it was a challenge this time - from last minute changes of set, lighting, and even models, to working remotely with 2 art directors on 3 different catalogues. but great team as always made it easy and fun.
of course, sometimes we felt tired,
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
belk print
after 5 days of shooting for belk print tuesday feels like friday, and i am taking a little break in the middle of the week to catch up on my personal things before new project begins.
it was a challenge this time - from last minute changes of set, lighting, and even models, to working remotely with 2 art directors on 3 different catalogues. but great team as always made it easy and fun.
of course, sometimes we felt tired,
but most of the time we were having fun,
and loving what we do.
i wanted to thank: my indispensable assistants michael & brian, tina (stylist), jae (make-up), kevin (hair), arika (prep), jose (prep), jarda (producer), beloved studio W26, and all beautiful models who helped me to make it happen!
it was a challenge this time - from last minute changes of set, lighting, and even models, to working remotely with 2 art directors on 3 different catalogues. but great team as always made it easy and fun.
of course, sometimes we felt tired,
Monday, August 17, 2009
storm king
this weekend i finally accomplished a long-planned trip to storm king park (2 hours drive upstate) and had a chance to see its beautiful open-air sculptures.
storm king art center is a magical place where conceptual art meets nature, and i could not help but thinking about ayn rand's hero howard roark and his approach towards making architectural constructions to merge seamlessly with the landscape as opposed to competing or taking over it.
my favorite "exhibits" there are maya lin's "body of water" (waves of green grass creating an illusion of a stormy emerald-color sea ):
andy goldsworthy's "stormy king wall" that reminds a snake going across the river and up the hill in a beautiful zigzag:
and breathtaking " a moment in time" by chakaia booker - a black "broken" obelisk a la "space odyssey 2001" that floats in the air:
while there, on my special request my boyfriend took couple portraits of me and one of them will be featured as part of my exclusive interview for ROUGE magazine in their september issue. (mark di suvero's graphic bright red "mother piece" sculpture created a perfect background for the portrait since it brought association with of russian constructivism as well as matched the colors of my corporate design)
by the way, all the pictures you see above are also taken by my boyfriend (i should admit that he is way better than me with still life and landscape photography), while i was playing with polaroids 600 creating soft-focus washed-out square frames, trying to capture the magic and the mood of the place.
storm king art center is a magical place where conceptual art meets nature, and i could not help but thinking about ayn rand's hero howard roark and his approach towards making architectural constructions to merge seamlessly with the landscape as opposed to competing or taking over it.
my favorite "exhibits" there are maya lin's "body of water" (waves of green grass creating an illusion of a stormy emerald-color sea ):
by the way, all the pictures you see above are also taken by my boyfriend (i should admit that he is way better than me with still life and landscape photography), while i was playing with polaroids 600 creating soft-focus washed-out square frames, trying to capture the magic and the mood of the place.
Monday, August 3, 2009
"lines solitaire" in ocean style, september 2009
just got a confirmation from "ocean style" magazine about publication of "lines solitaire" story with lisa jackson in their september issue. excited to see in print!
model as muse
i probably was one of the last highly interested but late attending visitors of "model as muse" exhibition in metropolitan. it has been up for several months by now, and it will be over next sunday, august 9th, so if you are like me postponing it to the last minute - last minute it is!
it's definitely worth going through skillfully and thoughtfully organized labyrinth lit by softboxes hanging downside from the ceiling and seeing the history of fashion in making: from early b&w pictures of avedon and ritz to recent campaigns by klein and meisel. but this time the focus is shifted - you look at the famous image of sunny harnett leaning gracefully over a casino table, and you are so absorbed by the image itself, the beautiful lighting, its depth of field, sunny's mysterious smile, and the beautiful dress she's wearing almost goes unnoticed since we are taking every element of the image for granted. then next to this 8 by 10 image in a black wooden frame you see a live-size installation - a mannequin leaning over a casino table, and lamp next to it, and the dress, exactly the same like sunny is wearing on that picture.. but something is different. the magic is gone. because the magic is in the art of a photographer to make a timeless image out of a standard fashion picture - and of a model to breathe life into the latter.
so as we go from room to room, from one fashion era to another, we are shifting the focus and seeing how models changed the way we see fashion. it's almost like a story of womens emancipation - from nameless "mannequins cabinet" to strong personalities and world-known faces of linda evangelista, naomi campbell, claudia shiffer, kristy terlington..and of course there are dresses. giorgio armani, balenciaga, pierre cardin, chanel, louis vuitton, donna karan, calvin klein, ralph lauren, prada, paco rabanne, YSL, versace... i was astounded to see in real extravagant metallic constructions from "qui etes-vous, polly magoo?" and masterpieces of john galliano's haute couture. all these spiced up with music (wide stylist range - from french "chansons" to "beautiful people" by marylin manson) makes the experience unique and very inspiring.
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
steven klein
it's not accidental for me to start the series on my favorite photographers from steven klein. for me his name stands for "fashion photography" itself, as for many people was helmut newton, or richard avedon, or irving penn. he is the reason for me to do what i am doing, and i often say that when i grow up i want to be steven klein, implying the quality and quantity of the work he does. (yes, i know how ambitious it sounds)
steven klein's pictures are ambiguous, openly sexual, perverse, yet polished, and chic, and high class. their is a fleeting feeling of restrain in each of them - no matter how candid and suggestive are the poses of the models. klein loves color and sophisticated sets; he is a master of double-page storytelling. his images are surreal and yet up-to-date with the real world. he is not afraid to make a statement about politics, global warming, religion, and model mania.
“the thing that gets frustrating about fashion,” klein says, “is that as a photographer you always want to grab on to something that reflects what’s happening in the world, what’s in the street. you don’t want to just fabricate these dream lives of these idealistic barbie dolls that don’t even exist anymore.”
one of the most prolific and influential fashion photographer of nowdays steven klein is the one who keeps many of us on our toes. as they put it in NY times: "mindlessly glam fashion photography is a dead or dying form, and steven klein, the anti-fashion fashion photographer, helped strangle it."
for more of his work please visit: www.stevenkleinstudio.com
there is not much information about him out there. in fact, from people who worked with him, as well as from very few articles and interviews, i heard that he is reserved and not too verbose. he is in his late 40s but looks young and fit, he is close friend of brad pitt & madonna, he is well known for his provocative D&G and Dsquared campaigns.
steven klein's pictures are ambiguous, openly sexual, perverse, yet polished, and chic, and high class. their is a fleeting feeling of restrain in each of them - no matter how candid and suggestive are the poses of the models. klein loves color and sophisticated sets; he is a master of double-page storytelling. his images are surreal and yet up-to-date with the real world. he is not afraid to make a statement about politics, global warming, religion, and model mania.
“the thing that gets frustrating about fashion,” klein says, “is that as a photographer you always want to grab on to something that reflects what’s happening in the world, what’s in the street. you don’t want to just fabricate these dream lives of these idealistic barbie dolls that don’t even exist anymore.”
for more of his work please visit: www.stevenkleinstudio.com
favorite photographers
i've been asked many times who are my favorite photographers, and every time this question puzzles me for a second. there are quite many, but the truth is every time i need to rethink my answer carefully because this list changes as i grow - professionally and aesthetically. i also noticed that answering this question helps me to define who i am and what i like about fashion photography. it's almost like famous "tearsheet exercise" by selina maitreya - out of all possible tearsheets/ads of all times one should choose just five, the most favorite, and explain why you chose them. you would be surprised how hard it is to limit your choice to just five. but when you do, most probably, you will see smth in common in all five . that common is your own aesthetics - and if you happen to be an emerging photographer, it is your subconscious choice of style. don't copy it, but be aware of the direction, and keep your standards high.
i could make a choice of just five images (i did this exercise with selina twice) but here i won't limit myself to that extent. instead, i want to share some inspirational stories about and images by my most favorite photographers. those are the ones who shaped my vision, inspired, challenged, surprised, and made me want to be a better photographer. their aesthetics is not necessarily coincide with mine, but all of them have smth to say - and they say it well.
i could make a choice of just five images (i did this exercise with selina twice) but here i won't limit myself to that extent. instead, i want to share some inspirational stories about and images by my most favorite photographers. those are the ones who shaped my vision, inspired, challenged, surprised, and made me want to be a better photographer. their aesthetics is not necessarily coincide with mine, but all of them have smth to say - and they say it well.
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
mad ones
the only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones who never yawn or say a commonplace thing, but burn, burn, burn like fabulous yellow roman candles exploding like spiders across the stars
jack kerouac, on the road (1957)
jack kerouac, on the road (1957)
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
china town
and another tearsheet package today - this time from bulgaria (ROUGE magazine) with my favorite "china town" editorial featuring gabi from NEXT model management, NYC.
.jpg)
.jpg)
NOI.SE 24 & HIGHLIGHT 33
it was such a nice surprise upon my return from miami to find a long-awaited package with new issues of noi.se & highlights and tearsheets with 2 of my stories (charlie's angel & love letters) in my mailbox. couldn't help but mention a great layout design and amazing print quality of both publications. look for them on NY newsstands!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
