual winners' gallery, in PMC's international PR campaign, and in World Photographic Arts Magazine (available october 2009 from newstands all around the world)

certainly an achievement!