INSPIRATIONS

While working on this project I will be looking at work of Tom Hunter as a inspiration for the colours and composition (his painting inspired photographs of people living in Hackney).

Jan Saudek and his beautiful colouring as well as the general aesthetic (quite dark and moody, fairy tale – like pictures).

Sally Mann and her recent project “What remains” in which she photographs dead, decomposing bodies;

“Photographer Sally Mann’s project “What Remains,” a collection of photographs documenting themes of death and decomposition, tackles this question head on by showing, amongst other depictions, the beauty of the body’s returning to ground after death. The dissolution of what was previously a living form has throughout history held sinister connotations for many cultures, and particularly those individuals who have little direct experience with death. This project illustrates the naturalness of dying and the beauty of decay.”

Chadwick Tyler and his beautiful way of creating show packages for NY based model agency Supreme, showing his unique relationship with each model individually. Also see Chadwick's project “Tiberius” where he works with fashion models on a series of portraitures, each single one depicting model's real demon.

And finally a Swedish fashion photographer Camilla Akrans and her very spontaneous, delicate and feminine approach to fashion editorial.

MODELS

DAISY

AT MILKMODELS:

GEORGIA

AT MILKMODELS:

LORNA

AT MILKMODELS:

LOCATION + EQUIPMENT

RICHMOND PARK:

EQUIPMENT:

STYLING

GARMENTS:

Shoot outline

OUTLINE:

This project will be delivered in a form of a fashion editorial and presented as a series of prints accompanied by a video installation.

The idea standing behind this project is based on the social phenomenon of hipsters (especially hipster feminine).

By hipster I mean a person that belongs to a (anti)subculture that can be defined by a certain play of surfaces/ a game of outward signification (“I now it when I see it”); the same way of dressing, and the same way of expressing opinions and interests that are the same as well (talking/blogging about art and culture but not active participating or contributing to it – an artist can't be called a hipster).

“If subculture have always known snobs, and collectors, and connoisseurs, the character of the hipster's claim to knowledge may be somehow different; superior, dominant knowledge -functioning as self-assertion or as compensation- possessed before anyone else. “

By hipster feminine I mean a female hipster that can be described not only by the play of surfaces (“if hipsters were fashion victims, then all women were hipsters, and therefore none were”) but mainly by the presentation of that outer signification and the media she chooses for that self-presentation;

“At the height of her fame, authenticity, desirability, specificity, inventiveness -her roundness as a character – the female hipster existed in front of the camera, photogenic and photographed; and so it was here through the lens, that the hipster feminine came into definition. She may have remained a muse and a subject, flattened and available for exploitation. But if so, she was a muse for herself, and for other women. “

The shoot will be based on location (river bank, forest, marshes) , possibly Richmond Park or Epping Forest in London. The reason for that is that model agency I am going to work with is based in London.

The idea for the shoot is inspired by hipsters and spreading lack of authenticity and uniformity of tastes and trends (especially those within fashion-photography-) that follow after them. But the final outcome is supposed to work as a kind of manifesto AGAINST this phenomenon. I want to bring the whole form back to basics, “attach roots” to it, strip it down from the pretentiousness and uniformity and fill up the empty form with content.

The hair, make up and the styling will be brought to minimum as the idea is to present the girls as hipster feminine condemned by nature, stripped down from the pretentiousness and brought back to the basics of who they really are as individuals (as opposite to the uniform mass of the hipsters).

Because there will be so very few elements of the wardrobe required, a lot of emphasis will be put on a very skilful styling and me working with each one of the models individually.

My biggest challenge in this project is taking care of the right composition, art direction and editing (selecting pictures as well as the post processing them; colours and light).

I want the final outcome to look very natural (in terms of poses), almost spontaneous. Colours are going to be pastel but quite dark (with some stronger accents of yellow, red and green in order to give them this painting-like feel).

Light is going to be quite contrasty but softened by a haze (maybe even natural if shooting early hours at the marshes).

DIFFERENT WAYS OF WORKING WITH FASHION

Another thing that, I think, definitely influenced me while working on this project is two different ways of working with fashion. I was, again, very lucky to be able to see two completely different ways of crating fashion images.

One of them is more traditional one; this is when a photographer gets signed up with a photographic agency that takes care of promotion, portfolio and getting contracts with very very big clients. The shoot usually happens with a lot of people involved and a massive budget. This kind of work is usually for big campaigns, editorials or look books. Thats the way things are being done in the studio I worked for during my internship.

This kind of job is very prestigious and must be really satisfying as well. Not only you are getting paid a lot of money, you also get to travel and you get to work with the biggest names in the industry.

On the other hand it is very stressful and very often the creative part belongs more to the art directors than to the photographer itself. There is a lot of DIFFERENT people you have to deal with and what's worse, work according to what they want even if they dont have a clue.

Another way of working, within fashion is to stay more independent but potentially less busy and maybe even money less. And what is the worst, luck of talent can't be covered up with anything. ANYTHING. Talent and the ideas are the only thing that can attract the clients. You dont have a n army of assistants and famous stylists standing behind you so all you can rely on is your photography.

Working this way allows more freedom. Work has it's own character and stays true to to what it was supposed to be. But not everyone can make it this way.

Being able to experience both things (not as a photographer, as an observer) I started questioning my future plans and ideas of what fashion industry really is. I started rebelling against things being so harsh whichever way you go, I find an impossible situation, the fact that you simply cannot balance these options.

An element of that dilemma and rebelling will be also a part of my final work.

READING:

Geoff Colvin, Talent Is Overrated: What Really Separates World-Class Performers from Everybody Else, Portfolio (May 2010)

VANCOUVER ISLAND

My final destination during my travels in North America was Vancouver Island. Decision about going there and spending a few days in a charming cabin by the ocean, not too far away from a little town called Sooke, was made very spontaneusly. I was very lucky to get an invitation to that little echosystem from a friend of a friend, whom I met earlier on in mentioned already Montreal. It is actually very interesting how and where we met and how my stay on the island changed the context of it completely. I first met Mimi in Montreal, she is a student there. She does writing and she is into fashion. She is very creative and arty looking. And even though she DOES HAVE A CLUE, and she hates pretenciousness just as any reasonable person does, my feelings about the whole situation were very mixed. Until I saw and experienced the environment she comes from . . . That makes the whole lot of difference, all of the sudden all the reactions and opinions and the whole mannerism, all of it is justified. Just normal, the only possible. But Mimi, her house and the whole place is special. Almost impossible to imagine. Everything there is just very natural, very organic, simple and very sophisticated. Dripping with creativeness and beauty. Those people turned their lifes into a piece of art and they didnt need blogs or any kind of approval to do so.

The whole thing started with Mimi's mum generation. people from all kind of places who migrated there in the 70's and decided to do things their own way. Now a lot of things changed. The infrastructure of the place itself changes as Vancouver Island becomes an expensive alternative for people living in Vancouver. But they still keep their communities and their ideals. And even though their children move to cities and experience more "polluted" version of things, they still know who they are. And that's what I found amazing about the people and the place. After experiencing that it almost feels like sticking to nature is the only way to stay true . . .