on a side note

i'm twenty years old!








*not my photo

there's no subtlety when it comes to this one

The portrait I chose is entitled "Lusty Spring", shot by one of my very favorite photographers, David LaChapelle. This photo of the famous actress, Angelina Jolie, was shot in 2001. I’ve always been fascinated by LaChapelle’s work and the risks he takes. I would actually consider this one of his more modest images. In this photo, LaChapelle captures Jolie in a moment of pure ecstasy. She is nude in a field of flowers on a beautiful, cloudless day. To me, this image depicts pure bliss. It is an unconventional photo, especially of a celebrity such as Angelina. Rarely do you see people in the limelight let their guards down and let that moment be captured, but LaChapelle managed to do so, and he executed it quite beautifully. The subject is almost perfectly in the center of the photograph with just enough negative space around her. The way she is hunching her shoulders creates beautiful shadows from her collarbones and neck. The contrast of the color of her skin and the bright yellows, oranges, greens, and blues make the photo a captivating one. It almost looks like a still from a very pleasurable dream. The fact that she is in focus and the background, although vibrant, is blurry, really gives the photo dimension. LaChapelle is a great example of a contemporary portrait photographer who is not afraid of pushing the envelope. He began his career in the 80’s shooting for Interview Magazine and since then has been taking more daring and head-turning photographs. He has been published in various fashion magazines shooting editorials, but he is still best known for his portraits.

eu dexei meu coração em São Paulo

i left my heart in São Paulo. here are a few pictures i scanned from my stay there.
camera used: 35mm Pentax

fall editorial?

model: mohammed aliyan
photographer: veronica sequeira

taking advantage of a beautiful day/an example of the type of work i want to do.

credit to mr. aliyan

just wanted to share this photo my friend shot in georgetown. it was just a spur of the moment, taken on a iphone, kind of picture but i love the separation of the different materials and textures in the photo. to me it just shows that beauty doesn't have to be conventional and can be found where you least expect it.

contemporary portraiture: martin schoeller

This past week I made my way over to the portait gallery in chinatown. I already knew who I wanted to write about before I got there. I’ve always been interested in Martin Schoeller’s work ever since I learned about him in high school. This contemporary, german photographer is well known for working with Annie Leibovitz and for his large scale, close up portraits of celebrities and people. When first walking into his exhibit, it’s a little overwhelming. You’re surrounded by very large, very bright body-less heads floating. Schoeller chose to shoot some of his portraits in black and white, but the ones that striked me the most were the colored photos. Other than the fact that the camera is extremely close to the subject’s face to the point of seeing every wrinkle and imperfection, I think the color photos help to capture even more detail from forehead to chin. The image that stood out to me the most was of Jack Nicholson. I feel like Schoeller very easily could have chosen to capture the actor with his infamous grin, but decided to take another aproach and shoot him with a more serious, straightforward pose, not unlike his other subjects. It’s interesting to see this side of Nicholson. Schoeller portrays the actor as a human being rather than as this persona that he has made for himself. Seeing all the celebrities close up like this makes them rather vulnerable. There’s no hiding behind shades or hats, no caked on makeup to hide their imperfections, it’s refreshing. I definitely recommend this exhibit to you guys, there are also other great images that are part of Portraiture Now that are worth checking out, including Steve Pyke’s outstanding black and white images.

geisha and lilies

the photo i chose is by a Japanese photographer by he name of T. Enami (1859-1929). Enami was a prolific photographer who opened his studio in Yokohama in 1892.

Enami was distinguished by his stereoviews of Japan and Japanese culture. those stereoviews were later taken and skillfully hand-tinted into glass lantern slides. above is the raw, undisturbed stereo proof and on the bottom left is the tinted version.

i chose this photo mainly because of the subject. Enami seemed to have a fascination with geishas, but most often than not, he captured them in a more serious state. i loved how even though she really is a geisha, she is dressed as more of a common woman at the time, and the expression on her face is one of pure happiness and amusement. the way she has her arms up helps frame her face, which to me is the focal point of the photo. the tinted version of "geisha and lilies" is simply beautiful. the contrast of the soft pastels and whites against the rich blacks of the background is very striking. even in the raw proof of the photo the contrast between the dark brown and white of her clothing and lilies is prominent.

allow me to introduce myself

my interest in photography started years ago when i discovered boxes full of my mom's old photos. i fell in love with the ability to capture people's expressions and emotions at any given moment. cheesy? maybe, but it's true. i love how i'm able to pick up a photo and remember what was going on and how i felt at that moment. i believe that too many people these days take life's little pleasures and moments for granted, and photography helps preserve them.

with all that talk you would think i would choose wedding photography or event photography as my career, but no. i want to break into the competitive field of fashion photography. my dream is to eventually work for various fashion magazines shooting editorials and traveling all over the world. a girl wanting to work in fashion, how original right? my ultimate goal is to try and stir things up by changing the industry's view on what is beautiful. i feel like i have a fresh eye and a unique perspective on beauty that can help break molds that exist in the industry.

this is my first year at nova, but not of college. i went to old dominion university right after high school, but it just wasn't my thing. i made the great decision to take a year off from school and spent almost half a year living in sao paulo, brasil. i just got back about a month ago, and am very excited about being back at school, working my way towards my a.a.s. in photo and then into art school.