Published with a full-page spread!

DC Magazine, March 08 issue - p. 134.

Read my blog entry about the event - Sugar and Champagne -back in my January archives.

portraits

I came across this portrait of celebrity-cum-actress Kate Beckinsale. At first it appeared to be just one of those typical photocall portraits, soft lighting/no harsh shadows etc etc. I was kind of bored, and about to pass over it. I could only see the top half of the image on my web browser, and as I scrolled down to see the rest of the image, all I could focus on were her hands. A pristine face marred by the veiny hands, which because of the angle, are very prominently featured. What an awesome portrait. To me, it makes a great statement about how women, particularly famous actresses, spend so much time and effort into their looks and staying young - and maybe rightly so because so much of their careers depend on it - but some things, some marks of aging, just cannot be hidden.

I love portraits. I love to study them. I love to make them, and I think it's something that I do quite well. While reading Barthes' Camera Lucida, he made a great point about how it is an automatic (modern society) human reaction to "pose" whenever there is a camera trained on a person. It made me think, how can a photographer possibly penetrate the essence of who that person is if the subject is just putting on an act for the camera? I was really quite disturbed. I talked this over with Iwan, a good friend, mentor, and one of my photography professors while at AU. After some discussion, I came to realise that a portrait only reflects a specific moment in time and moment, emotionally and/or physically. It can be revealing as an in your face or very subtle image. It should make the viewer want to think about that person. A good portrait, to me, makes the viewer take a second look after that first glance.

the sartorialist is coming to dc!

Jump for joy! My fave blogger of the moment is having a show at my former place of employment, the David Adamson Gallery! This is too exciting for words.

First of all, the Adamson Gallery has a sweet year ahead of itself, with a retrospective to be held in Beijing later this year, and now this!

DC, I hate to say it, is not known as a fashion hub. That being said, there are definitely great dressers in this city and there are a ton of boutiques - both independent and from New York - that are opening on a rapid basis. And, apparantly, a DC-based designer was robbed at a fashion show in Chicago last week. Must've been some hot gear. So it's in the making, DC continues to be up and coming with huge names making it here all the time. Wasn't Brangelina looking at Georgetown real estate at some point last year?

photoblog du semaine

The Sartorialist. I love it (see link on left navi column). I spent three hours going through his archived posts last Saturday, and am habitually checking it every day now.

The simplicity of the images, singular photographic style, and defined focus (albeit fomulaic), are the site's strongest point. He scopes out areas of cities that make good backdrops, and hunts for the every day, well dressed person. His background in fashion certainly makes him a pro at finding interesting clothing combinations and evaluating why they are successful. I also find interesting how his style has evolved and become more refined. His 2006 images are more personal, a little rustier, and less colour dense as opposed to the refined, perfect lighting, colour saturated images that he produces now. I think it's great!

What I truly love about the site, and at the same time inspired yet intimidated by, is that he came up with a simple idea that has proven to be effective. He's now shooting for GQ, Vogue Nippon, and various other high-brow fashion mags.

Arts-related quotes

Just some interesting quotes and phrases I've heard over the past few days. I won't try to analyze these for you.

Photography is the language of travel (National Geographic Travel Photography Seminar / Jim Richardson)

Idea-based assets (Wall Street Journal)

The purpose of art is to inform and delight (Horace)

Art is a survival mechanism for the human species (Milton Glaser)

The shortest distance between two people is a story (?)

Information expands the capacity of the mind to change. Persuasion limits that capacity. Beliefs must be held lightly, because certainty is frequently the enemy of truth. (Milton Glaser, Where the Truth Lies: A Symposium on Propaganda Today, keynote speech, Feb. 15, 2008)

slideluck potshow

Slideluck potshow is coming to Touchstone Gallery this Saturday, Feb. 16 from 7-11Pm. This event was created by an artist in Seattle, and is now traveling across the US and Latin America, including Rio de Janiero, Brasil and Bogota, Colombia.

I will be photographing this event for DC Magazine.

An open event, artists are encouraged to submit up to 5 slides of their work by a certain deadline. At the event itself, attendees are responsible for bringing beverages and food for all to enjoy. The spectacular slideshow begins after the potluck.

Check the website out for yourself: http://www.slideluckpotshow.com/index.php

curves

a friend from artomatic just told me about the curves tool in photoshop. i feel like i've been enlightened! he explained that it helps open up shadows and midtones, and i have to say, i've spent the majority of my weekend adjusting photos with this tool - my photos from the iGorman event i shot last Thursday look so much better because of it. i'm still relatively new to digital photography (i am a self-professed analog photographer) and this is just an awesome, awesome thing.