The Great Pretender

In this shoot, photographed by Steven Meisel for the Vogue May 2009 issue, model Natalia Vodianova portrays and embodies nine of fashion's most famous and notable models. What is absolutely incredible about this shoot is how different she appears as each model. She really does become the model she is trying to portray and emphasizes their most famous characteristics. For example when playing Dovima, Natalia juts out her hips and her legs in her most recognizable position. See an example here of one of Dovima's most famous images. This is what modeling is. Changing and role-playing and becoming different people with your body. It is incredibly hard and there truly is a reason these famous models are famous - because modeling isn't about standing in front of the camera looking pretty, but rather embodying a spirit and being able to adapt and change. 

Read more about the shoot on Vogue.com here. 

Images taken from fashiongonerogue.com

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My First Image

I just found the first print I ever made. I would guess it was around 5th grade when my dad took my brother and me into work with him and taught us how to shoot a film camera on the most basic settings and then helped us develop and print a picture in the darkroom that we had shot. Pretty interesting to see what caught my eye back then. 

Image © Mathea Millman

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Steamfitter

I have to do a visual analysis of this first image by Lewis Hine and I thought it was the perfect inspiration image for a post. 

Steamfitter

Lewis Hine

1920

(first image)

Samantha Casolari:

Images taken from tumblr.com

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Pedro Maldonado

Quick impromptu portrait session with one of my closest friends, Pedro. 

Images © Mathea Millman 2011

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Erwin Olaf

I came across the photographer Erwin Olaf last year when researching contemporary photographers who work in both the fine art and commercial advertising realm. Visually, his perfectly composed, lit, and styled images resemble advertising campaigns and commercial photography yet this is his fine art work. He does shoot commercially for clients such as Diesel, Louis Vuitton, Heineken, and Elle magazine among others.  With this series (Rain, Hope, Grief, Fall) he aims to "challenge the notions of domestic bliss". I think the way he crafts and composes his images (reminiscent of movie stills and mass media marketing) is the perfect way in which to criticize and comment on this mass delirium of commercialism, domesticity, social exclusion, and repressiveness. Check out his other series and some of his short films that accompany each shoot.

His website: http://www.erwinolaf.com/

Grief:

Hope Portraits:

Hope:

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