Tagged with 'Photography'

An immersive exhibition of the work of fashion photographer Tim Walker recently opened at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London. Tim Walker: Wonderful Things showcases over 300 items, encompassing photographs and the V&A objects that inspired them, short films, photographic sets and props, scrapbooks and sketches.

Designed by Shona Heath and curated by Susanna Brown, the show celebrates the creative genius of one of the UK’s most inspiring photographers and follows his previous success at Somerset House in 2013 with Tim Walker: Story Teller.

Heath’s spectacular design guides visitors on a journey through Walker’s enchanted world. Text written by Walker celebrates the talents of the many collaborators who help bring his ideas to life, including stylists and creatives Katy England, Amanda Harlech and Jerry Stafford, hair and make-up artists Sam Bryant, Malcolm Edwards and Hungry/Johannes Jaruraak.



Image 1: Tim Walker, Lil' Dragon, Ling Ling and the Dragon
Image 2: Snuff box, The Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Collection on loan to the V&A

Exploring Walker’s contribution to the world of fashion photography, the show opens with a series of images selected from 25 years of magic making for internationally renowned magazines and journals. Highlights from the ‘Retrospective’ gallery include the remarkable set of images that unfolded from the young Walker’s love of Alice in Wonderland, a fantastical musing on the fairyland of his imagination, fueled by a very English upbringing.

Inspired by Peter Pan and Kit WIlliam’s Masquerade, Walker found in Shona Heath, his long term collaborator, a creative mind to match his ambition for sets and landscapes of remarkable complexity. These images have led him to be described as the Cecil Beaton of his generation.

At the heart of Tim Walker: Wonderful Things are 10 major new photographic projects, directly influenced by treasures in the V&A’s vast collection. A hugely inspiring and unique approach to uncovering his creative process, these commissions place this show firmly in the “must-see” category for what is an impressive autumn season for museums in London.



Image 1: Tim Walker, Pen & Ink, Duckie Thot, Aubrey’s shadow
Image 2: The Peacock Skirt, Aubrey Beardsley, 1894

In preparation for the exhibition, Walker visited object stores and conservation studios, meeting many of the museum’s curators, conservators and technicians. He scoured the V&A’s 145 public galleries, scaled the roof of the 12-acre South Kensington site, and explored the labyrinth of Victorian passages below ground level.

Along the way, he encountered luminous stained-glass windows, vivid Indian miniature paintings, jewelled snuffboxes, erotic illustrations, golden shoes, and a 65-metre-long photograph of the Bayeux Tapestry, the largest photograph in the museum’s collection. These and many other rare artefacts have inspired Walker’s monumental new photographs.

“To me, the V&A has always been a palace of dreams,” says Tim Walker. “It’s the most inspiring place in the world. The museum’s collection is so wide and eclectic, and I think that’s why it resonates with me so much. Many of the objects that I saw during my research at the museum made my heart swell and I wanted to try to create a photograph that would relate not only to the physical presence and beauty of that object, but also to my emotional reaction to it. ”



Image 1: Tim Walker Cloud 9, Radhika Nair
Image 2: Krishna and Indra, Lahore, about 1590

Susanna Brown, Curator of Photographs at the V&A, says, “Tim has a wildly inquisitive mind and a boundless energy, he never stops innovating and these new pictures are some of the most spectacular he has ever made.”

Be sure to also look out for some of the original artefacts from the V&A collection that inspired Walker’s creative imagination. A stunning snuffbox and original Aubrey Beardsley illustrations amongst others and a fabulous Super-80 medley of behind the scenes ‘making of’ sequences are must-see highlights.

Tim Walker: Wonderful Things is at the V&A from 21 September 2019 to 8 March 2020. For more details, please visit the V&A website.

Just opened at Somerset House, London until 1st September is a celebration of the work of Erwin Blumenfeld, one of the most innovative fashion and advertising photographers of the twentieth century.

Featuring over ninety restored and coloured corrected prints of  his work, the Blumenfeld Studio exhibition tells the extraordinary story of Blumenfeld's journey behind and in front of the lens.

Born in Berlin in 1897, Blumenfeld was given a camera at the age of 10 by his uncle, a gift that was to help shape his future life.

The young Blumenfeld experimented from an early age with the technical aspects of photography, using innovative darkroom techniques, solarisation and multiple exposures to develop his own trademark style - without  the current temptations of Photoshop.

He initially focused on portraits and the nude female form, influenced in part by the work of Man Ray and the free expression of the Dadaist movement. The use of mirrors, silk, elaborate shadows, abstraction and angles also contributed to his work becoming noticed.

Moving to Paris in 1936, Blumenfeld was introduced by Cecil Beaton to French Vogue and was given a year's contract to work for the magazine.

Following the outbreak of Second World War, and a period of internment, Blumenfeld successfully fled France with his family for America.

Fashion photography for Harper's Bazaar, Vogue and advertising campaigns for Elizabeth Arden, Dior and L'Oréal followed, securing Blumenfeld a near legendary reputation.

Even today Blumenfeld is known as the photographer for having the most Vogue covers, an achievement all the more remarkable for his persistence in refusing to compromise with the magazine's picture editors.

Celebrity models such as Grace Kelly and Audrey Hepburn contributed to the glamour, but the exhibition images demonstrate that throughout Blumenfeld continued to develop  his work.

The confidently striking picture of a single eye, a beauty spot and a perfect pair of red lips for Vogue's March 1950 edition would be unknown on the front covers of today's magazines.

In a fitting tribute to Blumenfeld for Chanel, the Norwegian fashion photographer Solve Sundsbo commented "Blumenfeld was shooting 60 years ago what the rest of us will be shooting in 10 years time”.

Blumenfeld passed away in 1969 in typically unconformist style, believed to have deliberately forced a heart attack on himself by running up and down the Spanish Steps in Rome.

Following his death, an archive of some 8,000 prints were shared between his assistant and three children. Many of these have recently been faithfully restored and digitally mastered.

Blumenfeld left a stunning, much-copied and admired body of work that is surely as inspiring today as it was pioneering in the 1940s and 1950s.

Tim Walker: Story Teller is a new exhibition at Somerset House, London. What would fashion, a love for beautiful clothes and accessories be without the magic of photography?

Vogue has promoted fashion through its illustrations and photography since the foundation of the magazine in 1891. Amongst the most exciting fashion photographers today, Tim Walker has been working with the influential magazine for nearly 20 years.

For another two weeks until 27 January 2013, a selection of Tim Walker’s most exceptional photographs are being presented in a stunning exhibition at Somerset House, London.

Image 1: Karlie Kloss and broken Humpty Dumpty, Rye, East Sussex, 2010
Image 2: Olga Shearer on blue horse, Sennowe Park, Norfolk, 2007

Born in 1970 in England, Tim Walker started taking photographs as a teenager and at the age of 25 published his first fashion story for Vogue. The work of Tim Walker is in a way quintessentially British, with originality, eccentricity and humour.

The images are filled with wonder and fantasy as Tim Walker presents fashion in the context of magical sets, inspired by legendary fairy tales. The 175 photographs may be deceptively simple or elaborately staged using unusual props such as a monstrous giant doll or a life-size Spitfire crashing through a room. In every case, the photograph tells a story.

Image 1: Stella Tennant and pink powder cloud, Eglingham Hall, Northumberland, 2007
Image 2: Giant doll kicks Lindsey Wixson, Eglingham Hall, Northumberland, 2011

This romantic and extravagant style has attracted some of the biggest names in fashion. As well as working on the advertising campaigns of Mulberry, Hermès and Valentino, in recent years Tim Walker has succeeded in shooting some extraordinary images of Marion Cotillard, Kate Moss, Alexander McQueen and Helena Bonham Carter.

Despite this, Walker says the camera "is simply a box put between you and what you want to capture".

Image: Tilda Swinton and aviator goggles, Reykjavik, Iceland, 2011

The fabulous images exhibited at Somerset House include Xiao Wen & Lui Wen dressed as samurai nuns, Karlie Kloss shocked at a broken Humpty Dumpty, Olga Shearer on a dreamlike blue horse, Tilda Swinton in aviator googles and Malgosia Bela with five gravity-defying guardsmen.

If you are unable to visit the Tim Walker: Story Teller exhibition at Somerset House this month, a number of Tim Walker's photographs can also be viewed in the permanent collections of the National Portrait Gallery and the Victoria & Albert Museum, London.

Or take a journey and wander into the fantasy world of Tim Walker.

With the new season, and the arrival of our new ranges of pearl jewellery this Autumn, comes the addition of high definition video to Winterson.

 

Pearls are uniquely beautiful gems, but their round reflective qualities also present some technical challenges for luxury jewellery photographers. To complement the exquisite still photography of our jewellery, this Autumn we have also introduced short video clips of some of our most best selling pieces of pearl jewellery.

 

These videos, shot at the highest quality in a professional studio, are displayed online on the Winterson website, in a choice of high or standard definition and are viewable or a desktop, tablet or mobile device. Each video is shot without enhancement, under specialist lighting conditions, and we hope conveys an alternative close-up and three dimensional view of our pearl jewellery to our customers.

 

Pearls are a favourite choice of jewellery for the autumn, with their colours making them a perfect accompaniment to autumn fashion. Here are three of our favourite earrings from the collections at Winterson.

 

Cultured Tahitian pearls are one of the most beautiful types of pearl in the world. Their dark natural colours sets them apart from the traditional notion of a white pearl and this pair of Pearl and Diamond Earrings will work with many outfits.

Grey Tahitian Pearl and Diamond Stud Earrings with 18ct Gold

 

Last year we launched a colourful collection of Akoya Pearl and Gemstone jewellery with Sophie Breitmeyer. Akoya pearls are one of the most traditional of white pearls, having been first cultured in Japan. These blue sapphire Akoya pearl and drop earrings has been one of the firm favourites.

Blue Sapphire and Akoya Pearl Drop Earrings with 18ct Gold

 

A second piece of jewellery from Sophie Breitmeyer's block colour range for Winterson, the pink ruby gemstones in this pair of Akoya Pearl Earrings truly sparkle in the video clip. These earrings are also available with a matching pendant.

Ruby and Akoya Pearl Stud Earrings with 18ct Gold

 

We will be adding further videos over the coming weeks to our jewellery collections, including our new range of Pearl Rings. If you have a question regarding the video clips, please do contact us.

Pearl photography is certainly an art and capturing the beauty of this gem in a high-resolution image to be used online or in print is one of the most difficult aspects for any jewellery photographer.

The round surfaces of a pearl can throw off a reflection from any angle. Too much light and a pearl’s natural lustre will fade, diffusing its overtones of colour. Too much contrast can reduce a pearl’s natural beauty and will turn a wonderful organic gem into a harsh, metallic object.

Different types of pearl also complicate the photographer’s challenge.  The appearance of the soft white, cream and pink tones of a cultured Akoya pearl are very different to the shimmering complexity of a colour in a Tahitian pearl necklace.

When we are buying pearls for Winterson, we find that consistent lighting is very important so that we can understand the surface and lustre of a pearl fully. As the quality of a pearl can vary so widely, the skill of a photographer for our customers is to represent the jewellery as it would look in real life and yet convey its unique beauty.

We were delighted to see our pearls featured this month in an article on photographing jewellery in The Jeweller magazine and we would like to thank Paul Hartley for his exquisite photography.