Newton, sexi

I love love love Helmut Newton and despise his setups at the same time. Master of black and white and female body. His era is like Guy Bourdin's but Helmut was much more successful. After looking at photo after photo of his work I created this image of what a terrible person this man must be. A huge penthouse in New York with a large great dane sitting at the entrance. Inside the penthouse Newton sits smoking a cigar and looks at his sexi little 28 year old girlfriend.
I was actually very wrong.
Helmut was been married to the same woman for over 30 years and lived between two homes in MonteCarlo and Los Angeles. Late into his life he did a series of self portraits. Of his fat old self.
Man, I love me some Helmut.

Back...

I am back from a short hiatus.
Beautiful plants.

...

photos by me

Japan, many thing

I can't do any homework anymore. Photography related or not, i only have 5 weeks of school left and all I can think about are cute kids in Japan and drinking tea with 99 year old women. And filling out my application for the JET programme (lots of presumptuous spelling).
And I'm currently reading all the Japanese secrets for living to 200 years old.

photo courtesy of an old sweet navy website

Novatos

© Heather C

Anthropomorphisize

This is the second post I have that includes photographer Nick Brandt but his photos blow my mind every time I see them. In an interview with Lens Work magazine he talks about how he feels that there is very little respect for animals in photography. His photos have been criticized for being too anthropomorphic, but Brandt describes his work as true to the character of the animals he photographs. Animals are typically photographed in action in a pure documentary style, but there is little exploration into their actual souls.
Agreed.
It amazes me at how narrow minded some photographers are about various fields of photography, rejecting Brandt's work and calling it too fine art. what? His photos have some the most honest animal expressions I have ever seen. It also reminds me a little of Jill Greenberg's monkey portraits. These are shot in studio, and reveal a different element of animals. She uses Hollywood trained animals, but in a way there is a sort of satirical look in their eyes. Different from Brandt, but lovely all the same.

Lesson: keep an open mind to the borders between "fine art" and "photojournalism". better yet, don't label just look...
And a photo of my cute puppy.



photos © Nick Brandt



photos © Jill Greenberg


photo © Heather C

Faith in your own photography

Just found this article in PDN about having faith in yourself as a photographer. Piper Carter was a photographer's assistant for seven years and then finally realized that she was never going to be a photographer if she kept on assisting. This is very similar to the understanding I found in NYC this summer. As tempting and alluring a full time job as a photographer's assistant is, I made the decision to come back and work on my own photography. Work. And work.
I figured I can always go back and try to get work, but NOT assisting. As difficult as it might be, a young photographer has to try try try...

Untitled 1-3

sometimes photos don't need an explanation

© HetherC

Roversi and the element of balance

Paolo Roversiphotography is the ultimate in fashion photography for me. Even though he worked straight through the peak of glamour fashion in the 80's, he has kept his photos ethereal and airy. His style is vastly different from Meisel, Bourdin, and Helmut... but I love Roversi the most. <3
I was lucky enough to see one of his shows at the Pace MacGill Gallery in NYC this summer, and he changed my life. In a collection of ten photographs Roversi really took my mind to the next level. The photos put me at rest, in a very strange way. He really seems to care about the women he photographs and cares about the energy of the photo. In these ways, I connect to his work the most.
I have had long talks with friends about what I want to get out of a career of photography, after analyzing Roversi I can say that I want to have a collection of work as beautiful as his. With an emphasis on the beauty of women and the mastery of light.
His works bring a spirit of lightness and aren't caught up with technical elements. Roversi's focus is in making his women look beautiful in spirit. As much as I love Bourdin and Helmut, I can't connect with their work. Their perception of women don't match up with mine, we don't believe women stand for the same thing. Photographer's own personalities clearly are displayed through their photographs and it's evident by looking at large bodies of their collections.
Roversi reminds me of Sally Mann, Julia Margaret Cameron.

Roversi, these are my favorite things about you:
You are smart.
You love women and respect them.
You paint women with light and make their bodies look like angels.
You use film and mostly polaroids, without even hesitation.

Roversi, I love you.

photos by Paolo Roversi

Mario

Labor day is different for everyone. Some kids get to swim their little hearts out in central Texas swimming holes, and some people go to work. Here in Austin there is a Home Depot with men ready to work. They stand in the parking lot from 6am-6pm everyday waiting to get work for the day. Installing tile, rugs, painting, whatever needs to get done around the house. Even on labor day these guys were out at Home Depot...waiting.
Here's to our subject Mario for working on Labor Day and helping us.

Sister

Pretty pretty princess...

Heather, Esmeralda

When photographers reach a certain level of status, they can publish a collection of works on the same person: Paolo Roversi, Guinevere; ManRay, Miller; Philippe Halsman, Dali; etc.
I'm sure at some point people will be saving up their dollars to buy a rediculously overpriced photo book with a collection of photos of my sister. And sometimes people will be able to find a used copy of it for less than fifty at some cute little bookstore in SoHo.
Look at it now on my blog while it's free. <3

Jacqui

Portrait of my friend Jacqui.

Let's Bee Lovies...

I could write a tremendously long book about the internal struggle I face between choosing a career in wedding photography or fashion portraiture, or I can just show pictures of my wedding photography.
Truth: I love weddings, beautiful women that love to be photographed, beautiful things, and people that love the photos I take of them.

Larissa and Jason married this Saturday at Hunter Mountain Resort in Hunter, NY. Just outside of Albany and super beautiful.
I photographed as a second shooter for a wonderful NYC based photographer Michael Simon.
Mom, you would have looooooved this place. It is like Ruidoso on steroids.
This is why I love wedding photography...

For Veronica Hansen

Since I haven't been posting "new" photography anyway, take this. It sums up many thing about being a lady photographer. Veronica Hansen is one of my fabulous lady photographer friends making it in the big city. If you think being an artist is hard, try being a lady artist...

poster by the Guerrilla Girls

Daguerro deux

I went out and quickly came back only to photoshop again...
so many thing.

Daguerreian experiment

If I had access to huge vats of mercury, hot plates, and wood boxes I would probably be making daguerrotypes all day...
Photo of my mom. I'm a lucky gal.

Handtinting

My love for handtinting. After a great photoshop lesson with David Strohl I tinted the second photo based on the first photo. The first is of my grandma (1955?) and the second is of my sister.
it's coming along...

Psychedelia 01.

Inspiration: psychedelic garden dreams, kristyna, beach, virgin mary, lisa frank(?)
...and growing up i really hated lisa frank.

Nick Brandt

Another example of really powerful photos from Africa. I have never seen photos with animals showing this much emotion.
I think deep down inside I want to be this type of photographer.
More from Nick here.

Jürgen Schadeberg

Jürgen Schadeberg's photos are filled with life. Real substance to back up an image. Being in New York I've realized how important it is to have experiences that you can then implement into your work. Work can't be forced. It has to develop on its own from substance. After looking at ad after ad in Vogue, Nylon, blah blah blah it becomes apparent that real work comes from real experience. Forced work might be technically interesting and beautiful, but forced work will always be forced work. Jürgen falls along the ranks of Lauren Greenfield. Photographers who embed themselves in the lives of people they are interested in, and then photograph them. Creating beautiful and powerful stories about real people. These stories open up chapters of the world most people could never even think of. Even if the photos are not as technically advanced as advertising campaigns, the work is more important because it is real. This is the hard place that many photojournalists face during their careers. How to balance the love of honest photojournalism with the financial compensation of advertising. It's important for an artist to stay true to themselves...This is where art becomes powerful.
Jürgen Schadeberg's work influenced the Janet Jackson music video by Mark Romanek. Romanek is also a badass.

City kids, Clouds

Governor's Island is a magical place in NYC. If you haven't been there you should go. It is very un-New York.
My friends Veronica and David on bikes. And a very preliminary photo of a clouds/face project I am starting very soon.

Magical Subway

The subways here are magical. As I was walking around today I realized that I haven't really seen too much of Manhattan cause I spend all my time on the subway staring at people's faces and crafting up what their lives must be like. But today I ran out of my monthly subway pass and walked about 65 blocks in Manhattan...that's a lot. On my way back home from the grocery I actually found a seat in an actually empty car and this is what I found.
The weird part is only a few people even looked up. Everyone else ignored them like they were homeless people asking for money. Come on, now...

(not my video but I will have one up tomorrow)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sd8fNhvk4EY

my little muses

Being here in new york makes me ask why i like photography. Everyone goes into it for different reasons. In fashion photography I think there are plenty of people (and by people I mean men) who do it just cause they like photographing hott babes all day. And i guess thats okay.
One of the best things I will learn this summer is a better understanding of my purpose for photography. And I don't even know what it is but I understand it better now than before.
I took these six years ago on and around the day of my sister's first holy communion. Her hands in every single picture are the most beautifully posed hands i have seen in a long time... and I guarantee that if I didn't have a sister, I wouldn't be a photographer. They are THE most honest photographs I have, and this is the type of photography I like. Honest photography. There is something about the first picture and he close up picture of my mom that really touches me in the same way Steichen's photographs of his sister touch me. Sally Mann has the same essence in her photographs and Dan Winters has it in his personal work. They are just honest portraits of their little muses.

These are honest portraits of my little muses.