I have a flair for financial transactions

Anyway; I have not bought any props for the Photo studio in ages. The fabrics i have, are old from the 90s. Still useful i am sure, but it is time for some renewal (over a period of time - not all at once) I thought it is time to plan that in advance

Little things

you can add for a photo session, portraits, sensual photography, or anything that comes in mind during an interaction between model and photographer. These are things that can come in handy, when you both become playful during the photo shot.

Naturally, it is fantastic in today's digital world - that you can see the results directly on the LCD screen of the camera. That is rewarding for the model. Sal love it, to see just a few seconds later - what we were trying to do - how that looked like. It acted like a positive (stimulating) feedback - for both him and myself.

I mean just, wow - compared to the time when we all used film... first had to develop the rolls - and then making contact sheets on photopaper, in order to see some results. It was OK - because at the same time not knowing the results, can also act like an advantage. You focus and concentrate on the work in the studio. You give less things to chance, and you never say "I can address that in Photoshop".

Speaking of...

Versace Gaga

Like some pokey photographer did with Lady Gaga in an AD campaign for Versace... with images that are sub-par, in a way that frankly spoken surprises me. Is this how it works nowadays ?!

I think i have been similar shots with a dark ringed eyes of Madonna from a photo shot a longer time ago. Not much reality to speak of in the final images. More retouch than not. Kind of sad with all that cheating. I mean what about make-up ? Even movies do it better. But "power houses" like Versace... I mean, come on.

Perhaps they think "Ah, the people will eat it all, whatever you give them". Let the goy consume illusions. Well, I donät know, but sometimes i wonder about many illusions in this world.

The real "hero" in the Gaga photo session was the one behind Photoshop trying to cram out the best possible out of such crappy shot of Lady Gaga.

But what the fuck man... is this how low professional photography was fallen ?!

The guy who published these images

on his blog wrote:

But back to Versace and LadyGaga.

The point is: the way this ad was done is at the image of what I described and who it's aiming at: cheap and fake. First of all, the "celebrity". Fading away fame with a weak set up and a bad photographer. The only person who worked hard is the graphic designer who photoshopped the hell out of everything. He is probably the one who leaked that, unless it's an other of those marketing "without make up" stunts.

This is what photography as turns into in the field of advertising: selling thin air, by people like Richardson who frankly can't do shit with a camera, with celebrities that were force fed to the mass. I mean, they don't even make the effort of putting on make up and doing lighting correctly! This proves that they go like "let's shot stuff and bobby will photoshop the crap out of it".  It's a draft for the graphic designer at best, so that he knows where the edges are.

This is why I almost never talk about fashion photography on this blog, because it's mostly a joke, as opposed to reporters, art photographers and others. If you want to be a fashion photographer one day in the future, below average skills will do just fine. All you need is networking, friends, networking and more connected friends.

Illusionary to 90%



Strange and unusual unprofessional photo set up in my opinion.

Reality is... pretty ordinary after all

Versace, seriously ? You got to be kidding me.

Professionals in the early 90s

I think those who worked in the 80s and early 90s, where real professionals, doing real photography, real props, make-up and everything - plus got access to the best possible film material we ever had after decades of development - especially the 90s, which was the very peak of excellent analogue film material to work with.

We never had it better.

Of course in real professional studio back in the early 90s, they used a hell lot of expensive Polaroids, mainly for the photographers themselves to see where the session was going, in that the lighting was proper, the model in a perfect setting and that nothing was left to chance.

Color Films - forgotten for ever

Did you know, there are color film emulsions, that can never be made anymore today ?

The people who did the extremly intricate science behind the sophisticated analog color films, are either dead, forgotten or in pension. Many recipes are forgotten, lost etc.

That is one of the reasons why we have barely any new film emulsion today. Instead they sold to us all kind of crappy old film material (mater rolls) found somewhere in a deep freezer - and then sold as "artsy" special films to very high prices in the wake of "Lomography", and "outdated / out of date films" being so cool and everything.

I find it... uhm... sad, poor and elusive. Most of the resold, rebranded emulsions, "special editions" - are nothing else than low standard color films, with a hell of grainy results. And for that you pay a little fortune per roll.

So. Go fuck you.

Spirit of our Times

Most of today's analog film quality has fallen considerably. Issues with 120-film backing paper leading to imprints of film numbers onto the emulsion, unreliable, unstable emulsions / films, wrong storing of films (too hot), and god knows what else. It is like everyone got so sloppy along the chain/road, doesn't care, gives a rats ass - but continuing on the outside to pretend that everything is fine, or better than ever before.

Pretending. Fooling. Lying. Make-beliefs. And Cowardliness is what you find behind the many.

It is the spirit of our times we living in.