The July 09 issue of Italian Vogue sees the return of Kristen McMenamy, one of the 90s supermodels. Shot by Steven Meisel, it’s incredible to see “The Legend” working it once again.

And here is the shoot brought to life…
The July 09 issue of Italian Vogue sees the return of Kristen McMenamy, one of the 90s supermodels. Shot by Steven Meisel, it’s incredible to see “The Legend” working it once again.

And here is the shoot brought to life…
Lara Stone, has now been a firm favourite on the fashion scene since 2006. She has graced the covers of many magazines and catwalks, culminating in French Vogue dedicating its entire Feb 09 issue to her. And why is she so popular? One reason is certainly her versatility and ability to adapt to any shoot; from sexy and seductive, to young and innocent, to primped and preened. Much like her supermodel predecessors such as Linda Evangelista and Kate Moss, Lara has a chameleon-like talent; more actress than mere model.

And here she is as Karl Lagerfeld’s muse in a short film for Chanel’s Preview Fall 09 collection…
After the previous post about naturism, here’s a quick post about, simply, nature. Richard Long, sculptor, photographer and Turner-prize winner is showing his inspirational sculptures and photographs at Tate Britain in ‘Heaven and Earth’, “a unique opportunity to understand afresh the artist’s radical rethinking of the relationship between art and landscape”.
On until 6 September 2009

His book ‘Heaven and Earth’ is now available in the Focus Hub Shop.
It is en vogue these days for editorial, and even advertising, shoots to be more risqué, by showing some nudity. An ordinary shoot suddenly becomes more edgy, even more arty. It’s a quite blasé attitude to fashion, where clothes are less important and it’s more about the mood and strength of the image. But how do you get the model to relax? One slightly unorthodox approach may be to get naked with your model, as shown below by the actions of established photographers Jurgen Teller, Mario Sorrenti and Terry Richardson (Kate Moss featuring in two of the images).
Of the Jurgen shoot, Charlotte Rampling says:
“The way he works is very free and easy, he puts you at ease really quickly…you have to trust someone to get to that stage. It’s important to feel released, and you can only do that when the photographer’s relaxed. It’s a lot of fun and it’s edgy.”
The Guardian

Be aware though, that only very established photographers can get away with this!
The May issue of i-D magazine featured a great fashion editorial by Vanina Sorrenti. Shot and then composited in Photoshop this is a successful example of how modern techniques can be used to enhance photography. These images are a combination of careful, well-thought-out art direction, beautiful photography and delicately-crafted image montaging. Fashion and art fused into one.
This young American photographer is a fine example of mixing art and fashion photography. Ryan McGinley started by documenting his friends, shooting on 35mm film using Yashica T4s and Leica R8s (both now classic cameras) and has now moved into the fashion editorial arena. One example of how his art concepts have transpired into editorials are shown below with his personal work reflected into images of Agyness Deyn freefalling from Manhattan buildings, featured in POP magazine AW 08.

Dutch photographers, Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin, have been partners in every sense, since meeting in 1986. They mixed their separate fashion design and art backgrounds to create a new wave in fashion/art photography and pushed boundaries using image manipulation, quirky compositions and humour to produce images which have changed the perception of typical fashion photography.
Quirky ‘fashion’ editorial shoot.
Yohji Yamamoto
Their first foray into advertising was the now iconic Yohji Yamamoto 98 campaign with M/M Paris with Maggie Rizer.

YSL Manifestos
And they are now working, amongst other advertising, on the unique YSL Manifesto seasonal campaigns. These are great ad campaigns with the image book, behind-the-scenes video and free gift, all released simultaneously in major cities on the streets, and on the YSL website. Campaigns have featured some of fashion’s most iconic models such as Kate Moss, Naomi Campbell and Claudia Schiffer.
SS08 with Kate Moss

AW08 with Naomi Campbell

SS09 with Claudia Schiffer

Images via Avantgarde, Beautiful Decay, Vogue and Style Frizz
The Contax G2, is a perfect accessory for the on-the-go photographer. Easy to use, light and compact, with an accurate meter and delivering superb quality due to its inter-changeable Carl Zeiss lenses; which are comparable to pro lenses. So comparable, that they are actually used professionally, as evidenced by the images of Jurgen Teller and his fashion shoot for W Magazine, featuring Lara Stone (below).

Lara Stone for W Magazine July 07. Photographed by Jurgen Teller, using a Contax G2
Image of Jurgen via Proza.
I have one of these and have always loved its versatility and image quality. They are unavailable to purchase new, but you can quite readily pick one up on Ebay for around £550, including a few lenses.
I have always admired the work, fashion photography and videos, of Stéphane Sednaoui. Here are 2 of his videos that are highly creative and inspirational.
This is for the Disco Science track from the 2000 Mirwais ‘Production’ album; you can purchase a special edition cd & dvd here.
And this art film in 2002, ‘Acqua Nastasa’, featuring Natasa Vojnovic.
A collection of Stéphane’s video work is available here.
For those of you who live in London, or happen to be visiting, get over to The Wapping Project to see the ‘Unseen: Guy Bourdin‘ exhibition, featuring 32 never-before-seen images from this iconic French fashion photographer.
Despite Guy wanting all of his photographs destroyed after his death (1991), The Wapping Project founder and director Jules Wright says,
“It is a bit of a conundrum. However, from my point of view, I think the work is extraordinary and it deserves to be seen. It’s so influential and I’m pleased and delighted to be showing it, and for the work to be re-looked at, reappraised, re-thought.”
On until 4 July 2009.

Images from The Moment and It Hunter