Merry Christmas

Ellen Von Unwerth at the opening of her NYC show

It was great to finally meet Ellen Von Unwerth. I have followed her work for many years and found her rapid ascent to stardom quite fascinating. She started as a model, and one day she decided to bring her camera to a photo shoot and began taking pictures of everyone on the crew. An AD saw the pictures, and now the rest is history.

Pictured with her on the right is Erin Fetherston. Also attending the opening was Anna Sui.

For a complete rundown of the opening and guests attending please visit http://idiosyncraticfashionistas.blogspot.com

Pictures courtesy of the iPhone

Getty and Wire Image

About three and a half months ago I veered a bit form my path as a photographer. I have added an notable company ,Getty/Wire Image to my resume. While keeping up with the fashion and portraiture end of the business, I found shooting for this worldwide Giant quite rewarding. Among the many new challenges I face, is the style of shooting. I have now a clearer idea of what photojournalists as well as combat photogs might have to go through to get that Picture. While I am not equating my job to a combat photographer , I do feel a kinship with all photojournalists . I think that there are some parallels that can be drawn among the many, as I am beginning to discover, fields in photojournalism. Being quick on your feet, a sharp mind, dexterity and the ability to manage different lighting situations in a "New York Minute" is essential to completing the assignment. But what I found most interesting, is that by and large there exists, amidst a stiff competetive spirit, a professional courtesy among the members of this community. I am amazed at how courteous some photogs are to each other in the midst of a shooting frenzy while photographing a "very salable" movie star or a personality. Imagine for a minute that you and several shooters are standing side by side trying to get the attention of your subject who often is disconcerted by the lights and the atmosphere , and still come away with a good picture. Challenging , yes, but not impossible.

This is just a small fraction of things that take place in the life of a photojournalist , and there are many more if you look carefully at the images in this post . Too many to mention for now, but maybe something to think about for the future.

Above are just some of the personalities I have photographed . They are, as if you didn't already know, form the top.

Mickey Rourke, Veronica Webb, Chuck Zito, Isabella Rossellini, and John Caudia, the Phantom of the Opera.

Fashion Celebrities

For quite sometime I had been wanting to add a celebrity section to my website. Now this has been realized. A couple of months ago I was walking on Madison, well after business hours, when I saw Ralph Lauren coming out of an office building. Instinctively I took a shot, but then I thought, it couldn't hurt to ask him to pose. A man form his entourage quickly opposed my request, as quickly as I had taken the first shot of Mr. Lauren, but then he said to his assistant.... No, no that's ok. I felt that Mr. Lauren exuded a kind manner of being by taking a moment from his busy schedule to accommodate me. In fact I found this to be true of all the celebrities appearing here and on my website. Mr. Hamish Bowles who also had been literally running to an appointment just a couple of days ago, stopped for a few pictures.

Ms Lynn Yaeger and Patirck Mcdonald were just super making it ez for me.

ENJOY

Mr Ralph Lauren

Mr Hamish Bowles

Mr Patrick McDonald
Ms Lynn Yaeger
Mr Patrick McDonald

Oh Farrah.....................

I was just going through some of my images that I had taken at the NYC Fashion shows earlier this year and came across the last three that you see here, and thought of them as being reminiscent of Farrah Fawcett.

Farrah Fawcett Majors as she was known at the time Time Magazine published the above two pictures, I think was very inspirational in many ways, even to this day. The fashion and particularly her hair has always been of interest when making reference to this type of cut. You know, " her hair is like Farrah's", or " there goes Farrah" when referring to a woman on the street.

I am writing this brief note for many personal reasons, but mainly because I saw Farrah on the very steps where I had taken pictures of this woman with the " Farrah's hair" , and if my memory serves me right, in a coat similar to this one. It was at the September 2008 fashion shows. The weather was cool but very sunny........ and there she was, Farrah coming down the stairs stopping for a few seconds for the photographers with a big smile. She still had that hair , albeit a bit more toned down.

My best to all that are close to her.

Credits:

Top image: Douglas Kirkland

Second image: ABC Television

Both images were Published by Time Magazine in the November 22, 1976 issue.

I took the first two images with my Iphone straight form the magazine. ENJOY

New York Moves shoot takes

I decided to post just a couple of images from the shoot that we did late last month. The reason being is that things are still in limbo and I just don't want to precede publication. Having said that, I think that the shoot turned out well in spite of the many logistical obstacles, hours of scouting and location changes ..... maybe because of the many hours of scouting.

The entire team worked well adding great deal to the outcome. I think that Sho , the stylist, paired the clothes well with the locations, and Mako and Fumi worked wonders with the hair and makeup respectively. Sarah of Mc2 Models just got it. With some inspiration she gave us the look. Thanks to all for work well done.

The long awaited shoot gets off the ground..Brooklyn

Sho getting Marie ready for the first shot.
Mako spraying
From the left, Fumi, Mako, Sho getting Marie ready for the first shot
I think this option was considered


Sho, a "whirlwind" ever present and full of ideas and options
Fumi working on the fourth shot
The CREW. It's possible to take a crap picture with an expensive camera. Marcellus, in the red, helped Sho with clothes and got people out of my shot. Thanks.
The sun was beaming straight into the lens.... 
the problem solved, thanks to the team for their assistance
Sarah
Just clowning around. A pleasant reprieve form the heat and the stream of cars
I think we're waiting for something
Location van in the background.... cost me a parking ticket
Last Shot
Aintcha done yet MR Photographer???????

This  long awaited shoot for New York Moves  had as many permutations and last minute changes as anyone having done this kind of work can imagine . Originally to be shot in Manhattan , we ended up moving to Brooklyn because of logistics and better locations. 

I can't thank Morgan Chan enough who kindly let us use his soon to open Brooklyn restaurant, Sui Ren, to do hair, makeup, and spread out the clothes all over the place.... he helped us get the Ford van to boot. I wish him well in his business. 

Anthony from TJ remodeling in Brooklyn provided the 64 Ford Econoline Van, and moved his other cars around to make this shot possible. 

Everyone was happy with the shoot in the end, because we all prepared and worked hard for this day. 

Talent Credits :

Sangwoo "Sho" Kim, Styling, and his assistant Marcellus Holton

Mako cocorosalon NYC,  Hair

Fumi for Shu Uemura,   Makeup

MC2 models  Sarah Anne Stewart and Marie Heine

NYCRUN gets the shot

This was easy. She towered over the crowd in the distance allowing me to position myself in a fairly good spot for the shot, but as things would have it the choice spot was soon overrun by wide-eyed tourists . The field of view was obscured so I had shoot on the run. I walked with her while the view cleared for just a couple of seconds.  I took  four shots. 

 This type of photography is entertaining and sometimes challenging. Many times I have to isolate the subject in a very big crowd  allowing only a split second to get the shot before someone steps in front of the lens. 

On a different topic.

Long ago I came to the conclusion that one can always be stylish while donning a turtleneck. This piece goes well with everything. I have personally wore it with jeans, army pants and shorts,  as well as under shirts, short sleeve shirts and under jackets, nylon and leather.........  it just seems to always jazz-up whatever you have on and give a certain polish to your look. Black is best: white sometimes , and other colors must be scrutinized judiciously. 

Pace Wildenstein Gallery New York and guest , Chuck Close

This gallery is always fun and it never disappoints. It is a great place to people watch and be entertained by it all. 

I finally had the opportunity to meet Chuck Close and exchange a quip or two.

Alex Katz will be showing here until June 13 which will be followed by a summer exhibit until July 31.

Pictures by IPhone

Bond, James Bond

Recently a friend of mine emailed me about images on my street fashion blog, http://www.nycrunfashion.blogspot.com . She commented that by and large people walk around with messy hair and frumpy clothes, and that I selected my subjects well . Well, here is an antidote to all that mess. I am beginning to see more well groomed men donning expertly tailored clothes. Here are two uptown samples and one from downtown. What's interesting are some key elements that tie them together. Can you pick out those elements?

Ornamentum Gallery at SOFA New York City

This past weekend my friend, Katherine, and I went to SOFA, the twelfth annual Sculpture Objects and Functional Arts Fair. Most of the galleries had an incredible array of objects, with a preponderance of the galleries displaying jewelry and other objects made of glass.  The use of glass to produce the objects was as varied as the objects themselves.  There were figurative shapes, as well as more traditional objects such as vases. Elsewhere, glass was used as an element of the whole piece, either as a foundation or as added texture.

What struck me most, however, were two pieces at the Ornamentum Gallery that were encased in acrylic, seen here. In my view , acrylic,  from a visual point of view is in the glass category, but not entirely. I think in this instance the use of acrylic rather than glass is a better choice. Acrylic has that look and feel of plastic that relates better to the objects enclosed in it.

What about the 45 caliber pistol and bullet. I think that there is an interplay of strong graphics with soft and hard textures.... and it all works. Perhaps the hues and colors unify all of the elements. Perhaps what makes all this attractive is that all the elements are familiar and could ostensibly be found together in more traditional circumstances and enclosures. 

  The work here is created by Ted Noten. See ornamentumgallery.com