Photography
MINIMANISTA! (The Minimalist Fashionista by Emma Aparici)
A few days ago I completed my second ever fashion shoot and it was an extraordinary experience! I had the privilege of shooting a creation by emerging fashion designer Emma Aparici, inspired by the Minimalist art movement.
I had the assistance of 3 awesome fellow photographers (wow, does not that make me sound important?) Gesine Garz, Lucia Moretti and Rodrigo da Silva. My model was the supermodel-not-wanne-be-but-totally-should-be Marjolaine Costé and it was an honour for me to be able to entrust her hair and make-up to the talented Wharney da Rocha.
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- Design by Emma Aparici
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- Design by Emma Aparici
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- Design by Emma Aparici
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- Design by Emma Aparici
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- Design by Emma Aparici
This collaboration is truly a salute to the amazing talent that one gets to interact with at the Kensington and Chelsea College.
The View, Horizontally
Ever since I was a young boy, I was intrigued by the idea of perception. If something is there, but you do not see it or experience it, is it there. Obviously in your occurring world it is not. How much of the world and of life itself simply does not exist for us, because we do not perceive it? Following my typology of circles, I continued to study the idea of things which are within our view yet we are not aware of their existence. Something that fulfils that description, is the horizon. The horizon is always there, even when we do not see it. And horizontal lines are an integral part of life, even if we are not conscious of them. Inspired by the typology work of Steve Tyler, I created a 9×9 grid to present a typology exploring the view we see horizontally. Four rows were left blank to create a typology of horizontal lines. Then I took the idea even further and created an imaginary horizontal line through each row of pictures. To the sweet sound of Caribbean Soca music, enjoy the View, Horizontally
Reading a Photograph
National Media Museum
Science and Society Picture Library.
The finest work of Tony Ray-Jones (1941- 1972) was a record of the English at leisure. He was fascinated by the eccentricities of English social customs and Tony Ray-Jones spent the second half of the Sixties travelling across England, photographing what he considered to be a disappearing way of life. The resulting images are humorous yet melancholy [1].
As its title indicates, this is a photograph of a beauty contest. All the elements are there: a contestant in bathing suit and high heeled shoes, a microphone with which the contestants introduce themselves, a compère to guide the proceedings, the judges, complete with notepads, a catwalk and a public.
Furthermore this is a beauty contest at the beach and the catwalk is actually built in the water. From the looks of it, this contestant has just introduced herself and is starting her strut down the runway.
The bathing suit and figure of the contestant clearly exemplify the styles of the Sixties. However, for a daytime beauty contest on a beach, all the participants are highly overdressed. The contestant is wearing high-heeled pumps and is coifed in the style of the era, though more adequate for big city life than for the seaside. The compère and the judges are wearing dark suits, again much too formal for the beach and probably quite uncomfortable in the sun.
This is one of two photographs with the same title seen in the exhibition “Only in England“ at the Science Museum in London, presenting photographs by Tony Ray-Jones and Martin Parr. The other image shows a group of bored contestants and oblivious contest officials backstage.
Bathing suit beauty contests were extremely popular in the Sixties, particularly in England. The oldest international beauty competition, Miss World, actually started in England in the late Fifties. Yet despite this popularity, the public at this contest show absolutely no interest in it. This struck a cord with me.
Having been a beauty contest fan since the Sixties, I started organizing beauty contests in the late Eighties. As a contest producer, your worst nightmare is organizing an event that fails to grab the attention of the public. Having such a disinterested public is downright horrific.
Another item in this photograph that hijacked my attention was the high heeled pumps of the contestant. In the Nineties, the use of high heeled shoes in swimsuit competitions became a matter of much discussion, as it was argued that high heels are incongruous together with bathing suits. This idea is very much supported by this photograph.
Finally, the word “Shallow” is visible on the stage floor. With its visibility is Tony Ray-Jones expressing an opinion on the proceedings?
This image is a unique record of a beauty contest that takes itself too seriously and a public that does not take it at all.
[1] Science Museum Exhibition Notes
Il villagio d’Acireale
The last weekend of May 2014 was quite unforgettable. I spent it in Sicily, Italy, to attend the wedding of a very dear friend. More specifically, I was in the village of Acireale, at about an hour’s distance from Catania. It is a picturesque place, with narrow streets, sometimes no sidewalks and an amazing collection of baroque buildings.
It was quite an interesting experience getting to know Acireale and its friendly inhabitants. I even found a connection to another passion of mine (hint: beauty pageants). Definitely a suggested vacation destination!
Photographing Gaultier
In preparation for my first fashion shoot working with an actual designer, I attended the exhibition on the renowned “artiste” Jean Paul Gaultier at London’s Barbican Centre. I went looking for inspiration and was very pleasantly surprised that I was actually allowed to photograph the amazing retrospective on Gaultier’s “oeuvre”.
It was a very interestingly curated exhibition combining some of the pieces with photographs of them, articles, movies and using blank faced manequins on which images of talking faces were projected, something which the camera regretfully did not capture. Enjoy this small taste of the magic of Jean Paul Gaultier.
Introducing Mr. World-Wales
Before re-inventing myself as a photographer, I was and still am a pageant coach. Working with both men and women, I have had the privilege of working with talented, dedicated and committed young people in their quest for international success in beauty and modelling competitions. Doing this work you get to know the authentic personalities of the ones you are coaching. Some are truly committed to something greater than themselves, while others pretend to be as they believe that it is expected of them.
I have been extremely fortunate in that the vast majority of my coachees have been genuine and caring human beings. Michael-Rae Formston, Mr. Wales for Mr. World 2014, is definitely the real deal. A caring young man, who works with problem youth and is committed to his craft as a personal trainer and to the general well-being and happiness of others, Michael-Rae fulfils all the requirements to be selected as “The World’s Most Desirable Man”.
Off course, as I am now a photographer as well, my work with Michael-Rae included an impromptu photo-session.
Typologies are all around us!
A typology is a study of types or groups of similar thing. In a typology everything is the same, yet different.
A photographic typology is a series of images shot in a consistent, repetitive manner and presented in a grid. Every image has its own space, equal to that of the other photographs and there is great attention to composition. The subjects are often mundane.
The first typology I created was one of circles. The idea was to make the viewer think about the presence of circles in our lives. You may not realise this, but circles are all around us!
For our second typology we were placed in groups of 6 and the assignment was to create a typology of the group.
I chose to make one of the feet of the group members. The images are all appropriated as each member of the group took a selfie of their own feet.
To be Inspired
In order to inspire you, something must first move you. To move you, it must first touch you. This unique assignment required me to find inspiration in two different artworks, only one of which could be a photograph. Using these two artworks as starting point, I had to either interpret, subvert or deconstruct to create five original and creative images of my own.
My first inspiration was the song “Lyin’ Eyes” by the The Eagles. This is one of my favourite songs of all time and I was particularly touched by the line “There ain’t no way to hide your lying eyes”.
For a while I struggled to find another source of inspiration. Then we visited the exhibition “About Colour” by Sarah Moon and I found my muse. I was truly moved and inspired by all the images and in particular by the photographic style of the artist. The images are painting-like, grainy and with soft focus. My best way to describe them would be a modern interpretation, in colour, of Pictorialism.
I chose to interpret the line “There ain’t no way to hide your lying eyes” with my own version of Sarah Moon’s photographic style.
With special thanks to my models Gillain Berry, Marjolaine Costé, Brigitte Gonesh, Katerina Panagiotopoulou and Pamela Winkel, I ask you: are any of these lyin eyes?
The Evolution of Photographic Portraiture
For our digital darkroom (digital manipulation) Unit, we were required to produce a series of eight related, digitally manipulated photographs. Using Adobe Photoshop CS6, I produced a series on the evolution of photographic portraiture. Starting with the very early image, through the Pictorialist movement, Solarization, the Mod Sixties, Warholian imagery, Polaroid photos and Iphoneography selfies, I ended up with an imagined photo of the future.
With special thanks to my model, fellow photographer, Rodrigo da Silva
The Colours of “Pura Vida”
Pura vida is a characteristic Costa Rican phrase. The literal translation is “pure life”. However, the expression is used to convey different meanings such as “plenty of life”, “full of life”, “doing great” and also “this is living!”. The phrase can be used in many ways and even as both a greeting or a farewell, as an answer expressing that things are goingwell, or as a way of giving thanks.
It is clearly evident in the Costa Rican attitude towards nature, which is celebrated, appreciated and protected. Therefore it should come as no surprise that the predominant colour in Costa Rica is green. In the rural area you are treated to miles and miles and miles, as far as the eye can see, of green. Many different textures and tones of green, often uninterrupted by any other colour.
Maybe to balance out all that green, the urban areas of Costa Rica, like its capital San José, display bursts of strong and vivid colours. It is an environment one would imagine William Eggleston to be very happy to work in.
Lightpainting by Richard John Isa 