Posterous theme by Cory Watilo

Masks, Lace & Romance at Charing+

An mjfstudio photo shoot for Richelle Dynae & Audra E. S/S12 collection

20110925_199_lowq_wm

 

Sunday, 25th September 2011, Charing Cross Hotel, London.

 

The meeting is at 10:00 AM sharp, in the sumptuous Betjeman Hall of the charming hotel on the Strand.

 

20100918_148_lowq_wm

 

If you have never walked through the doors of this hotel, you couldn't imagine how contrasting the relaxing atmosphere, the lushness of lounges and punctual client service compared to the the buzzy Charing Cross Station just below, where everyday thousands of commuters rush from and towards their trains.

 

Jose, our super kind – always with a smile – impeccable hotel porter with his classic all-brass hotel trolley, helps us with all our photo and lighting equipment, 

which is extensive (see bottom list) due the size of the room we were going to shoot in.

All the cast and the crew is on time and this always helps to set a good start for a day-long job. So we can start to organise areas for stage and backstage, as well as a separate room for model dressing and make-up.

 

Richelle and Audra, the hyper-talented fashion designers, arrive carrying their huge luggage full of clothing: 14 different garments to shoot, including millineries that are pieces of art themselves.

 

10:30 AM - Ruth and Ania, the make-up artist at Make Up 2 Dazzle, are preparing the models - three for the day - Claire, Forough and Grace, while Alfredo, my trusted assistant, and I are starting to unpack and assemble our gear, deciding how to recreate the mood the designers have requested: a sophisticated and classical atmosphere, matching colours and shapes of the garments of their Spring/Summer 2012 collection. Today their S/S12 look-book is going to receive its best consecration.

 

With this designer's brief, we take the decision to include as much as possible 

the features of this beautiful room in the scene: tall windows with golden curtains should frame the models while the marble floor pattern accentuates the drama and leads the eye to the garments.

To achieve this target, we plan to shoot with a medium/small aperture, placing the models in the centre of the big room; this way we can guarantee the necessary separation between the main subject and the background, which anyway won't be blurred out, revealing its fine decor.

 

My love for the dramatic light transitions, where colours and shapes emerge out from the darkness like a Caravaggio panting, can be a perfect match here with the style of Richelle and Audra collection. Therefore I can modify the lighting as I prefer: a lot of grids and snoots, to direct the beams exactly where I want, leaving all the unnecessary and distracting objects in second field.


 

11:30 AM - We are ready to start the shoot, the models come out in their first outfits... and they are stunning!

A couple of test shots to measure the light and balance the colour and we are on full throttle. Everybody knows what to do: Alfredo with an eye on the monitor (we always shoot tethered) adjusts light positions and props according to the poses, which are co-ordinated between Richelle and Strawberry, the talented and imaginative art director. Audra and the MUAs in the dressing room check the last details in the garments and guarantee a constant feeding of models to the set.

20110925_046_lowq_wm
20110925_143_lowq_wm
20110925_236_lowq_wm
03:00 PM - After shooting continuously for almost four hours we all feel we need to introduce a variation. Then Strawberry uses the ace up her sleeve: she has previously spoken with a manager of the hotel and, using her charm she managed to secure the main staircase for a couple of shots!

This is exactly what the designers wanted, since it is a beautiful and majestic piece of architecture that perfectly matches the finesse of their Spring/Summer collection.

In few minutes we become "airborne", transporting all the manageable equ

ipment on this new set. Since for health&safety we cannot lie any equipment on the floor (hotel clients could stumble on it), Alfredo is doing the hardest work, holding a strobe with softbox over the models' heads. We are all aligned on a side of the big staircase, pressed along the balustrade so not to show our reflections on the big mirrors on the wall, which are instead a good prop to show both sides of the garments.

Even hotel guests enjoy a rare glimpse at this beautiful collection of clothing.
The models have their difficulties descending and climbing the steps with high heels and long trains, but everybody do their job with the best will and professionalism, so we can manage everything quickly and smoothly... and we have the shot!
20110925_436_-_version_2_lowq_wm
Back to the Betjeman Hall we can continue the session, completing the shoot successfully. Once again, I am amazed to see though my lens, appearing like a magic fairytale, wonderful pieces of clothing and millinery, so innovative, provocative and fine in their details... but this is what Richelle and Audra do every day!
20110925_466_lowq_wm
20110925_488_lowq_wm
20110925_511_lowq_wm
04:30 PM - We can shout out "it's a wrap!" calling the shoot over. We have completed our task for the day and all the pictures are safe in the hard drive.
20110925_521_lowq_wm
20110925_545_lowq_wm
05:00 PM - Everything is double checked and packed so we can leave all the equipment to the cares of Jose. Soon the images have to be scrutinised, selected and post-processed... but that's another story. Today we are all tired but satisfied, feeling that we have achieved another good shoot!

 

Thank you.

 

View all the images of the shoot here : http://mjfstudio.zenfolio.com/p112678851

View a slideshow here : 

 

View behind the scene short video here (courtesy of Cristina Polizzi) : http://youtu.be/M1sTCVWW2RY

 

 

credits :

Clothing Design : Richelle Dynae at www.richelledynae.com

Millinery Design : Audra E. at www.audra-e.com

Photography : Marco Fazio at www.mjfstudiophoto.com

Photographer's Assistant : Alfredo Ezquerra Sanchez
Art Director : Strawberry Love at mjfstudio photographic bureau
Hair & Make-Up : Ana Rubio & Ruth Lynch at www.makeup2dazzle.co.uk

Models : Grace Cruse, Claire Gamble, Forough Hosseini Jonghani

 

equipment :

  • Nikon camera and lenses: D700, 50mm f/1.4, 135mm f/2 DC, (wide, check photos)
  • Profoto lighting : 2x D1 500W monolight, Acute 2R 2400W with two heads, White Softlight reflector with grid (beauty dish), 30x120 Striplight Softbox, standard reflectors with grids and snoot
  • extra lighting : Nikon SB-800 with Lastolite Ezybox + grid

 

 

A very special thanks to Cristina Polizzi for the backstage footages, thanks to Milou Van Bogaert, Jose and all the staff of Charing Cross Hotel for their professionalism and careful support to our work.

 

mjf
... who says romance is dead? !!!

 

Once upon a time a Pier

M

One lazy Sunday in May I was driving around the English countryside with Strawberry, my partner for life and muse for work. Arrived on the Sussex coast, the vision of this derelict giant protruding into the sea caught my attention.
Parked the car, we walked on the pebble beach of Hastings, arriving just below the impressive cast iron structure of
the pier.
The desolation and abandon of this place, emphasised by the stormy weather and splashing waves gave me a very intense sensation of times goes by.
I took few shots under the deck, at risk of collapse, but enough to breath this atmosphere and make me willing to di
scover more about it.
M
M

The pier was opened in 1872, constituting one of the innovative architectures and a wonderful place for walks and entertainments of the Victorian era.

Hastings_pier_original

Resisting and surviving to a fire in 1917, which destroyed his original 2,000 seater pavillion, it has been used for major events and concert in the 1960s and 1970s. The Rolling Stones, The Who, Jimi Hendrix, Pink Floyd and many others played here some unforgettable concerts.

Hastings_pier_1960s

During the last years the Hastings Pier & White Rock Trust and the Hastings Observer supported several initiatives and c
ampaigns to raise founds and save the Pier. Some primary preservation measures has been done, but a full consolidation and restoration has been estimated over £50.

Then its decline, culminating with a second devastating fire in 2010, has given the pier today's appearance, a big old rusty monster standing on the sea.

Hastings-pier-in-flames-006
The engineers dismally commented that the pier is "one good storm away from collapse".

Go there and admire this wonderful creature of the past before it is too late.

mjf

 

Battersea Power Station in HDR

20110416_010_hdr_wm

 

The first time in my life I have seen Battersea Power Station it haven't been in London. It happened in Italy, I was 11 years old and the picture was on the cover of Pink Floyd's album Animals.

Animals

Since then, that massive brickwork building with his four tall white chimneys has been in my memory as an imaginary place, until one of my first trips to London in 2007, when I discovered that it was one of the main coal-fired power station of the city, built in the 1930s (designed by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott), doubled in the 1950s and then decommissioned and definitely closed in 1983. (more info here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battersea_Power_Station)
It has been a long time since I proposed myself to go and shoot it in detail. Unfortunately I have arrived late, because nowadays the site, open to visits until few months ago, has been fenced by Real Estate Opportunity the new developer, who is planning a "sustainable regeneration will offer a mix of uses including residential, offices, arts and culture, all of which will be served by retail, leisure and performance space, along with a fantastic new 6 acre park fronting the River Thames". (more info here: http://www.battersea-powerstation.com/)

Moved by an instinct of preservation and not discouraged by the inaccessible site, on a mild day of Spring I went on expedition with my field gear, determined to come back with a decent witnessing of what the Battersea Power Station is today, before it will change face forever.
After a careful reconnaissance by foot all around the perimeter I realised the only point that was giving me a full view, not obstructed by fences, railways and buildings, was the opposite bank of the Thames on Grosvenor Road.

I know already, what I will confess here below will be blamed by landscape photography purists: I didn't go back to the place on any possible sunset to catch the perfect light. I was more interested to experiment and demonstrate myself that is possible to get an interesting picture even when shooting on a dull day on mid-morning hours.

Once placed my camera on tripod and set a 0.9 ND filter on my 50 mm glass to slow the shutter to the minimum, I took shots bracketing the exposure on five stops. This way I had five different correct exposures for the dark areas (see the pillars under the river dock) as well for the highlights (the white chimneys high in the sky).

20110416_008-012
Back to my studio, the images have been combined in High-Dynamic-Range process, with an optimal result for the building.
20110416_010_hdr-plain
Due weather conditions, the sky was still monotone and lacked of expressivity, not in tune with the powerful character of the construction. Therefore I took the decision to superimpose a more appealing "red sky rich of clouds" from my photo library.

Yes, I admit it, the sky that you can see in the final image, included its reflection on the river, wasn't there that day... but hopefully the reader will find the result appropriate to dignify the real beauty of this great London landmark.

mjf

 

The King of Cannes

Jaques_dazur_king_of_cannes

Men would like to be this man, women would like to have him... Jacques d'Azur, the King of Cannes.

It seems to me that Daniel Day Lewis took inspiration from Messieur d'Azur when he performed the Italian director Guido Contini in NINE by Rob Marshall.

I suggest you to watch the short video (follow the link), truly inspirational!

(download)

per aspera ad astra

mjf

Private Property in Belgravia

London, Tuesday 5th April 2011

I have just completed to edit my latest interior photography shoot for a stunning private dwelling in Belgravia, London.
The mansion, refurbished recently by Sacks Maguire Architect with a contemporary and prestigious design, includes an indoor swimming pool and an home cinema theatre.

The shoot, all executed in one day running up and down the five storey house, has been done combining natural daylight with studio strobes. While previously I used to light the rooms with heavier and bulkier Kinoflo constant fluorescent lighting, this time I decided to try more manageable strobes (flash lighting) and I can say I am very satisfied by the result.
Absolutely important when using strobes is to check the result of the photos immediately, thanks to the computer tethering technique, since lights and shadows cannot be seen, but only predicted.

The result, more than fifty high quality photos, will be released on the website after delivery and approval by the client... stay tuned!

31b3cf2ac7690e46184d03d7363f63