MAX VADUKUL: PHOTOGRAPHING HISTORY by Navo

Sir Paul McCartney, Mother Theresa and Amy Winehouse photographed by Mr. Vadukul

“The fashion industry is ‘racist’, fashion magazines are racist” -Dame Vivienne Westwood, Fashion Designer

“Women of colour are not a trend. That’s the bottom line…In some instances, black models are being sidelined by major modelling agencies.” -Naomi Campbell, Supermodel

“Whenever I ask to use a black model I am given excuses such as ‘black models are not aspirational in some markets’ or ‘they do not reflect the brands values.’ Normally, however, no reason is given. By my own inaction, I am guilty of allowing racism to be normalized and accepted in this business. This has made me deeply sad and increasingly angry.” – Nick Knight, Fashion Photographer

THE 44TH PRESIDENT

(NY) They always say ‘let your work speak for itself’.   A significant number of people think US President Obama is dangerously naïve; a naïve president in naïve times. The moment he was chosen by the American people to be its 44th president, he took upon himself a great challenge and a burden of responsibility.   He was elected and, now, has to be given a chance to prove himself through his work.

I don’t really care about his politics but when he won, he took over a position of power from the last 43 white presidents of a multi-colored nation.  His victory made me, like the rest of the world, see the future: our future as a minority.

Obama’s victory is very much like Halle Berry winning the first major acting award for a non-white person in 82 years of the Oscars.  Her victory started the outpour of non-white actor and director winners in the years to follow.

People like Obama and Berry, and even film director Ang Lee (the first Asian and non-Caucasian director to win an oscar in 82 years), have opened the doors for young minorities who want to grow up as a great thespian, a great leader, or a great visionary.  Simply put, whether or not you like Obama’s leadership or Berry’s acting, it doesn’t matter. They already made history.

SOUTHEAST ASIAN BOY

I have always wanted to be a photographer, a really good one.  I made the life decision in my teens.  But growing up in the early 90′s up until now, when I ask you who’s the top iconic fashion photographers on the top of your head?

Without Google or Wikipedia‘s assistance, you’ll probably say Steven Klein? Am I hearing Steven Meisel? The infamous Uncle Terry Richardson, perhaps? How about Uncle Bruce Weber? Herb Ritts? Irving Penn? Helmut Newton? Does Patrick Demarchelier float your boat?

I might say the same names, why are their names top of mind? Why are they household names?

The one thing in common about them is that they are all relatively great at what they do.  They are Photography gods.  Oh, I forgot to mention, one other common thing about them. they’re all Caucasian men.

What does that mean for a South East Asian boy like me who grew up in the 90′s  and deliriously dreamed to be one of them one day? Maybe just to come close to their success and not exactly be them.

How can I convince myself it’s possible? Am I reaching for the impossible? Is it a color-blind industry or am I just dangerously naïve?

Getting to  the top of the fashion food chain, will it solely be based on your work? One thing for sure, the journey of minorities in Hollywood and the White House have already found their champions, for the fashion photography world it seems like the journey is still a long way home.

THE VADUKUL LAND

I walked into this minimalist post-production studio just below Mr. Vadukul’s Mid-East townhouse in Manhattan, just a day after his photoshoot with actor Jude Law. I found out he lives next door to one of the Coen Brothers and I was greeted by a wall size framed image of one of his works: a group portrait of  Robert Downey Jr., Sting and Hugh Jackman in one crisp black and white shot, Vadukul style.

After a brief tour I noticed that photography is only one layer of this man’s complex life and work.

One of the most stylish photographer I know just made me a tea, smoked a cigar and showed me some of his travels with friends and lovely family.  I was treated to behind the scenes of his shoots and some unreleased personal works, I’m in Vadukul land for an entire afternoon.   I love this blog!

NAIROBI

English is not my first language, I am a minority for many reasons.  When I told Max that one of the reasons I look up to him is because he is one of the few portrait and fashion photography top guns who is non-white.  I also mentioned how much I admire that he still has a unique vision that bolsters his success and staying power. Max immediately told me he didn’t want to play the “race card”, the “victim card”, or the “sympathy card”, since he never experienced any racism that impacted his career as a photographer when he was starting. Mr. Vadukul is, definitely, a class act.

But I wanted to play the “racism-in-fashion-awareness-card”, quoting the iconic photographer Nick Knight, :“By my own inaction, I am guilty of allowing racism to be normalized and accepted in this business.”

Notable names in fashion or portrait photography like Koto Bolofo, Walter Chin, and Martin Schoeller are only a handful of minorities that had made their mark but still not as icons.  I’m sure they have their war stories about racism.

In a Frieze Magazine interview in 1992, a man commented about the fashion world as “a very immature business… It’s for young people—your audience is sixteen to twenty-year-old girls… Fashion photography can swallow you up with its champagne and caviar lifestyle.” His name is Max Vadukul.

Born to an Indian parents in Nairobi, educated in England, Vadukul was discovered by Japanese fashion designer, Yohji Yamamoto in 1984.  While living in Paris, he began taking photographs for The Face magazine as well as  French, American and Italian editions of Vogue in the early 80s.  He photographed more portraits for The New Yorker than the legendary Helmut Newton and Richard Avedon.  He shot at least a dozen covers for Rolling Stone magazine and has also worked for Italian Vogue, Vogue Hommes International, i-D, Chloé and Armani.

A documentary called Self-Portrait: Max Vadukul in 2000 was produced by the National Geographic Channel,

Now, he resides and work in New York City with his wife, Nicoletta Santoro, International Fashion Director at Large of VOGUE China , and their two children: Alex and Eloise.

Max Vadukul is an important part of history more than we know. This interview is a celebration of a man who has inspired people like me.  Every time I look at his powerful and unforgettable portraits, I know that I will be ok.

GO GET SIR PAUL

LOPE NAVO: Thank you for having time for a one-on-one interview with me Max, I literally grew up with your work, I can tell from your portfolio that your a traveller like me and so far I can say I can speak 3 different languages fluently, Im interested to know how many languages do you speak? And how many countries in your lifetime have you lived in?
MAX VADUKUL: I can speak English, French, Italian and Gujarati, and they have all been learnt by living in France or England or married to an Italian or by birth. So I can navigate a lot of land, ha ha . I have lived in Kenya, England, France, Italy, and USA, in my lifetime so far who knows which one is next .

NAVO: What’s your top 3 favorite cities in the world? and why?
VADUKUL: 1. London, it’s so well proportioned and so rich in what a city can offer.
2. New York, it’s the most energetic and efficient city there is.
3. Istanbul, it’s steeped in history and the food is amazing.

NAVO: I looove Turkish food and I pigged out on it when I lived in the middle east on my early 20′s where I actually discovered my love for travel and portrait photography, what is your most unforgettable portrait photo shoot and why?
VADUKUL: I think it would have to be Paul McCartney, I was in India on holiday and had not completed the vacation when Rolling Stone called me and asked if I can come back to NYC to shoot the cover, I was reluctant as I did not want to leave my family alone, but I remember my kids saying “Get out of here!! Go get Sir Paul”, I did left and when I met Sir Paul, I quivered, I knew I was standing in front of a Beatle, it’s strange but it really was amazing, the highlight was Paul telling me about how the Beatles got to india, a long story!

NELSON MANDELA

NAVO: What is it like photographing another historical legend like Mr. Nelson Mandela?
VADUKUL: Mr. Mandela is everything I had expected, a prince. Charming all the way through and a statesman. I loved to be next to him even for a short time, the meeting happened in Monte Carlo in a 5 star hotel and his room was occupied by his family and Bono, when you photograph some one like Nelson Mandela it’s not work for me it was a chance to touch history.

NAVO: Who would you consider a visionary in the photography history?
VADUKUL: Richard Avedon

NAVO: There are thousands of new photographers each year and hundreds actually make it to the magazines and ad campaigns, are you following any of the new generation of photographer’s work? Anyone that stands out for you?
VADUKUL: Thousands yes but I only remember Nick Knight and Steven Meisel, kings have been replaced by echoes, sad to say.

NAVO: I have to say Richard Avedon, Nick Knight and Steven Meisel have inspired many generations of photographers including me, what inspires a Max Vadukul?
VADUKUL: I am wide open to life and its possibilities, inspiration comes from anywhere its infinite. I love history books, strong news journalism like the Guardian Newspaper, nothing fluffy, so for me bring it on. I am a good editor of what fits my frame.

AFRICA

NAVO: Whats the most iconic images that you remember while growing up Max?
VADUKUL: A lot of album art created by Hipnosis. I was really excited by the album art from Pink Floyd to Led Zep, the first time I saw Jumping Jack flash on tv, the video was mind-blowing with the dark guitar riff, the war paint makeup on Mick, unforgettable.

NAVO: What’s your favorite piece of artwork you own?
VADUKUL: In my home I own one piece of photography I bought for my wife, a photograph by Joseph Koudelka, a black dog in b&w sits on my mantel piece.

NAVO: Do you remember how old where you the first time you used a camera?
VADUKUL: I was about ten and I used my father’s Pentax Spotmatic.

NAVO: Why did you become a photographer?
VADUKUL: So many life experiences affect you, like my father taking me on safari’s on the east coast of Africa with a car loaded with telescopes and photographic gears. I got to see a lot of land and he was always taking pictures, so I think the seeds were there. Why?…well I love photography all of it was such a passion that there was no other choice plus it gave me a chance to be independent from tradition. I think I was 13 years old and I knew this is my destiny.

ALEX, ELOISE & NICOLETTA

NAVO: What does your love ones think about your craft and your profession?
VADUKUL: My parents were very proud when I had finally made it, but they were very grounded. I have two 20-year-old twins Alex, Eloise and my wife Nicoletta they look at everything and will be very harsh on the critique, no ego inflating stuff and we enjoy looking at the work, but it’s not an obsession for them they have their own lives, I think they know it’s very tough, I would say one of the most difficult professions to hold, so each to his own.

NAVO: What is your favorite part in being a photographer Max?
VADUKUL: Just to get my images published the way I see it is a thrill and honestly I love every aspect of my work, I simply love it .

NAVO: What do you think of the disappearance of a lot of magazines (367 magazines closed in 2009) for the past years?
VADUKUL: Too many magazines and it got to be like the Cane frogs in Australia just had to be a cull, my eyes would go blind at a magazine store so many and so much rubbish, I think less is more and quality will stand. All the echoes and hanger-ons will eventually die.

WHITE TIGER

NAVO: What’s an ideal regular vacation for you?
VADUKUL: Vacation for me is decompression time. I simply veg out, usually just by the ocean, reading, scuba diving, usually with the family.

NAVO: What’s the last book you’ve read lately and what is it about?
VADUKUL: “White Tiger “ by Aravind Adiga, it’s a dark comedy about a ‘social entrepreneur’ who committed murder. Set in modern India (Bangalore) and it’s a roller coaster of a book, very unsettling and dark. One of the best books I have read  and I’m sure they will produce a movie out of this.

NAVO: What’s your top 3 favorite films and why?
VADUKUL: 1. ‘Wrath of God’ by Werner Herzog (1972), it’s the search for man’s lust for gold and a journey into a hopeless void, stunning photography. 2. ‘Peeping Tom’ by Michael Powell (1960), my favorite director because its one of the most disturbing films upto this day, a snuff movie stylized, destroyed the directors career. 3. ‘Lawrence of Arabia’ by Sir David Lean (1962), it’s a remarkable study of a perplexing character. I love all of David Lean’s films.

NAVO: I have to say the film Lawrence of Arabia is one of the reasons I was intrigued by the arab culture and I enjoyed living in the cities of Riyadh, Dammam and Dubai. Who’s your top 3 favorite Hollywood Icons?
VADUKUL: Clint Eastwood , Betty Davis, and Alfred Hitchcock.

NAVO: What’s your top 3 favorite records of all time Max?
VADUKUL: 1. The Wall, Pink Floyd, 2. Pat Metheny, Offramp, 3. Exile On Main Street, Rolling Stones.

CHARLES DARWIN

NAVO: What can you recommend to the young photographers who wants to make a living doing what you do?
VADUKUL: I do not wish to be didactic, but I would say you have one life just be yourself and do it your way, you can’t be pleasing everyone.

NAVO: If anybody have told me months ago, years ago that one day I’ll be interviewing you, I would say they’re nuts, and now here we are and I want to fish, what do you think about my work? As a young photographer, and as a writer/blogger?
VADUKUL: Well Mr. Navo your website is clean, clear and easy to navigate, clearly you are not a bullshitter, you say it the way it is and your work is to be praised and lifted. It’s a big effort so I think to get to that level of simplicity, you have a terrific website. I enjoyed your interviews and your questions, your life is only as good as the questions you ask, remember that. As a young photographer, I was showing your work to my daughter Eloïse who is 20 and she was like “wow, this guy is really good” and I thought that you have an eye and it’s up to you to be a one-off, so try to work on that.

NAVO: You have photographed a significant numbers of historical figures, if you’ll get a chance to photograph a dead historical figure, who will it be and why?
VADUKUL: Well I’m going to go off track here, I would have loved to have photographed Charles Darwin on his exploration to the Galápagos on the H.M.S. Beagle. Because the sights and the discovery he made would have made an incredible exhibition and because his insight into evolution is the most important discovery since we knew the earth was not flat.

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www.maxvadukul.com/

www.art-dept.com/artists/vadukul/

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Max_Vadukul

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Books
•    Max: Photographs by Max Vadukul. New York: Callaway Publications, 2000.
•    Crazy Horse. New York: Piccolo Press, 2001.

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Related Entry: http://naiveboy.com/2010/01/15/mert-alas-a-fashion-icon-interview-by-navo/

________________________

info@navostudios.com

http://navostudios.com/

©2009 Dangerously Naive

©2009 Naiveboy.com

GREG GORMAN: A HOLLYWOOD ICON INTERVIEW by Navo

“What is fame? The advantage of being known by people of whom you yourself know nothing, and for whom you care as little.” – Lord Byron, English poet and satirist (1788-1824)

THE FAN AND THE PHOTOGRAPHER

(LA) When can I separate the fan from the photographer? I’ve started this blog actively 4 months ago a day after the legendary lensman Mr. Irving Penn died, his lost was my first blog entry. Ever since, interviewing photographers has given me a great pleasure and opportunity to discover things about myself and I can’t help but be starstrucked by these visionaries, for some people it sounds like a straight-up major ass-kissing articles, but only a true fan of portrait photography, like me, can understand the surreal feeling of this experience. Most of the photographers that I had featured and will be featured in Naiveboy.com are probably the busiest people you’ll ever meet in your life, they travel a lot, they work everyday, they’re the most in-demand people in the industry and you’ll rarely read them in blogs for an intensive interview like this, because in the photography world that I live in, they are the rock stars, they are the celebrities, they are the legends.

HOW TO LOSE FRIENDS & ALIENATE PEOPLE

In the 2008 film How to Lose Friends & Alienate People starring Simon Pegg as Sidney Young, based on the memoir (with the same title) of British journalist Toby Young and the tale of his stint in New York as a contributing editor for Vanity Fair magazine. The movie version was neither sharp nor satirical, the film misses the point of the source material completely, but there are few parts in the film that made the movie worth watching for me, I remember the promising first 2 seconds, the first line was “When I was a kid I used to think there was a special place where all the movie stars lived, a kind of Shangri-La, if you can just get inside there, you’ll be happy, forever.” and the scene where Young have a moment with his philosopher/published author father in his dilapidated New York city apartment:

Father: I picked up your magazine at the airport, most enjoyable, I particularly like the young hollywood actress who said she would like to start a theatre career somewhere small like London or England (laughed)
Sidney Young: Why would you always do this?
Father: It’s just a little joke.
Sidney Young: It’s not a little joke, its just your way of saying that what I do is worthless.
Father: I don’t think it’s worthless, I just think you know in your heart that you could be doing more with your life.
Sidney Young: More? Sharp magazine (Vanity Fair magazine) is one of the most respected magazine’s in the world, there’s a million hacks that would kill to be where I am. You know who I hang out with just today? Orlando Bloom.
Father: (paused) I don’t know who that is?
Sidney Young: Ofcourse you don’t know who that is, you thought Brad Pitt was a cave in Yorkshire. Most people do know who that is. And most people wouldn’t think a journalist hanging out with celebrities like that was a disappointment.

ADORATION

I think those two scenes are hilarious but also true, it’s familiar for many of us, working in an industry of physical appearances you are surrounded by unreal people who worship celebrities like no one else does, and it’s their world and some of us just happen to work on it. For the rest of the world (like Young’s philosopher father) they don’t even exist. I just have this naive idea of a world, where a generation growing up adoring scientist, astronauts, artist, musicians, philosophers, doctors and NOT brain-dead pop stars, no-talent movie stars, politicians, and reality show stars that are being force-fed to us every single day of our lives.

MR. HENDRIX

Jimi Hendrix is considered by most of us, if not all of us, as the greatest electric guitarist in the history of rock music, one of the most influential musicians in the human history. Can you imagine a kid growing up looking up to a Jimi Hendrix?  You can’t deny that most musicians born during and after Hendrix have been a fan and has been starstrucked once in their lives by his genius,  probably some of those adoring fan’s in the 60′s and the 70′s buying his concert tickets, following him in tours, collecting all his records, have all growned up and now leading the modern music industry, and for another 18-year-old boy born in Kansas City, Missouri, have photographed Mr. Hendrix and changed his life completely, the boy became an influential voice in the world of photography and his name is Greg Gorman. I think that’s how electricity is transfered from person to person, you start out as a fan of someone else’s work.

MR. DICAPRIO

I was in highschool the first time I got aware of Mr. Gorman’s work, it was the unforgettable images of the very talented young actor Leonardo DiCaprio, the beautiful faces of Maxwell Caulfield, Keanu Reeves, Jared Leto, Greg Knudson, Heath Ledger, Jude Law, Johnny Depp, and Rodney Harvey that made me an instant fan. Greg Gorman’s works that have appeared in Esquire, GQ, Interview, Life, Vogue, Newsweek, Rolling Stone, Time, and Vanity Fair magazines have always reminded me of my teen years and why I love the beautiful celebrities and what they represent to me as a photographer now, they are the muses.

This world-exclusive one-on-one interview with Mr. Gorman is a full circle for me, the 18-year-old boy who once collected the images of a Mr. DiCaprio is sitting for a Q&A with the 18-year-old boy who have once have photographed a Mr. Hendrix.

LIVE IN PARIS VOLUME 2

LOPE NAVO: Thank you for dropping by Naiveboy.com Greg, I’ve chatted with you for a while now and I’ve been itching to ask what is it like photographing a Jimi Hendrix?
GREG GORMAN: I really don’t remember! I was 18 years old and it was my first experience shooting.  I was probably stoned and enjoying the concert. The following morning after seeing Jimi Hendrix , I processed the film in a friend’s dark room and when I saw the image coming up in the developer, I was hooked!  I subsequently enrolled in a photojournalism class at the University of Kansas where I began my formal studies.

NAVO: What camera did you use?
GORMAN: A Honeywell Pentax 35mm camera with an 85mm lens.

NAVO: What’s your top 3 favorite albums/records of all time?
GORMAN: 1. Miles Davis “In a Silent Way”, 2. Chet Baker “Live in Paris Volume 2”, and John Coltrane “A Love Supreme”

THREE MOST BEAUTIFUL FACES

NAVO: You’ve basically photographed virtually all the most beautiful people in the world in my book, I remember very clearly from highschool about your sublime images of young Maxwell Caulfield, Keanu Reeves, Jared Leto, Greg Knudson, Heath Ledger, Rodney Harvey, and Leonardo DiCaprio. Who’s the 3 most beautiful faces you’ve photographed?

GORMAN: 1. Kim Basinger, 2. Sophia Loren, and 3. Alex Pettyfer.

HOW MUCH DID THEY PAY YOU SON?

NAVO: What do you think is the best part in being a photographer?
GORMAN: The best part about being a photographer above and beyond the energy rush of knowing when you are connecting photographically with the subject is the opportunity of getting the chance to meet and know the individuals in front of your lens that in most ordinary circumstances might never happen.  I don’t even necessarily mean a celebrity per se but any individual you might fancy getting to know and the prospects of them being photographed can often lead to a friendship if the communication channels are open and flowing.  Part of the entire process is about being part-time psychologist - to be able to come up or down to their level to put them at ease: make them feel comfortable and most of all confident, attractive and in touch with themselves.

NAVO: At what point did you know you want  a career in photography?
GORMAN: That one on one communication that no other profession can provide like photography. My mother was always extremely supportive and encouraging.  My father thought it was a waste of my time because he thought I would never make enough money! After photographing the five most powerful women in Hollywood (Barbra Streisand, Jessica Lange, Sally Field, Goldie Hawn, Jane Fonda) for the cover of Life Magazine, I told my father, thinking it would impress him, but his response to me was “how much did they pay you, son?”

NAVO: Speaking of Life Magazine, I’ve asked this question a couple of times to my recent interviews, there are 367 magazines closed in 2009 alone, what do you think about this?
GORMAN: I think in many ways the onset of digital as great as it is in many of the arenas of photography, has been detrimental in terms of the hard copy.  Particularly in the world of journalism. I prefer to look at a magazine while holding it in my hands – not reading it online.

NAVO: Whats the last book you’ve read lately and what is it about?
GORMAN: The Billionaire’s Vinegar by Benjamin Wallace.  It was basically about the sale of the world’s most expensive bottle of wine and the entire sham behind it.

NAVO: Who’s your favorite historical figure?
GORMAN: Mikhail Gorbachev for his contributions to Global Green and for being forefront in creating the awareness of our planet’s need to solve its environmental issues.

HOLLYWOOD ICONS

NAVO: If you’ll get a chance to photograph a dead icon, who will it be and why?
GORMAN: Strangely, I would have liked to photograph Boris Karloff or Bela Lugosi.  That stems from my childhood infatuation with horror films and monster movies.

NAVO: Speaking of Hollywood movies, Whats your top 3 favorite films and why?

GORMAN: 1. Ingmar Bergman‘s ’Skammen’/ ‘Shame‘ (1968),  for it’s cinematography and content, 2. Federico Fellini‘s ‘8 & ½’ (1963), need I say more?, 3. Akira Kurosawa‘s ‘Dodesukaden‘ (1970) and ‘Dersu Uzala‘ (1975), beautifully realized fables.

NAVO: Those are some of the best film directors that ever lived, who’s your top 3 favorite Hollywood Icons then?
GORMAN: 1. Bette Davis, 2. Martin Scorcese, and 3. George Hurrell

NAVO: How about your top 3 favorite actors of all time?
GORMAN: 1. Leonardo DiCaprio, 2. John Hurt, and 3. Divine

NAVO: Top 3 favorite actress?
GORMAN: 1. Bridget Bardot, 2. Liv Ullman, and 3. Divine

ESCAPE THE HOLLYWOOD SYNDROME

NAVO: What is the top 5 favorite movie posters you’ve ever shot?
GORMAN: 1. Tootsie, 2. Pearl Harbor, 3. Man in Iron Mask, 4. King Arthur, and 5. Pirates of the Caribbean.

NAVO: One thing I always remember growing up looking at your work, besides your signature breathtaking bodyscapes are the landscapes and locations that you use in your backdrops. Whats your top 3 favorite locations that you’ve ever shot and why?
GORMAN: 1. The Sand Dunes at Ten Mile Beach near Mendocino for their continual change and mystery which present challenges each time I shoot there. 2. The Okavango Delta in Botswana for its enormous scope and spiritual presence. 3. Pierce Brosnan’s new beach house during construction! The house is filled with an incredible amount of natural light.  The windows are covered with plastic, since they haven’t been installed yet, which gives the enormous space the feeling of one giant soft box of natural light. Quite extraordinary!

NAVO: What’s an ideal vacation getaway for a Greg Gorman?
GORMAN: An ideal vacation for me depends on my needs and they can vary greatly! Sometimes I just need total downtime to escape the Hollywood Syndrome and that usually means time alone with my dogs at my Mendocino retreat-hiking/fishing and biking.  Other times at this stage of my life, I enjoy traveling to far away places I have yet to see and visit.  This has been pretty high on my priority list.  I have tried to incorporate teaching workshops in cities where I can spend more time enjoying the essence of the locales.  I am teaching this spring for instance in Paris, Tel Aviv and on the coast of the Baltic Sea in Zingst.  Last year I taught in San Miguel and in Budapest.  It has been great because I have actually had enough time in each city to really get a feeling of day-to-day life there.

IN THEIR YOUTH

NAVO: Where were you born and where did you grew up?
GORMAN: I was born in Kansas City, Missouri and grew up in Mission Hills, Kansas.  I moved to Los Angeles at age 20 in 1970 after attending the University of Kansas.

NAVO: I got the copy of your latest book Greg Gorman ‘In their Youth’ and I can’t deny the fact that I have a crush on the boy holding a huge Trout on the book jacket. What’s the story behind it?
GORMAN: Kind of a funny story! When I was putting the project together in the final stages, my very dear friend, Audrey Wells, a terrific screenwriter and director, who interviewed me for the forward felt that since so many of the images in the book were also taken when I was in my ‘youth’ that my portrait should reflect a similar time in my life.  This image is so appropriate because it was taken by one of my best friends at the time, who coincidentally was the same person who loaned me his camera to photograph Jimi Hendrix and helped me process the film in his darkroom.  His name is Marlin”Buzz” Gher and he is a dental surgeon living with his family near San Diego. We were on a rafting trip in Wyoming where I caught this German Brown Trout in the Green River in Pinedale, Wyoming.  I love to fish so I felt this picture held many memories and couldn’t have been more fitting considering all the ties!

NAVO: Now its my time to fish, I consider you to be one of the most influential portrait photographer out there, your iconic b&w images and your unforgettable photo books have been one of my greatest inspirations growing up and loving photography, I would love to know what do you think of my work?
GORMAN: I felt your images not only grasped the subjects in a bold austere way but presented the subjects in a very good light! Something I can’t say about many of today’s photographers whose imagery is this strange non-flattering pseudo editorial style that in most cases I find rather appalling and terribly forgettable in terms of memorable images. That is one of the things that drew me to your work – your respect for your subjects.

NAVO: What can you advise the young men and women who wants to make a living photographing the most beautiful and interesting people in the world?
GORMAN: Good fucking luck! Follow your heart, start by photographing people you are very attracted to as this will most likely yield the best results to get you started, develop and showcase your own unique style to separate you from all those out there copying others.  Be aware of all the editorial work being created so you can set a benchmark in achieving your success.

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GREG GORMAN Books
•    Greg Gorman – Volume I (1989)
•    Greg Gorman – Volume II (1991)
•    Greg Gorman Inside Life (1996) (foreword by John Waters) ISBN 978-0847819980
•    Greg Gorman As I see It (2001) ISBN 978-1576870877
•    Greg Gorman Perspectives (2002)
•    Greg Gorman: Just Between Us (2003) ISBN 978-1892041807
•    Journal of the 21st Century: Greg Gorman (2007)
•    In Their Youth: Early Portraits (2009) ISBN 978-8862080972

Amazon.com: Greg Gorman: In Their Youth (9788862080972): Greg Gorman, Audrey Wells: Books

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http://www.gormanworkshops.com

http://www.gormanphotography.com

http://www.photopress-production.com

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Amazon.com: How To Lose Friends And Alienate People: A Memoir (9780306812279): Toby Young: Books

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Related Entry: http://naiveboy.com/2010/01/15/mert-alas-a-fashion-icon-interview-by-navo/

________________________

info@navostudios.com

http://navostudios.com/

©2009 Dangerously Naive

©2009 Naiveboy.com

THE TEN: GREATEST FILMS ABOUT PHOTOGRAPHERS by Navo

DAMN, I NEED TO HIT THE GYM AGAIN

Why did I become a photographer? Do I really love taking pictures or I just like the idea of being a “photographer”? Do I have the right reasons for my passion and obsession for this hobby, for this job? Can a person fake his talent, his eye, his happiness, his vision? Can I just act like a photographer for decades, for the rest of my life and get away with it? Can I just be easily a photographer the moment I invest in a digital camera? I think the most important question is - CAN I FOOL MYSELF AND THE WORLD? I was 18 when I took my first pictures in art school, that was right after I gave up painting and writing and focused on my photography and after a couple of years worked as a graphic designer in Saudi Arabia and Dubai, later Hong Kong, my designing job supported my love for travelling and documenting them, the skylines, the people, the parties, the beaches, the friends, then one day got tapped in Dubai to shoot a DSquared2 advertorial and the rest is history as they say, that was roughly 6 years ago, and the first 3 years was a slow pace into the transition to photography and giving up graphic design altogether, once you learn to love something you need more time to care for them, being a camera person keeps me busy and occupies most of my days for the past years, I take portraits of beautiful people, “Damn, I need to hit the gym again” is the no# 1 reaction to my work, especially with men, I don’t know if thats a good sign, but for some reason I think I should get a commission to all the countless gym memberships I sold, I take pictures of men like I take pictures of buildings, they have to look magnificent, naked, architectural and mysterious.

THE ARTIST & THE POLITICIAN

It’s been a work in progress and a never-ending learning and developing my style that I could call my own, I thrive on adversity, makes life more interesting and journal-worthy. But like any other industries, you don’t only have to worry about your trade and your own business, the industry of beautiful people is also filled with the nasties, politics is deeply entrenched in the very structure of the fashion industry machine. There’s more politics in the fashion house than the white house, and half the wit and education, thats the irony. Thousands of very talented individuals, countless photographers gave up the battle, lensmen who loves photography to their bones, but hates the politics, artists who can’t stomach it, or just basically not built for it. Everytime you look at a billboard in Time Square,  you can’t help but wonder, what this people behind this beautiful pictures have to give up, have to sell, have to kill to get this job? Yes, gone are the days when photography is only about taking good pictures, knowing the camera, going to an art school or just get a Photography for Dummies book, it’s not only about lenses and tripods and reflectors, it’s not only about models and lighting and creativity anymore. You have to be a hustler, a mobster, a bully, a pimp, a thief or a prostitute to be on the top of the foodchain, and unfortunately there’s no university in the world you can learn Fashion Industry Politics or even a Fashion Politics for Dummies book.

MIDNIGHT MEAT TRAIN, THE SEQUEL

L. B. ‘Jeff’ Jefferies, Diane Arbus, Billy Kwan, Laura Mars, Harlen Maguire, Dick Avery, Anna Cameron,  Jeff Kohlver, Seymour ‘SY’ Parrish, Lucy Berliner, Alexandre Rodrigues, Russell Price , Charles Castle, Robert Kincaid and Richard Boyle are some of the most unforgettable characters that I’ve ever seen in the silver screen and there’s one thread that binds them all together. The hunky thespians (some of my favorite actors today)—Jude Law (Sherlock Holmes 2009), Patrick Wilson (Watchmen 2009), and Bradley Cooper (Hangover 2009),  cinematic legends—Clint Eastwood (Gran Torino 2008),  James Stewart (The Man Who Knew Too Much 1956), Fred Astaire (The Sky’s the Limit 1943) and Robin Williams (Mrs. Doubtfire 1993), and Hollywood megastars—Nicole Kidman (The Portrait of a Lady 1996), Julia Roberts (Pretty Woman 1990), and Faye Dunaway (Bonnie and Clyde 1967) have something in common. They will always be my personal favorite actors, because they played once in their remarkable careers a role with bravado, grace and intelligence—the role of a photographer.

If your life is a movie, will it be a Romance? A Thriller, a Mystery or Crime saga?  Perhaps Drama, a War or Adventure Epic? A Horror or a Comedy? A Musical or an Action Sci-fi? Some people who thinks they know me (the Frenemies**) will say my life is a downright HORROR movie, a gay psychopath monster photographer who makes everyone’s lives miserable, sounds like “The Midnight Meat Train, The Sequel” to me, some people say I’m also DRAMATIC, so i guess, there’s a possible bromance lurking between the bloodbath, my life has been casualy summarized into a D-list cult flick in the 70′s.

OSCARS LOVES SHUTTER BUGS

Obviously film and photography are close relatives both use film or digital cameras to capture the world as they see it and tell their different stories. The Academy Awards (Oscars) obviously loves photographers, most films featured on the list are either nominated or have won a major award, most of them for their roles as photographers, many iconic and important films all over the world revolves around that guy (or girl) holding a 35mm, whether they’re risking their lives to reveal a monster of war or a revolution, psychopatic photographers tracking or stalking the protagonist or a photographer tracking a psychopath,  fashion photographers having illicit and scandalous sexual affairs, shutter bugs falling in love with their muse or just becoming obsessed with their subjects, or a combination of all that, these are the characters that have helped millions of moviegoers around the globe (including me) a glimpse into the life of the imaginary, the gritty, the tender, the romantic, the obscene, the savage, the genius and the human—the photographer.

**a future article you’ll find here in Dangerously Naive.

1.

Rear Window (1954)
Through his rear window and the eye of his powerful camera he watched a great city tell on itself, expose its cheating ways…and Murder!

The legend Alfred Hitchcock exerted full potential of suspense in this masterpiece.  Could easily be my favorite movie of all time. James Stewart as L. B. ‘Jeff’ Jefferies, a wheelchair bound photographer spies on his neighbours from his apartment window and becomes convinced one of them has committed murder. Grace Kelly co-stars as Jeff’s girlfriend Lisa Carol Fremont. Nominated for 4 Oscars (Best Cinematography, Color – Robert Burks,  Best Director – Alfred Hitchcock,  Best Sound, Recording – Loren L. Ryder, Paramount,  Best Writing, Screenplay – John Michael Hayes and other 4 wins and 5 nominations.

Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Writers: John Michael Hayes (screenplay) Cornell Woolrich (short story “It Had to Be Murder”)
Release Date: 14 January 1955 (Japan)
Genre: Crime | Mystery | Romance | Thriller

2.

The Year of Living Dangerously (1983)
A Love Caught In The Fire Of Revolution.

A young Australian journalist (on his first job as a foreign correspondent), Guy Hamilton (played by Mel Gibson) tries to navigate the political turmoil of Indonesia during the rule of President Sukarno with the help of a half- Chinese dwarf photographer Billy Kwan as Guy’s local photographer contact, a role for which Linda Hunt won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. Jill Bryant (Sigourney Weaver) as Guy’s love interest, a British Embassy officer. Combining political intrigue, steamy romance, and engaging characters, Peter Weir’s well-crafted, highly enjoyable adventure is one of the few successful efforts to make a Casablanca-like movie for modern audiences. The film was shot in both Australia and the Philippines. An Oscar win and other 7 wins & 15 nominations. Also on the list of my all time favorite classics.

Director: Peter Weir
Writers: C.J. Koch (novel) C.J. Koch (screenplay)
Release Date: 21 January 1983 (USA)
Genre: Drama | Romance | War

3.

Road to Perdition (2002)
Pray for Michael Sullivan.

Jude Law as Harlen Maguire a psychopathic assassin who likes to photograph his victims, Harlen tracks hitman Michael Sullivan Sr. (Tom Hanks) and son in Illinois during the Great Depression. Paul Newman (in his final theatrical screen appearance) as John Rooney, an Irish American organized crime boss of Sullivan Sr., and Daniel Craig as Connor Rooney, the crime boss’s son. A story that had minimal dialogue and conveyed emotion in the imagery. Somber, stately, and beautifully mounted, Sam Mendes’ Road to Perdition is a well-crafted mob movie that explores the ties between fathers and sons.  Winning several awards, 17 wins & 51 nominations, including the Academy Award for Best Cinematography win, and nominations for Best Actor in a Supporting Role- Paul Newman. One of the best film produced this decade in my list.

Director: Sam Mendes
Writers (WGA): Max Allan Collins (graphic novel) and Richard Piers Rayner (graphic novel)
Release Date: 12 July 2002 (USA)
Genre: Adventure | Crime | Drama | Thriller

4.

Closer (2004)
If you believe in love at first sight, you never stop looking.

Julia Roberts as Anna Cameron, a quietly independent divorce and successful art/portrait photographer, Jude Law as Dan, a thoughtful but unsuccessful novelist and journalist, who authors a book about Jane (Natalie Portman), a gorgeous young runaway from New York’s seedy sex industry, and Clive Owen as Larry, a dermatologist with the lust and manners of a soccer hooligan. The plot revolves around the infatuation of the couples for one another, an elaborate character study of two London couples as they engage in an ultimate game of partner swapping. The film was recognized with several awards and nominations, including Oscar nominations (and Golden Globe wins) for both Portman and Owen for their performances in supporting roles, and other 8 wins & 20 nominations.

Director: Mike Nichols
Writers (WGA): Patrick Marber (play) Patrick Marber (screenplay)
Release Date: 3 December 2004 (USA)
Genre: Drama | Romance more

5.

Hard Candy (2005)
Strangers shouldn’t talk to little girls.

After three weeks chatting with the 32-year old fashion/portrait photographer Jeff Kohlver (Patrick Wilson - Watchmen 2009) ‘Lensmaster319′ in Internet, the mature 14-year old Hayley Stark (Ellen Page – Juno 2007) finally meets. Suspecting that he is a pedophile, she goes to his home in an attempt to expose him. The first feature film for director David Slade, who previously had worked mostly in music videos. Disturbing, controversial, but entirely engrossing, a well written with strong lead performances. A movie that stays with the viewer long after leaving the theater, garnering 5 wins & 6 nominations in different award giving body.

Director: David Slade
Writer (WGA): Brian Nelson (written by)
Release Date: 14 April 2006 (USA) more
Genre: Drama | Thriller more

________

One Hour Photo (2002)
The things that we fear the most have already happened to us...

Robin Williams as Seymour ‘SY’ Parrish, a creepy photo developer and photographer. He has a vast knowledge of modern photography and develops photos at a one-hour photo lab in a local department store and becomes obsessed with one of his customers, a young suburban family, the dad, Will Yorkin (Michael Vartan), the mom Nina Yorkin (Connie Nielsen) and their kid. Williams won a Saturn Award for Best Actor (2003) for his work in the film, other 5 wins and 14 nominations.

Director: Mark Romanek
Writer (WGA): Mark Romanek
Release Date: 13 September 2002 (USA)
Genre: Drama | Thriller

6.

Cidade de Deus/ City of God (2002)
If you run you’re dead…if you stay, you’re dead again. Period.

Based on a true story, a shocking and disturbing, but always compelling story of two boys growing up in a violent neighborhood slums of Rio de Janeiro take different paths: one becomes a photographer (Alexandre Rodrigues as Buscapé – Rocket), the other a drug dealer (Leandro Firmino as Zé Pequeno – Li’l Zé). The story is told through eyes of Buscapé, a poor young fisherman’s son who dreams of becoming a photographer one day. The film received four Academy Award nominations in 2004: Best Cinematography (César Charlone), Best Directing (Meirelles), Best Editing (Daniel Rezende) and Best Writing (Adapted Screenplay) (Mantovani). Before that, in 2003 it had been chosen to be Brazil’s runner for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, but it was not nominated to be one of the five finalists.

Directors: Fernando Meirelles  Kátia Lund (co-director)
Writers: Paulo Lins (novel) Bráulio Mantovani (screenplay)
Release Date: 2002 (Russia)
Genre: Action | Crime | Drama

________

The Midnight Meat Train (2008)
The most terrifying ride you’ll ever take.

Bradley Cooper as Leon, a documentary/art photographer who attempts to track down a serial killer named Mahogany (Vinnie Jones) dubbed the “Subway Butcher” and discovers more than he bargained for under the city streets of New York. A creative and energetic adaptation of a Clive Barker 1984 short story of the same name (which can be found in Volume One of Barker’s collection Books of Blood), with enough scares and thrills to be a potential cult classic. 4 wins in different categories.

Director: Ryûhei Kitamura
Writers (WGA): Jeff Buhler (screenplay)
Clive Barker (short story “The Midnight Meat Train”)
Release Date: 7 August 2008 (Russia)
Genre: Crime | Drama | Horror | Mystery | Thriller

7.

Funny Face (1957)

Fred Astaire as Dick Avery, a fashion photographer in search for an intellectual backdrop for an air-headed model, expropriates a Greenwich Village bookstore. When the photo session is over the store is left in a shamble, sales girl Jo Stockton (Audrey Hepburn) comes to the rescue. They offer Jo a modeling contract, which she reluctantly accepts only because it includes a trip to Paris. Eventually, her snobbish attitude toward the job softens, and Jo begins to enjoy the work and the company of her handsome photographer. Richard Avedon designed the opening title sequence and consulted on the film, and Bill Avery was the still photographer. Nominated for 4 Oscars and other win & 5 nominations.

Director: Stanley Donen
Writer: Leonard Gershe (written by)
Release Date: 13 February 1957 (USA)
Genre: Romance | Comedy | Musical

________

The Bridges of Madison County (1995)

Clint Eastwood as Robert Kincaid, a photographer in the farmlands of Iowa on assignment for National Geographic magazine and wanders into the life of a bored, middle-aged Italian housewife Francesca Johnson (Meryl Streep), for four days in the 1960s. They fall in love, but she’s married with children. A film adaptation of Robert James Waller’s wildly popular, bestselling novel. Eastwood and Streep, who was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress in 1996 for her performance in the film, other 6 wins & 6 nominations.

Director: Clint Eastwood
Writers (WGA): Richard LaGravenese (screenplay) Robert James Waller (novel)
Release Date: 2 June 1995 (USA)
Genre: Drama | Romance

8.

Under Fire (1983)
This wasn’t their war but it was their story…and they wouldn’t let it go!

Nick Nolte as Russell Price , a star photographer, one of the journalists in a romantic triangle are involved in political intrigue during the last days of the corrupt Somozoa regime in Nicaragua before it falls to a popular revolution in 1979. Ed Harris as Oates and Gene Hackman as Alex Grazier. Nominated for Oscar. Another 2 wins & 3 nominations.

Director: Roger Spottiswoode
Writers: Clayton Frohman (screenplay) Clayton Frohman (story)
Release Date: 21 October 1983 (USA)
Genre: Drama | War

________

Salvador (1986)

James Woods as Richard Boyle , an American photojournalist down on his luck in the US, drives to El Salvador to chronicle the events of the 1980 Salvadoran civil war. While trying to get footage, he becomes entangled with both leftist guerrillas and the right-wing military.  The film was nominated for two Academy Awards: Best Actor in a Leading Role (Woods) and Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen (Stone and Boyle), and other 3 wins & 6 nominations

Director: Oliver Stone
Writers: Oliver Stone (written by) and Rick Boyle (writer)
Release Date: 23 April 1986 (USA)
Genre: Biography | Drama | Thriller | War

9.

Photographing Fairies (1997)

Toby Stephens as Charles Castle, a photographer numbed with grief after the sudden death of his young wife, devotes himself to his work as a photographer in World War I. Charles is given some photographs purporting to be of fairies. His search for the truth leads him to Burkinwell, a seemingly peaceful village seething with secrets where he becomes drawn into a web of passion, romance and violence. Ben Kingsley as Reverend Templeton. 5 wins and 3 nominations.

Director: Nick Willing
Writers: Chris Harrald (written by) Steve Szilagyi (book)
Release Date: 19 September 1997 (UK)
Genre: Drama | Fantasy | Mystery

________

High Art (1998)
A story of ambition, sacrifice, seduction and other career moves.

Ally Sheedy as Lucy Berliner, a very talented drug-addicted lesbian photographer that contributes with high-art photography magazine Frame meets a young female intern for the magazine, Sydney ‘Syd’ (Radha Mitchell) both of whom seek to exploit each other for their respective careers, while slowly falling in love with each other. Berliner’s photography (Sheedy) was based on Nan Goldin‘s work. The photographs themselves were made by Jojo Whilden. 7 wins and 14 nominations.

Director: Lisa Cholodenko
Writer: Lisa Cholodenko (writer)
Release Date: 12 June 1998 (USA)
Genre: Drama | Romance

10.

Eyes of Laura Mars (1978)

Faye Dunaway as Laura Mars, a very successful high-end fashion and advertising photographer and Tommy Lee Jones as Detective John Neville notes striking similarities between her art photos and those of real crime scenes. The screenplay, adapted from a spec script titled Eyes, written by John Carpenter, was Carpenter’s first major studio film. Producer Jon Peters, who was dating Barbra Streisand at the time, bought the screenplay as a starring vehicle for the actress, but Streisand eventually decided not to take the role because of “the kinky nature of the story”, as Peters later explained. The role went to Dunaway, who had just won an Oscar for her performance in Network. It was shot entirely in New York and New Jersey. The famous sequence where the Laura Mars character photographs a group of models against a backdrop of two burning cars was filmed over four days at New York’s Columbus Circle. Gallery Exhibition Images of Laura Mars are shot by Helmut Newton. Despite its lukewarm critical reception, the film was a box office hit, earning $20M off of a $7M budget, 1 win and 1 nomination.

Director: Irvin Kershner
Writers: John Carpenter (screenplay) and David Zelag Goodman (screenplay)
Release Date: 2 August 1978 (USA)
Genre: Horror | Mystery | Thriller

________

Blow – Up  (1966)

David Hemmings as Thomas, a successful mod photographer in London whose world is bounded by fashion, pop music, marijuana, and easy sex, feels his life is boring and despairing. But in the course of a single day he frolics with young models, then meets the mysterious Jane (Vanessa Redgrave), he accidentally captures on film the commission of a murder. The film was nominated for 2 Oscars and other 7 wins and 4 nominations.

Director: Michelangelo Antonioni
Writers: Michelangelo Antonioni (story) Julio Cortázar (short story)
Release Date: 18 December 1966 (USA)
Genre: Drama | Mystery | Thriller

________

Other film’s that centers around the life of a lensman:

Vicky Cristina Barcelona (2008)

Scarlett Johansson as Cristina (photographer)
Javier Bardem as Juan Antonio Gonzalo

Penélope Cruz as Maria Elena

Fur: An Imaginary Portrait of Diane Arbus (2006)

Nicole Kidman as Diane Arbus (photographer)

Robert Downey Jr. as Lionel Sweeney

Mad Dog and Glory  (2000)

Gentlemen’s Relish (2001) (TV)

No Small Affair (1984)

Stardom (2000)

Head in the Clouds (2004)

Femme Fatale (2002)

The Notorious Bettie Page (2005)

Fairy Tale: A True Story (1997)

The Photographer  (2000)

Harrison’s Flowers (2002)

The Truth About Cats & Dogs (1996)

Catch & Release (2007)

Pecker  (1998)

________

“Whether he is an artist or not, the photographer is a joyous sensualist, for the simple reason that the eye traffics in feelings, not in thoughts.”

- Walker Evans, American Photographer (1903-1975)

Related Entry: http://naiveboy.com/2009/11/06/armed-with-saliva-by-navo/

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