dennis stock @ MILK gallery

Recently I visited the new retrospective at Milk Gallery for Magnum Photographer Dennis Stock... I had the very great fortune of having Dennis as teacher and  friend before his death in 2010. I studied in photography workshops with him during the summers of 2007, 2008 and 2009, and had the honor of being his assistant in the last workshop I attended. Dennis was a remarkable, brilliant, and wonderfully cantankerous man, with a wicked sense of humor, and a heart the size of the world. His passion for photography was incredibly infectious and pure, and informed during the golden age of photography to which he was also a major contributor like his extraordinary teachers-  Henri Cartier Bresson, Gjon Mili, and W. Egene Smith. Consistently through his lens, he showed his great love for humanity; always finding the beauty and dignity in his subjects. The installation was fabulous. Hats off to MILK and Magnum.

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miss ida blue

Went to the Freddie's Back Room 10 year anniversary party last night and got a few shots of  resident band 'Miss Ida Blue'. The phenomenal vocals of Mara Kaye and toasty tones of Jim Friar on trombone warmed everyone's spirit on a cold January night. I was testing a Nikon D600.  All photos © wendy whitesell 2013

urban landscape

Many thanks to the Center for Fine Art Photography for taking the time to send me images from their 'Urban Landscape' exhibit. It was an honor to be selected by the juror and I really appreciate them documenting the installation for participating photographers. Very thoughtful, C4FAP! — at The Center for Fine Art Photography

To love beauty....



Celebrating 5 years of fashion-inspired portraits and beauty in NYC!

Credits: Wendy Whitesell, Alejandro Monzon, Soji S, Joe Louis Harris, Eva Ndachi, Karin Agstam, Sheryl Roberts, BeautybyCrystal, Nima Shiraz, Heesun Lee, TreasaM, Shanelle Gabriel, Anastasia, C.Andrulonis, Mirela Louttit, Kit Williamson, Tara Hogan, Jarell, Beatrice Johnston, Tru Ferguson, Isaiah Grass, Jovaughn, La'nene, Manfred Louis, Loa Mayi, Justin Tyme, J. Skywalker, John Jones IV, Lydia Christine, CK Makeup, Khan Davis, Anatalia F, Cateia Gabrielle, BSIXTEE6, Studio d'Antibes, Donna Jay

Jill Greenberg's Horses at Milk Gallery

Once again, I had the opportunity to see Jill Greenberg's work firsthand, this time at an opening and book signing at MILK Gallery in NYC's Meatpacking district. As a person who spent over ten years of my childhood on a horse farm (and an aspiring photographer, myself), I really appreciated not only the quality of these images, but the animals' soulful nature and vulnerability she manages to capture and illustrate so beautifully.

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Heesun Lee

Had a very short shoot with rapper Heesun Lee this past week on New York City's 'Highline' for her new album release 'Picture Perfect', due to drop in early 2013. Heesun was on her way to a major video shoot, so we had limited time... We worked quickly and managed to get this signature shot (likely the cover) in 30 minutes. This was my fourth shoot with Heesun, and it's always a pleasure to photograph her. She's a tough rapper with as strong message, and an absolute lady to work with.

Rapper and lyricist Heesun Lee on New York City's Highline. Credits TBA  © wendy whitesell 2013

Rapper and lyricist Heesun Lee on New York City's Highline. Credits TBA  © wendy whitesell 2013

Rineke Dijkstra

I caught the Rineke Dijkstra retrospective at the Guggenheim this past weekend... I had seen her work in print a few times, but never saw the large format portraits in person. Most striking to me was her series of adolescent beach subjects, which are probably her most well known works, at least here in the States. I was taken by the awkward stances most subjects assumed, which were often ironically offset with a classical, strangely elegant moment of contrapposto, as they shift their weight to shield either the budding adulthood, or the disappearing child from Dijkstra's lens. She seems to find subject after subject whom all house that absolute moment of child giving way to the emerging adult body, in that clumsy, confusing, awkward stage all humans must endure. The portraits are ethereally lit with textured realism and a slightly glowing surrealism, emanating from the youthful, tentative figures standing at a softly focused, but vast water's edge. The retrospective is up until October 8, 2012. -WW

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Richard Corman's Madonna

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All of the chatter today about Madonna’s half time performance at the Super Bowl- the differing opinions on whether she is still hot or not, still relevant at 53, blah blah- made me think of some photos taken by Richard Corman I recently stumbled upon. The photo series was taken in NYC’s East Village in 1982, a bit before Madonna was about to blow up as a pop artist. I was really taken by these photos, as Corman captured a Madonna I don’t think I have seen before. There’s a surprising ‘fresh faced innocence’ in these images, as well as a sense of authentic presence and humble existence- even though her unique style is well on it’s way. I can’t help also to mention a stunning natural beauty that seemed to take a back seat to elaborate image building once fame came around. The photos made me aware of Richard Corman and his imagery, and while his body of work has expanded exponentially with a broad and prestigious cast of subjects since the Madonna photo session 30 years ago, I have to say I love these photos the most. Also adore the idea of these two unknowns climbing around in the East Village on a Summer day in 1982 snapping these photos while having no idea the history that was about to be made. See more photos from this series on Richard Corman’s site. There’s much more there and definitely worth a look.

...And for what it’s worth, I think Madonna rocked it at the Super Bowl. We could all be so lucky looking hot in Givenchy at 53 and doing what we love the most. She is an inspiration. Seriously.


 


Gold Rush...

Gearing up today for an editorial shoot called "Gold Rush'... Should be a great team. Beautiful day here in NYC and I can't wait to get to the set. Stay tuned :)


I've been working on a lot of marketing and business development stuff lately, and haven't been shooting as much. There are projects in the works and shoots around the corner.... Most of my shots have been casual like the one above from a trip upstate last weekend. Feels good to shoot like this.. I used to do more of this type of thing.

'Glass Ceiling'

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Got a chance to go to Jill Greenberg's show "Glass Ceiling" at Clamp Art NYC before it's closing. The work depicts underwater images of women wearing bright swim suits and high heels; hinting of fashion imagery, but with rigid poses, a sense of frenzy, and the figures' heads visually cut at the water's surface. The beauty of the images gives way to a provocative metaphor pointing to the duality of women in the modern culture as they push to break through to less suffocating roles. The distortion from water, light, and luscious color creates a graphically disturbing effect, bordering on violence in some examples...


In an adjacent room was a series of stunning, large scale horse portraits also by Greenberg... By instinct, I got the connection, but it took me a bit to grasp the full concept of control and oppression suggested by the combined subjects. In the front of the gallery was a single sculptural object placed among the photos-- a glass pump, reflective of the footwear in the water photos. Another object depicted in the expanded horse series was a bridle bit. Suddenly the whole story made sense. Creatures of grace, beauty, and inherent sexuality being controlled by devices to serve the wants and needs of others, or the culture as a whole.

I have always, probably like many people, associated Jill Greenberg with her ultra slick crying kid portraits that made her famous -as well as both heavily critiqued and admired- in the digital photography and advertising world. Many people emulated her post-production style, with its polished, almost metallic, hyper-realistic surfaces. 'Glass Ceilings' gave me a new perspective of her images and inner workings of her conceptual mind, however.  I'm generally not a big a fan of overly dramatized feminist art (played out in the 90's in my opinion), especially when it's too literal, but Greenberg's 'Glass Ceiling' gives the viewer visceral beauty and gorgeous lighting and color, while making her statement in well constructed provocative metaphor; both subtle and explosive in the right moments. I'm glad I caught this show in person before it came down. The images were powerful and the installation was impeccable.


The subject of a fine photograph is not important. The light, line and form – these are important.
-Michael Seewald

Picture Perfect: Theophilus London

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I came across this stunning portrait of New York City rap artist Theophilus London in this month's issue of Interview Magazine while waiting for an appointment last week. It stopped me dead in my tracks. I look at a lot of photography and this photo is easily one of the best portraits I've seen in awhile. There are obvious things; the bathing light, the gorgeous colors and fashion, London's engaging yet introspective expression, the richness of tones, etc... But, there's something more that makes this portrait, in my opinion, a work of genius: it's the counterpoints that hold it together, all at once allowing movement of the eye and grounding of a bundle of exceptional elements.

The counterpoints in this composition are positively exquisite. The main one, from the angle of the brim of the hat to the converging angle of the right shoulder, creates a dynamic dance of the eye around the subject's face; beautifully lit and perfectly tilted in the middle square of the top third of the picture plane. There's another subtle but grounding counterpoint at the base of the picture created by the lines of the corner of the room which gives the figure great stability despite it's delicate tilts, angles and movement. Lastly, there's a perfect line from the outer brim of the hat straight to the index finger and quiet gesture of the right hand, which converges perfectly with the meeting of the lower counterpoint.

There are other supportive counterpoints, but the two mentioned above are the the ones that hold this beautifully suspended moment. London appears agile and dynamic as if about to shift to another pose or maybe leave the frame altogether, which removes any feeling of forced or studied pose to this piece. It truly seems to capture a moment, but with presence of mind of the photographer to keep the mathematical structure of the picture plane pure, and the subject's essence, form, and inherent gesture alive. No doubt London's own vibe is a huge part of the voice of this piece, and the stylists knocked it out of the park with those sublime pieces of fashion. Kudos to all. I studied this picture for at least ten minutes in the waiting room and then bought my own copy just so I could have this image in my possession.


I effing love this photo.

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“A photographer went to a socialite party in New York. As he entered the front door, the host said ‘I love your pictures - they’re wonderful; you must have a fantastic camera.’ He said nothing until dinner was finished, then: ‘That was a wonderful dinner; you must have a terrific stove.’”  
-Sam Haskins

Right Side Up

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©wendy whitesell
I recently had a studio shoot in SoHo with a couple members of a Brooklyn-based hip hop group 'Right Side Up'. I went about the shoot with my Nikon DSLR and strobes, and did the initial editing in Photoshop. Later I opened the files on my iPad and did a second edit in Snapseed. I really like the subtle effects and it took less time than it would have had I done it all in Photoshop; importing texture layers, etc. I really wish Nik Software -the makers of Snapseed- would make a desktop equivalent. For now, I sync the images into my iPad photo album and email them back to myself, so they can be available on my Mac. A little cumbersome, but for now I don't mind. I can work on fairly large images, so it's all good until a better solution is found.