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
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
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)
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).
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).
