Fashion

Summary:

In this FotoTV interview, photographer Grégoire Korganow talks about his exhibition at the Les Rencontres d’Arles The 39th International Photography Festival, 2 very contrasting series shown side by side: “Beside the Prisoners”, and “Backstage”.

Korganow’s project, Beside the Prisoners is a poignant documentation of the lives of the families of incarcerated prisoners. He follows mothers, fathers, wives, and children who visit their loved ones in prison, during trips between home and prison. Korganow’s images the capture the people's private lives and their solitude, silent faces marked by love, demonstrating the powerful link between the men and women and the person they love who are in prison.

His project entitled Backstage is a unique, non-anecdotal look at the tumultuous situations of fashion shows backstage. Never knowing exactly what he will be shooting, Korganow is no doubt an explorer in fashion, while concentrating on the shapes he creates a new perspective of the tension backstage before the girls are to walk out onstage. He photographs images sometimes using flash, black and white, or color, sometimes with a mix of camera shake and close-ups – but never losing the focus on the clothing.

It is a contrast to show the projects side by side at an exhibition, but that is exactly what Korganow intends to display – the harsh contradictions and distinctions between the two worlds. Displaying the projects side-by-side Korganow successfully gives viewers an in depth look at two very different realms, the superficial world of fashion and the stark reality of prison.

Summary:

In this film, photographer and photo-collector, F.C. Gundlach talks to FotoTV at his fashion photography exhibit, discussing his career, his beginnings as a collector and what the word "fashion" means to him.

Gundlach explains that fashion comes into being when it is shown publicly and when there is a collective understanding of a new trend, taste, or smell, or whatever else, that trend becomes a fashion. Furthermore he says fashion is not only happening on the runway, or in fashion houses, fashion is also happening on the streets.

Interestingly enough, on a technical note, Gundlach has become somewhat of an advocate of digital photography. Initially he thought that through digitizing photography much would be lost in regards to content. But he soon realized that not to be the case. He describes how he came to his first digital photo to be displayed in one of his exhibits. "The last photo from this exhibit, a photo of the Pope, Benedict XVI, was a photo I saw published with an accompanying article in large scale in the FAZ Newspaper's Culture Section. It was very difficult for me to find that photo as the photographer was an unknown from Italy. I finally found her and she told me she didn’t have a photo-- but a data file of the image, and this was the first digital photo to be in one of my exhibits. I was skeptical at first, but changed my mind as did most large publishing houses of that time did. There was no data loss and it was simply advantageous in regards to time constraints. Photos could be sent around the world electronically in a fraction of the time it took to send an image via the postal service.

Gundlach is also a genuine admirer and supporter of other photographer's work. He goes on to explain a common feeling many photographers know too well, "Sometimes, photography can be an ambivalent activity. Many photographers have problems with the work of their fellow colleagues. I’ve never had that feeling; to the contrary it interested me. Since I’ve spent a lot of time in America, especially New York, which I nearly never left, with the exception of Los Angeles, I’ve met the American photographers and we had some lively exchanges about photography."

Times and styles change, but fashion will always remain inspirational. In closing Gundlach shares with FotoTV a story of one of his most memorable photos, "I remember in the 1960s when fashion was primarily black and white, reduced to forms and patterns. That worked really well for photography and fashion itself. One of my own photos shot for Brigitte magazine, in front of the Gizeh Pyramids, depicting two models wearing bathing caps has become an iconic image. The photo in the magazine is a variation from what we see printed today. That was a moment where the boundaries of fashion photography were transcended, resulting in a photo that will always be significant and timeless."

With timeless, Gundlach does not mean meaningless, his photo speaks for itself, as do all the photos in his exhibit. Some might say photos are the intermediaries of fashion, and it is Gundlach who is certain that it will always be the case.

Summary:

In this film legendary fashion photographer Paolo Roversi talks about the very beginning of his brilliant career and discusses the inventive photographic techniques he uses that have made him so successful. Roversi believes it's all about his relationship with the model, not so much about technique.

He particularly describes his techniques with flashlights and colored filters as, "simple and playful”, although the images are beautiful and captivating, they are more thoughtfully intricate than he would like to admit. Some of his signature images are the photos with a longer exposure time during which Roversi goes over the bodies and faces of the models with a small flashlight, illuminating and highlighting certain parts while leaving others in the dark, giving his photos a mysterious, ethereal impression, almost poetic. Roversi remembers one of his first shoots for Marie Claire in the Seventies: “I had cut out all of the pages and put them in my book.

I went to the kiosks to see if people were looking at them. Then, on the Saturday, I went to the market to buy a fish and the guy took the page with my most beautiful photograph on it, tore it out and wrapped the fish up in it. That was the first slap on the face of my career." This was indeed a sweet but humbling experience for Roversi. His photographic aesthetic reflects that of studio photography in its earliest days, but with a stark modernity infused with nostalgia. His subjects ignite an intensity that reveals as much of the photographer as of the model.

Roversi’s list of credits runs from shoots for Vogue, Elle and Marie Claire to catalogues for Romeo Gigli, Christian Dior and Yohji Yamamoto.

Summary:

Atlanta, Georgia native photographer, Steve Thornton began his photographic career, self-taught after receiving a camera for Christmas when he was 12 years old. In this film, Thornton discusses a wide array of technical themes from silk light diffusers, reflectors, exposures, focus and most important of all, the believability of photography.

Other informative topics that stand out throughout this film are: Models and directing them Lighting and understanding it Locations and how to pick the right ones Cowboys and how to photograph them Cost effective shooting for your clients Thornton’s multitude of information in this film is invaluable to amateur and professional photographers alike.

Even today, he still continues on his prolific quest of providing not only some of the best quality images in the industry, but as well, creating spectacular and eye-catching photos that are not just artistic images, but emotional experiences for everyone to enjoy.

Thornton is a leading international fashion, beauty, lifestyle, cowboy, travel and resort photographers. He has photographed numerous national and international ads, along with feature editorials for celebrated magazines in the Unites States, Milan, Italy and Paris, France. These renowned magazines included “Vogue, Zeffrio, Marie France, Teen, Seventeen, Modern Bride, Your Prom, Bride’s, Cowboys and Indians, American Cowboy, Western and English and Western Horsemen”. He travels on assignment an average of 175 days a year, he has been in 47 of the 50 states and 11 countries.

Success seems to come easy to Thornton. Maybe because followed these simple rules. As Thornton has once quoted:

“Concentrate on editorials. Instead of shooting things that look like ads, shoot things that tell a story. Use the same models, and have variations on themes for settings and outfits. Getting work in magazines is the best way for photographers to get noticed, and then picked up for the ad work”.

“Aim for the top. Don’t be afraid to send your work into the big fashion magazines, like Vogue and W. If it’s cool, they’ll print it. So, go for it! You won’t get turned down out of hand”.

“Never be totally satisfied with your work. It’s important to stay on top of your game by always learning. If you’re not learning, you’re dead in the water. Do research. Look through magazines, pick out great images, see who is doing it, and learn how it’s done. Invent things, and re-invent yourself”.

Thornton’s work speaks a beautiful language; a language that his clients and fellow photographers clearly understand and appreciate.