Monday, November 11, 2013

John Rankin Waddell - "The Seven Photohraphs That Changed Fashion"

FIRSTLY I WILL SAY SOME FACTS ABOUT RANKIN, THEN I AM GOING TO TALK ABOUT THE DOCUMENTARY THAT'S FEATURED IN MY POST TITLE. JOHN RANKIN WADDELL IS ALSO KNOWN UNDER HIS WORKING NAME RANKIN. HE IS AND ENGLISH PORTRAIT AND FASHION PHOTOGRAPHER. RANKIN MADE HIS NAME IN PUBLISHING MONTHLY MAGAZINE DAZED & CONFUSED WITH JEFFERSON HACK WHO IS JOURNALIST AND MAGAZINE EDITOR, AND THIS HAPPENED IN 1992. HE HAS PUBLISHED OVER 30 BOOKS, HE IS REGULARLY EXHIBITED IN GALLERIES AROUND THE WORLD. IN LAST FEW YEARS HE HAS BEEN PRESENTING HIS PHOTOGRAPHY STUDIES THROUGH TV WORKING WITH BBC AND HAS FEATURED IN NUMBERS OF DOCUMENTARIES INCLUDING; 'THE SEVEN PHOTOGRAPHS THAT CHANGED FASHION'. RANKIN HAS BEEN INTO PHOTOGRAPHY FOR OVER 20 YEARS. IN THIS DOCUMENTARY RANKIN RE-CREATES SEVEN OF HIS FAVORITE IMAGES AND HE TAKES A JOURNEY THROUGH A HISTORY OF THE FASHION PHOTOGRAPHY. HE RE-CREATES IMAGES BY CECIL BEATON, ERWIN BLUMENFELD, RICHARD AVEDON, HELMUT NEWTON, HERB RITTS, DAVID BAILEY AND GUY BOURDIN. RANKIN EXPOSES THE WAYS IN WHICH FASHION PHOTOGRAPHY USES FANTASY AND BEAUTY TO COMMUNICATE SOMETHING ABUT REALITY. THERE ARE 8 MODELS THAT WILL HELP RANKIN RE-CREATE THESE IMAGES INCLUDING HEIDI KLUM, ERIN O'CONNOR, JADE PARFITT, SOPHIE ELLIS-BEXTOR, TUULI SHIPSTER, MOLLIE GONDHI, DAPHNE GUINNESS AND DAVID GANDY. THERE ARE ALSO TWO PHOTOGRAPHERS THAT WILL HELP HIM ASWELL AND THEY ARE; DAVID BAILEY AND LILIAN BASSMAN.

"WHITE PANAMA HAT" - VOGUE 1934 
PHOTOGRAPHER: CECIL BEATON.
THIS AN ICONIC IMAGE THAT CECIL HAS TAKEN FOR VOGUE TO SHOW A NEW HAT DESIGN, BUT CECIL HAS BROUGHT TO IT ELEGANCE AND PLAYFULNESS. THE CREATIVITY OF THIS IMAGE IS AMAZING. THE FRAMING IS PERFECT AS IT SHOWS A LITTLE BIT OF BACKGROUND AND HER FACE MAKE YOU WANT TO LOOK AT HER NOT ON THE HAT OR A BORING BACKGROUND AND IN MY OPINION THIS IS WHAT MAKES THE PHOTOGRAPH GOOD BECAUSE YOU NOT ONLY SEE THE HAT AND CONSTRUCTION OF THE IMAGE BUT ALSO A MODEL WHO FITS PERFECTLY WITH THIS ALL. 







THIS IS THE RE-CREATION BY RANKIN. TO MAKE THIS PHOTOGRAPH, HE USED SOPHIE ELLIS-BEXTOR AS HIS MODEL BECAUSE HE THINKS THAT SHE FITS PERFECTLY IN 30'S. RANKIN WAS TAKING THIS PHOTOGRAPH ON BLACK AND WHITE 10x8 FILM CAMERA BUT ALSO HE TRIED TO TAKE IT DIGITALLY, AND AS HE EXPLAINS SOPHIE HAD DEFINITELY AN ENIGMATIC LOOK ON THE FILM IMAGE THAT'S NOT THERE ON HIS DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPH. THE ONE THAT I POSTED HERE IS DIGITAL AS I COULD NOT FIND THE ONE THAT HE TOOK ON FILM CAMERA. 










IMAGE ON THE LEFT WAS TAKEN BY ERWIN BLUMENFELD IN 1950. IT WAS A VOGUE COVER. ERWIN FOCUSED MOST ON EYES AND LIPS. THE MOST INCREDIBLE THING ABOUT HIS IMAGE IS THAT IT WAS TAKEN IN BLACK AND WHITE, SO TO MAKE IT COLOR ONE HE HAD TO PAINT IT. THE PHOTOGRAPH ON RIGHT IS TAKEN BY RANKIN IN 2008 AND HE USED HEIDI KLUM AS A MODEL. HE HAS USED 21st CENTURY TECHNIQUES TO EDIT THAT PHOTOGRAPH. RANKIN THINKS THAT BLUMENFELD CREATED AN IMAGE THAT SUMS UP ELEGANCE AND BEAUTY. WHEN YOU LOOK AT ERWINS PHOTOGRAPH YOU THINK IT SHOULD NOT MAKE SEANCE BUT YOU DON'T EVEN QUESTION THINGS LIKE 'WHY CAN'T WE SEE HER CHEEK BONE?' OR 'WHERE IS HER NOSE?' BECAUSE THE PHOTOGRAPH WORKS PERFECTLY. 


IMAGE ON THE LEFT IS TAKEN BY RICHARD AVEDON "DOVIMA WITH ELEPHANTS" - HARPERS BAZAAR 1955. THIS IMAGE IS AVEDON'S MASTERPIECE. RANKING THINKS THAT THE COMPOSITION OF RICHARD'S IMAGE IS ALMOST PERFECT BUY IT'S THE DRAMA THAT MAKES IT SO SPECIAL. RANKIN HAS NEVER BEEN WORKING WITH ELEPHANTS BEFORE SO THE SCALE OF THE SHOOT WAS MAKING HIM A BIT NERVOUS. FOR THIS SHOOT RANKIN WANTED A MODEL WITH A TOUCH OF DOVIMA SO HE HAS CHOSEN ERIN O'CONNOR WHICH IS BRITISH CATWALK LEGEND. TO RE-CREATE THIS IMAGE IT WAS A GREAT CHALLENGE FOR RANKIN AND HE WAS VERY PLEASED WITH IT. WHAT I LIKE ABOUT THIS IMAGE IS THAT RANKIN DIDN'T REALLY COPY THE IMAGE BUT HE MADE HIS OWN VERSION OF IT AND IT LOOKS VERY ELEGANT. 






















THE IMAGE ON THE LEFT WAS TAKEN BY DAVID BAILEY FOR VOGUE IN 1963. THE MODEL FOR THIS PHOTOGRAPH WAS JEAN SHRIMPTON. ROF RANKIN DAVID WAS ONE OF HIS IDOLS THAT HAVE CREATED MOST ICONIC IMAGES. FOR RE-CREATION OF THIS IMAGE RANKIN INVITED BAILEY FOR HELPING AND WATCHING HIM. RANKIN'S GOING TO USE HIS GIRLFRIEND AS A MODEL. HER NAME IS TUULI SHIPSTER RANKIN THINKS THAT YOU CAN FEEL THE INTIMACY BETWEEN DAVID AND HIS MODEL. THE IMAGE IS A BIT IN STYLE OF AVEDON BUT IT'S MORE MODERN AND BAILEY SORT OF STYLE. THEY BOTH DID NOT USE W WIND MACHINE FOR THOSE IMAGES BECAUSE BAILEY THOUGHT IT WOULD BLOW HER HAIR MORE THAT IT SHOULD SO THEY USED WHITE CARD. RANKIN HAS SHOT HIS PHOTOGRAPH ON ROLLEI JUST LIEK DAVID BAILEY DID IN 60'S.  



THE PHOTOGRAPH ON THE LEFT IS TAKEN BY HELMUT NEWTON 'RUE AUBRIOT' FOR VOGUE IN 1975. HELMUT MOVED FASHION PHOTOGRAPHY FORWARD. RANKIN THINKS THAT THIS IMAGE HAS THE DODGIEST FEEL EVER . NEWTON HAS SHOT THIS IMAGE IN PARIS AND RANKIN WANTS TO DO THE SAME THING. NEWTON MODEL WAS NAMED VIBEKE KNUDSEN, IN HER OPINION ON THIS IMAGE IT WAS SOMETHING IN THE ATMOSPHERE, THERE WAS ONLY FEW PEOPLE ON THE STREET AND IT FELT LIKE THE TIME HAS STOPPED FOR A MOMENT, THERE WAS A MAGIC. JADE PARFITT WAS A PERFECT MODEL FOR RANKIN AS SHE FITTED PERFECTLY INTO THE SAME LOOK THAT VIBEKE GAVE NEWTON IN 70'S. THE IMAGE IS NEARLY THE SAME BUT STILL DIFFERENT. YOU CAN FEEL THE ATMOSPHERE ON BOTH IMAGES SO I THINK RANKIN MADE A FANTASTIC RE-CREATION BUT WITH MODER LOOK.


IMAGE AT THE TOP WAS TAKEN BY GUY BOURDIN IN 1970 FOR VOGUE. IT LOOKS LIKE AN SIMPLE IMAGE BUT AT THE SAME TIME IT IS PERFECTLY BROUGHT OUT. RANKIN RE-CREATED THAT IMAGE USING DAPHNE GUINNES. SHE IS A MODEL AND FASHION DESIGNER, SHE LOOKS SO DIFFERENT TO GUY'S MODEL BUT SHE IS PERFECT BECAUSE HE WANTED TO CREATE MODERN VERSION OF IT WITH A STRONGER LOOK IN HIS MODEL EYES. GUY'S ASSISTANT THINKS THAT THE POSSIBILITY OF GETTING IT THE SAME IS MUCH BIGGER. AS HIS ASSISTANCE SAID GUY ALWAYS USE TO SAY THAT THERE WILL BE ELECTRONIC PICTURES AND IT ALL WILL BE EASIER AND RANKIN ACTUALLY MADE IT. ALSO TO GET SOME IMAGES ALL PERFECT YOU HAVE TO GET TRYING AND TRYING. GUY WAS BASICALLY CONTROLLING EVERYTHING THAT WAS HAPPENING ON IMAGES. 
THE PHOTOGRAPH ON THE LEFT WAS TAKEN BY HERB RITTS IN 1984 FOR PER LUI. THE IMAGE TITLE WAS 'FRED WITH TYRES'. IN THE 80'S IT WAS A GUYS TURN TO BE REINVENTED. HERB'S PHOTOGRAPHS WERE REALLY STRONG, CONTRAST, YOU COULD REALLY SEE THE SHADOW, LIGHT IN FANTASTIC WAY.  HE WANTED TO MAKE BEAUTIFUL IMAGES AND BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE. THIS ONE IMAGE CAME FROM SERIES OF IMAGES ORIGINALLY DESIGNED AS A SIMPLE FEATURE ABOUT WORKERS IN DENIM. FRED WITH TYRES WAS ORIGINALLY SHOT IN LA BUT RANKIN WILL TAKE HIS HOMAGE IN LONDON. DAVID GANDY WILL BE A MODEL FOR RANKIN. HE IS ONE OF THE FAMOUS MALE MODELS IN FASHION. HE IS A FACE OF DOLCE AND GABBANA. TO GET AS CLOSE AS POSSIBLE TO ORIGINAL IMAGE RANKIN WILL SHOOT ON THE SAME CAMERA RITTS SHOT HIS IMAGE. IT WAS A FILM CAMERA. RANKIN WAS ALSO TAKING THIS IMAGE ON POLAROID AND BODY OF THE MODEL LOOKED GREAT ON POLAROID IMAGE. RANKIN THINKS THAT THEY ARE NOT EXACTLY THE SAME IMAGES BUT IT IS A VERY GOOD BRITISH VERSION OF WHAT RITTS WAS TRYING TO ACHIVE. 

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