OPIUM for Manual Magazine
These black-and-white portraits of Vivien Tan were created for an editorial for Manual Magazine, styled by Kym DeGuzman, and written by Eric Florentino. The concept of the shoot itself was inspired by the ‘East-Meets-West’ Opium Trade, and this posting is in more ways than one a celebration of the past – an ‘Anniversary’ of sorts.
The particular lens I used was a Sigma 15-30mm f/3.5 – 4.5. This year marks the 10th year that I’ve owned this lens, and also happens to be the Sigma Corporation’s 50th Year Anniversary. I bought this lens in 2001, because even then, true to Sigma’s philosophy of creating unique lenses, it was not only the best, but also the only wide angle zoom option to use with my 1.3 crop Kodak DCS 760, which was used to take these images. I have since then used that lens to shoot many magazine covers, advertising campaigns, and fashion spreads. Also, having acquired the Kodak DCS 760 in 2001, this year (2011) also marks 10 years in my using digital capture.
Of the many reasons why I switched to digital, probably the most compelling (and strangest!) is because I wanted my photographic process to be as close, at least in spirit, to the pioneers of black-and-white ‘Art’ photography such as the f/64 Group. Put simply, they shot their own film, developed, and printed their photographs themselves. It was an approach that epitomized the virtue of purist, or ‘straight’ photography, meaning that it emphasized the unique qualities of photography as a medium of expression, but at the same time remained artistic and interpretative through the visualization process and the control of black-and-white tonality in the final ‘art’ print.
I wanted a level of control of my work, from shooting to post-processing, that just was not possible or practical without a dedicated high quality darkroom. Most of my work up until that time was shot with 120 format slide film, and thus had to be sent for processing and printing at a professional custom lab. The precise control of black-and-white tonality, as outlined in Ansel Adam’s Zone System, is quite difficult to achieve if the film development and printing is handled by a third party lab. Even with a good custom lab, the process required test prints and good communication.
Today, despite using the most modern digital equipment and lenses, I still value many of the virtues of the purist or ‘straight’ approach. I consider creating beautiful black-and-white conversions from color digital capture, just like it was when shooting black-and-white film, an art in itself.
Pulp Skin – Carte Blanche
carte blanche (ˈkɑːt ˈblɑːntʃ, French kart blɑ̃ʃ)
— n , pl cartes blanches
1. complete discretion or authority: the government gave their negotiator carte blanche
On most editorial shoots, we need to carefully consider the editorial parameters, or the even the over-all ‘look-and-feel’ of a magazine. For example, the images we create for a fashion magazine meant for teenage girls are completely different from images that we create for a men’s magazine, which in turn would be different from images we create for a more sophisticated women’s fashion magazine, or from the portraits we shoot for a more edgy or conceptual publication meant for adults.
‘Carte Blanche’, however, is where the situation gets turned around. It is when a client gives us complete creative control of the shoot, from concept to execution. In this case, our client was Jag Jeans, who were sponsoring the production of a spread in PULP Magazine (Philippines) called ‘PULP Skin’. Asides from the basic concept that the shoot had to be ‘sexy’ – it was to be published, after all, in the ‘Pulp Skin’ section – the concept, styling, model selection, and execution was entirely up to us.
This situation is ideal, because then the creative team can just take the gloves off and…create. Notice that there are no jeans in these images. It does however, provide positive publicity to the brand, since the readers know who is sponsoring the production. The Pulp Skin section was quite popular, and not only to male readers (who happen to be a large part of the brand’s target market), but also among the publishing and fashion community. Many photographers and stylists use these ‘Carte Blanche’ shoots to show off what they can do when there are virtually no limits.
Styling by Millet Arzaga
Photography by Tommy Zablan
Modeled by Roisin
Heather Morton on Taking Risks
The Canadian Association of Professional Image Creators (CAPIC) Vancouver Chapter, just held an event where Heather Morton, who publishes her ‘Ask an Art Buyer’ blog, shared her insights about how photographers should be taking risks. Knowing Heather more through the contents of her blog but never having met her before the event, I was pleasantly surprised by her casual and down-to-earth demeanor in person, which set the tone for the event.
This is CAPIC Vancouver Chapter President Rick Etkin addressing some questions from the audience. The talk went late into the evening and it was clear from the content of the presentation, as well as the reactions from the other members of the audience, just how challenging and dynamic today’s environment is for professional image makers. Among the many points Heather Morton and the other panelists made, these are a few that stuck with me;
If you’re a photographer, I highly recommend attending one of Heather’s talks to get the finer points of the things I mentioned above, as well as have the opportunity to react and evaluate how these things apply to you. Personally, my take on it is, just like other risky endeavors, like being, say…a Skydiver, a Race Driver, or a Ninja, being a successful Photographer is to adopt a certain lifestyle.
I thoroughly appreciated the straight talk from panelists Nora Ahern, Managing Director and Founder of Village and Co., and Eric Arnold, an Art Director from DARE. Heather Morton invites local industry experts to the discussion to make sure the content of the presentation is as locally relevant as possible. It definitely wasn’t a fluffy let’s make-each-other-feel-good motivational talk. If anything, the atmosphere was pragmatic – with the hopeful notes being grounded in a solid dose of reality.
This is Rick Etkin and Dave Rossander the moment after I told them that, in keeping with the spirit of the evening, I was going to blog about the event.
…And off she goes.
The History Of Fashion Accessories
“There is nothing new in the world. It’s all been done before.” (To paraphrase the rest of the statement: If you want to create a new style, then you have to look at what’s been done before and learn to combine elements from different periods or styles.)
“(The evolution of style) …is about action and reaction.”
- Ivan Sayers
These are just a couple of gems that I picked up from listening to Ivan Sayers; a fashion historian who specializes in the study of women’s, men’s, and children’s fashions, from 1650 to the present, in his lecture entitled “A Survey of Accessories in the 20th Century”. His talk reminded me that just as we can always trace the evolution of art through technology, we can also trace the evolution of culture through fashion.
Why would I be attending such a lecture? Because it’s interesting and I’m open to anything that broadens or enriches my understanding of this world.
I am also a photographer, and I can get assigned to re-create the glamor of a certain era for a fashion spread, like what I did for this 50′s retro-styled fashion shoot. By experience, getting the styling right for a period piece is one of the most difficult jobs for a fashion stylist, so as a photographer, it pays to know as many details as I can. Of course, there is always a possibility that I’ll someday model a historical character in 3D.
Ivan Sayers was kind enough to bring so many (and in some cases, very valuable and historically significant) hats, shoes, and bags for the attendees to peruse. See images below.
At Boracay, Mylene Dizon for Bare Magazine
Bare Magazine
Art Director Luis Espiritu
Styling and Make-up Chechel Joson
Model Mylene Dizon
Photography Tommy Zablan
If I were to imagine my own personal version of J. M. Barrie’s (he authored Peter Pan) Never Never Land, this would be it. Our location was the Shangri-la Hotel, in Boracay, Philippines. It’s a castle by the sea in one of the most beautiful white sand beaches in the world. The beach itself is lined with bars, restaurants, clubs, and massage parlors.
To get there from Manila in the morning, we had to take a plane, a tricycle, and a boat ride and arrived in the early afternoon. I originally pitched that we were to shoot at dusk, however, Luis Espiritu, the Art Director, thought it would be interesting to shoot at night. So a night shoot it was to be. It didn’t matter, when it comes to photography – I own the night. 
It’s difficult for city dwellers to comprehend how dark a secluded beach on a cloudy night can be – without any artificial light sources. It’s totally black. Thankfully we were armed with cigarette lighters and a Hensel Porty power pack. I changed lenses by the light of my cigarette lighter and would ask my assistant to momentarily switch on the modelling lights of the Porty in order to direct, compose, and focus, and take a few frames, and then ask him to switch it off after a short period to conserve the battery.
Had a fisherman on a boat been spying on our shoot, I’d imagine it was a surreal combination of blinding flashes where he would catch glimpses of a half-naked actress rolling around on the beach for a few milliseconds, mixed with moments of total darkness as our flashes took out his night vision by forcing his irises to close.
But then, actress Mylene Dizon dressed in these swimsuits is incredibly easy on the eyes. So it evens out.
It doesn’t look like it in these images, but I spent a lot of time in this shoot in the water. The tide was high that evening, and when the waves would come crashing in, I’d be drenched right up to my chest. My camera at the time, a Kodak DCS-760, required an external battery to function for any significant amount of time, and I found that I had to pin the rather large battery pack (a Digital Camera Battery or DCB 30) on my shirt collar to prevent it from getting shorted out.
Looking back, it would seem almost foolish to carry more than $8000 in equipment while waist deep in sea water, getting hit by waves, trying to feel my way around the sand in total darkness. But then…a photograph is forever.
Fashion – A 50s Seduction
A fashion story re-creating the 50s look, shot in a building in Manila with early 1900s period architecture. I’ve always loved the look of 50s cinema. Film then was so slow that they had to use a lot of light to exposed it properly. These lights usually came in the form of focused spotlights, which created a distinct, almost surreal look that was made up of deep pools of shadows and highlights.
Styling by Mela De Luna
Photographed by Tommy Zablan
Wedding Shoot – ‘Sunshower’
Eyes like oceans
so far away
A feather trail
to a better way…I know all your graces
someday will flower
in a sweet
In a sweet sunshower-Sunshower, Chris Cornell/Soundgarden
Make-up: Ana Viseriou Model: Charity (John Casablancas) Styling: Angeline Bridal 1st Assistant: Eri Tashiro
Beautiful Moment
You cannot script moments like these. They happen, and the best thing we can do as photographers is capture it is beautifully as we can.
Canadian Immigrant Winter 2010
Always a pleasure to shoot for Canadian Immigrant Magazine. This is the December 2010 cover.
Seijin-shiki ( 成人式 ) Service Vancouver
Seijin-Shiki – Images by Tommy Zablan
Seijin Shiki V.2 from Tommy Zablan on Vimeo.
＜成人式記念撮影代金＞
成人式PLAN ＄400
8X10プリント2枚（台紙入り・リタッチ済み）、撮影、デジタルデータ（8X10プリント2枚分＆追加写真購入分）
＜オプション代金＞
着付け＆レンタル振袖or袴 FREE
ヘア＆メイクアップ ＋＄１００
ローケーション撮影 ＋＄５０～ （お問い合わせください）
ご家族と一緒に撮影 ＋＄１００ （８ｘ１０プリント 1枚 と そのデジタルデータ）
＜ご予約、お問い合わせ＞
お電話、またはＥ－ｍａｉｌにて
日本語 604-710-2885 / eri@tommyzablan.com
English 604-562-3717 / info@tommyzablan.com
＜ 撮 影 ＞
受付→お支払い→着付け＆ヘア＆メイク→撮影
約１.5－２.5時間です。
＜代金のお支払い＞
現金もしくは小切手のみ
＜写真の受け取り＞
郵送いたします。
＜Ｓｐｅｃｉａｌ＞
① 7%ＯＦＦ・・・2人以上で同日のご予約（お友達と一緒に）スタジオでの撮影に限る
Alex Read Editorial
Alex Read Editorial – Images by Tommy Zablan
Editorial portraits of Alex Read, CEO of Make Anything Work and author of the Amazon bestseller Make My Marketing Work: How to Win Customers and Make More Money.
七五三 Vancouver 2011
Shichigosan – Images by Tommy Zablan
ご予約・お問い合わせ eri@tommyzablan.com (日本語）または info@tommyzablan.com (English) まで。
Canadian Immigrant Mariana Garcia
Canadian Immigrant Mariana Garcia – Images by Tommy Zablan
We recently had the pleasure of meeting and photographing Mariana Garcia in her Downtown Eastside Studio for the cover of the British Columbia Edition of Canadian Immigrant Magazine April 2010 Issue. Mariana runs an arts studio where Women Artists in the Downtown Eastside can create their work and provides a venue to display and sell their artworks. Read the full article here.
Find the PDF version here.
Beauty & Madness
Beauty & Madness – Images by Tommy Zablan
Make-up & Hair by Ayumi Komiyama
“Imperfection is beauty, madness is genius and it’s better to be absolutely ridiculous than absolutely boring.”
— Marilyn Monroe (Marilyn: Her Life in Her Own Words)
Photoshelter Vignettes
I’m a photographer who does editorial and advertising work, as well as personal portraiture. I’m also a 3D or CG (Computer Generated) artist and Instructor. I was among the first to lead the charge from shooting film (using a Mamiya RZ67 Pro II) to digital (using a Kodak DCS-760) in editorial and advertising shoots as early as 2001, and remember (sometimes not so fondly) the challenge of managing 36mb 16-bit Tiff files when 256mb Compact Flash Cards were considered a reasonable size, when my single-core (multi-core was but a twinkle in many a geek’s eyes at the time) on-location Apple iBook had a total of 10gb Hard Drive space with 768mb of RAM, RAW work flow and Digital Asset Management were considered arcane arts, and having to tediously burn, back-up, and hand deliver sets of CDs to my clients after a shoot. Using Photoshelter’s Archive storage management and gallery/image delivery systems changes all that – not only making it easier to manage and secure thousands of image files online, but also providing a means to present and deliver work to clients professionally and conveniently.
This is a series of vignettes on how I use my Photoshelter Personal Archive today.
A Tale of Two Cities
Whenever I upload photos from a shoot with Canadian Immigrant magazine, the decisions on which images to use are made by editorial teams based both in Vancouver and Toronto. Using Photoshelter’s invite-only gallery feature, I can give private access to the images from the shoot, which not only facilitates the final shot selection by Editors across two cities, but also gives them instant access to the full resolution images that can be downloaded directly into lay-out.
Canadian Immigrant – Images by Tommy Zablan
Family Ties
Momoko’s sister and grandmother visited from Japan. On the last day of their visit, her sister surprised with a very special Kimono, for the purpose of shooting her Seijin-shiki (成人式) ceremony photos. They booked us for a shoot on a morning ferry from Victoria to Vancouver and we did the shoot on that very same afternoon. Since her sister and grandmother were to go home to Japan on the very next day, they were worried that they would not be able to see all the images from our photo session. We promised that we would show them all the images through an on-line gallery. We uploading the images and sent invites for the gallery shortly after, and the decisions on which prints to order where made both by family members in Japan and Vancouver.
Seijin-Shiki – Images by Tommy Zablan
Virtual Visualization
I’m also a 3D Artist and Instructor, specializing in texturing, lighting, and rendering. At times, I get asked to make a presentation on various aspects of 3D production, and the classes that I teach. Sometimes, the presentations can be impromptu and the workstation that happens to be hooked up to the projector may not have the right software installed, or I may not have my flash drive with presentation data on hand. By keeping many of my rendered images in my Photoshelter Archive, I can quickly pull the images into a Gallery, and using the built-in gallery tools to sequence the slides, turn it into a professional presentation – with just about any workstation that has an internet connection and a Flash enabled browser.
CG Work – Models And Textures – Images by Tommy Zablan
Vancouver’s Got Talent…
…a mix of local and international talent that gives this city it’s unique flavor, and I want to play a part in promoting it. Because of the way Photoshelter’s core Archive to Gallery system is built, I can easily create mini-portfolios like the one I created for Make-up Artist Ayumi Komiyama, without having to create folders with duplicated data (which would be the case when creating web galleries from a program like Lightroom or Photoshop). Because the galleries can be e-mailed and embedded into blogs and web sites (by clicking on the e-mail or embed code links on the bottom of the navigation bar) – they can be like mini, self-contained portfolios that can be sent to whoever wants to see them. The Photoshelter – Graph Paper Press integration makes it efficient for me to publish artist profiles and interviews such as this one.
Ayumi Komiyama, Make-up & Hair Artist – Images by Tommy Zablan
Gallery In A Flash
On one of the rare occasions that I could actually follow the updates on my Twitter stream in real-time, I read that one of the people I’m following, an Editor in a major Canadian Fashion magazine, wanted to have some sushi in Vancouver. The time it took me to pull some recent shots of Sushi (from one of my favorite Vancouver Restaurants) from my archive, organize them into a gallery, post it on my Photoshelter – WordPress integrated blog, and send her the link on Twitter? Around 3 minutes (and a lot of that was due to my Internet connection bandwidth more than anything else). She said the food shots made her drool. I’d say that’s a good thing.
Sushi – Images by Tommy Zablan
Presenting Professional Images For Immigrants
One of the things we’re proud of, is helping fellow immigrants coming into Vancouver find jobs through our photography. Working with Canadian Immigrant Magazine’s “Will you hire me?” section, we have had the pleasure of meeting and photographing highly qualified and talented people such as Cornelia Jansen from Germany and Roberto Fajardo from Spain, and sincerely hope they are doing well in their professional endeavors.
We are committed to providing the very best images to represent Immigrants and their businesses in the most professional manner possible.
Cornelia Jansen from Germany
Read Connie’s story in the full issue of Canadian Immigrant Vancouver Edition (November 2009) issue here.
Roberto Carlos Garcia Fajardo from Spain
Read Roberto’s story in the full issue of Canadian Immigrant Vancouver Edition (December 2009) issue here.
Vancouver Sushi
Sushi – Images by Tommy Zablan
This is the Sashimi Tower, Crab Salad, Sashimi Salad, and Tiger Mayo, available at Kamei Royale on Burrard St.. One of the perks of being a food photographer is that you often get to eat what you shoot. I can sum up the experience in one word: Yummy.
Artist Profile: Make-up & Hair Artist Ayumi Komiyama
Geisha – Images by Tommy Zablan
Make-up and Hair by Ayumi Komiyama
Model Yuka Saito
Ayumi Komiyama is a Make-up & Hair Stylist whose work has been published in the covers of the Vancouver Sun Style Section, Reach Magazine, and Klip magazine. I asked her a few questions about her work, inspirations, and aspirations.
Q: What inspires you as a make-up and hair artist?
Ayumi: I gain my inspirations from my 5 senses, which are what I see, smell, taste, hear and feel.
Q: What do you think about when doing make-up and hair?
Ayumi: I think about what is the best for the client and strive to bring out the unique qualities of that person. Ultimately, I like to create something that is best for my clients. Also, I like to have different stories attached to different styles that I create.
Q: Please tell us your approach and experience in make-up and hair styling?
Ayumi: I always have the fundamental ideas and basic skills in mind. I also like to keep in mind that nothing can be done without a practical approach and I like to utilize my observational skills to replicate work that has been done by others. From the replicated works, I like to add my own ideas, which may not have any significant relationship to the art itself, to make a whole new piece of art.
I obtained skills in the areas of hairstyling, makeup, nails and kitsuke at the hair dresser school in Tokyo. Then I worked at a hair salon and learned the basics in working in a professional environment. I also obtained socials skills, which I require to interact with my clients. I often seek for advice from my fellow staff members and my customers regarding any potential improvements I could make in any areas of my specialty. I am a person who values individual differences, and after working for a while, I was at a position to teach others. I always only teach the basic skills necessary to the new staff members and let them improve from there using their own unique techniques, since it’s no fun having the exact same stylist.
Ayumi Komiyama, Make-up & Hair Artist – Images by Tommy Zablan
Q: What do you think is important for the Art of make-up and hair in the future?
Ayumi: Currently, CG (Computer Graphics) is becoming big and I would like to work with this wonderful technology, however, I would also like to preserve the beauty of the Art itself in that I want everyone to appreciate the natural beauty of the art (No CG or other editing).
Sensei Alexei Goudkov for Canadian Immigrant (Vancouver March 2010 Issue)
Photography by Tommy Zablan
Assisted by Eri Tashiro
Shot on location at Kitsilano Beach, Vancouver
It was an honor to photograph Sensei Alexei Goudkov for the Canadian Immigrant Magazine. The full article in the Canadian Immigrant magazine can be read here. You can also download the PDF Version of this issue here.
Sensei Alexei teaches the Kyokushin Kaikan (極真会館) style of Karate that means the ‘Society Of Ultimate Truth’, due to a heavier emphasis on full-contact sparring. I am familiar with this style, having studied Shotokan Karate in elementary school and immersed myself in the various differences and philosophies of the various fighting systems, and remember the stories about how the founder of the style, Mas Oyama, perfected his techniques by taking down charging bulls with various striking techniques.
I have to admit that I have a deep love for the Martial Arts, possibly even surpassing that which I feel for photography. Case in point is that Sensei Alexei is a Fourth Dan black belt (my sincerest apologies as I previously wrote Third Dan) in the Kyokushin Kaikan style, yet during the shoot, possessed that mixture of quiet confidence, courtesy, and humility that mark a martial arts practitioner. I’m sure it stems from a mixture of individual self-confidence, discipline, and possibly something a lot more practical;
A kick, like a photograph, is a singular, fluid expression that can contain so much technique, subtlety, and nuances, for something that looks relatively simple. It has emotional content. It has to connect. Unlike Photography though, you can’t talk, network, tweet, SEO, or otherwise irresponsibly enable someone into being a good Martial Artist. It takes practice, discipline, and eventually having to get into the ring to prove it. As for us, we like to get our kicks from being happy with our work…and aiming high.
Vancouver, The Olympic Lights
Vancouver, Olympic Nights – Images by Tommy Zablan
From 5pm to 2am, I hear the screams of Olympic fans from outside from my window, along with what sounds like two or three different bands performing at street level. The sounds echo as they bounce from one building to another, creating a surreal blend of screams, fireworks explosions, cheers, horns, African drums, whistles, rave music, police sirens, the loud but unintelligible voice of an MC shouting emphatically, and many other unidentified sources, as the ebb and flow of echoes reach the upper floors of the surrounding buildings. It’s the Olympics here in Vancouver – and this is what it looks like.
Just Eyes
Hannibal Chew: I just do eyes. Just eyes…just genetic design…just eyes. You Nexus, huh? I design your eyes.
Roy Batty: Chew, if only you could see what I’ve seen with your eyes!
- from the move Bladerunner (1982)
Ridley Scott’s 1982 movie Bladerunner has been a favorite of mine for the longest time (along with Mamoru Oshii’s Ghost in the Shell Series). Apparently, someone at Google feels the same way – the rogue Replicants in Bladerunner were Nexus Six models (Google’s phone is called Nexus One), and the femme fatale in the movie played by Sean Young is named Rachael, which is the same name of the Nexus UI used in the Sony Xperia X10. The operating system is called Android.
Having worked on creating virtual worlds and CG characters for the last 3 years, and appreciating just how fast technology moves forward – sometimes I wonder just how long it will take…
Avant-Garde Fashion Designer Camilla Vanegas
Avant-Garde Fashion Designer – Camilla Vanegas – Images by Tommy Zablan
Avant-Garde – /əˌvɑntˈgɑrd
| 1. | the advance group in any field, esp. in the visual, literary, or musical arts, whose works are characterized chiefly by unorthodox and experimental methods. |
–adjective
| 2. | of or pertaining to the experimental treatment of artistic, musical, or literary material. |
| 3. | belonging to the avant-garde: an avant-garde composer. |
| 4. | unorthodox or daring; radical. |
Camilla Vanegas exhibited her designs at the Avante-Garde Design Contest of Vancouver Fashion Week ( Winter 2009).
