my holga

Remember my post about lomography? Well, I did buy a Holga, and I did test it. Here's my very first roll (after the one which came out blank). You like?

mystery fashion accessories

I really don't mean to reveal the entire content of the French Marie Claire 2 (printemps-ete 09), but I really wanted to share this other story. It's so refreshing to see magazines being actually creative. I promise, if you buy it, there will be much more to look at! This editorial is about DIESEL accessories as Hitchcockian stars.

dog eat shoe

Another brilliant editorial in French Marie-Claire 2 (printemps/ete 2009). One of my absolute favorite magazines, huge density of ideas and great images.
At last a little humor in the fashion world (along with perfect styling by Isabelle Roville, and great photography by Peter Lippmann)

PHOTOGRAPHER: PETER LIPPMANN

STYLIST: ISABELLE ROVILLE

Scott Peterman

Another great discovery at the Danzigerprojects gallery: Scott Peterman the first 2 photos are shown in the Chelsea gallery, and I found the others on his website. Enjoy!

all photographs: Scott Peterman

Christophe Maout

I just discovered Parisian photographer Christophe Maout thanks to the 2 first photos below shown at the Danzigerprojects gallery {534 W24th st (212) 629 6778}. Then of course, I looked him up and discovered much more. I love when that happens!

All the flower photographs are from his "Printemps" serie

a few from the "atmospheric" serie

homelux serie

Fashion week Paris March 09

All images are from Christophe Maout's portfolio many more to see there!

just scan it!

Just spoted these scanlike photos in the last Urban Outfitters catalog.
I just wish (so bad) that this was my idea, it's so smart and so perfect for fashion accessories - would work great for small home accessory too...

homemade look

We all know the American Apparel ads. Forget the porn aspect for a second, just look at the "homemade" feel: like you could have shot it yourself with your point-and-shoot.
Well, I've been noticing more and more of this style of photography in magazines and billboard lately.

Spring break editorial in ELLE US May09Marc by Marc Jacobs and Vans adds

American Apparel images from their website

Some might think it's because of the economy: no elaborate lighting and expensive digital equipment, maybe just get an HOLGA (see my hello lomo! post) and the accountant can shoot it right here in the office!
Well, no offense to the accountant, but that's really not the best choice: there's a real difference between a "homemade look" which is controlled, tasteful (sometimes),consistent and plain homemade.
So yes, we still need professional photographers and mostly art directors (wink wink) by the way, check out my portfolio if you haven't in a while.

poladroid

I just discovered Poladroid -a polaroid making software- in Ready Made's blog.
You drag a jpg on the polaroid camera on your desktop and it transforms it into a polaroid, with the darker edges, the color shifts (even from one pola to the next with the same image).
It's as realistic as can be, it makes the oh-so-familiar noise, and you have to wait for the image to appear... You even have to reload the software after 10 photos!! Download it here, it's free.



I know it's cheating, it doesn't replace the real thing, but that said, it's fun.

all photos by me !

altered photographies

The next exhibition at The Photographer's Gallery in London looks interesting... These effects would be great in a fashion editorial.

The Photographic Object

23 April - 13 June 2009

"The internationally renowned photographers in this exhibition use stitching, cutting, piercing, punching and moulding, to explore the potential for photographs to exist as an object between two and three dimensions."

JR in Marie Claire

You need to read this article from the March issue of Marie Claire US... How did I not hear about this French photographer before??? JR is the most inspiring artist I've heard/read about in a while. It's one thing to be (very) talented, but to use it for something that meaningful, now that's something else...

click on the image to see it bigger

Now the images below are from his face2face project in Palestine and Israel.
He and his partner Marco wanted to show the faces of both sides, to both sides, to bring back people to reality and humanity.
In 2007, he and his partner (illegally) posted images both in Palestine and Israel, of 2 taxi drivers, kids, workers, women, teacher, etc. one Israeli, one Palestinian and both making faces.
People didn't necessarily understood at first but he presented it like a game to guess which was which... And that's already a start in showing how much closer they are from each-other than they think.
He says it much better than me on his website, follow the links below.
All these photos are by JR, visit his website if you like it, there are many more there.
And here are the other websites for his projects:
28 millimetres
28 millimetres/women
face2face
carnet de rue

All the photos about his work as from him as well (jr-art.net)
Chapeau JR and thank you Marie Claire !!

Ruud Van Empel

Another great artist I found very inspiring: Ruud Van Empel, right now at the STUX Gallery in New York.
The first batch here is from the World, Moon and Dawn series.

The serie below is called "souvenir". I love the atmosphere, and I love the still lives. Would be great to do a catalog or an editorial like this... Just things, no obvious structure, no focal point, it's not telling you what to look at first, or second. It's pretty much how I would normally define a bad styling job, which is why it's brilliant (to me) !!

All images are courtesy of Stux Gallery New York

I can't help thinking of how to translate this into my world (art direction). Ideas, ideas, ideas!!!
Van Cleef & Arpels did something in the same direction - a perfect green environment with more than perfect people pasted in it.

Shinichi Maruyama - Kucho

This is an exhibition I saw today at Bruce Silverstein Gallery in Chelsea.
Extract of the press release:

"KUSHO, the Japanese word for “writing in the sky” features ten large-scale photographs that represent the midair interplay of black Indian ink and water. The phenomenon that Maruyama captures—two liquids colliding the millisecond before they merge into gray—is the result of various actions and devices. [...] The split-second timing necessary to photograph these pictures is made possible by recent advances in strobe light technology, allowing the artist to capture phenomena to within 7,500th of a second.

As the art historian Maurice Berger writes of the Kusho series: “Maruyama’s photographs both document and formalistically play on the chance effects of these processes, exemplifying the Japanese concept of wabi-sabi—the beauty of things imperfect, impermanent, and incomplete. [...]"

You'll read again about Wabi-Sabi on my blog as it's a passion of mine. Big time.
Oh and I'm proud to say that my father Michel Merck developed the exact same strobe process for my photographer uncle around 30 years ago!

Also, read below the artist's statement. I like it!