Posts with tag photography

Coco Chanel seems to be a bit of a theme lately. There are movies and books coming out about Mademoiselle's life seemingly every hour, on the hour, and for good reason -- the woman led an incredibly interesting life, wholly deserving of being chronicled. We recently had a chance to review one of the more unique books about Coco Chanel -- Coco Chanel: Three Weeks/1962.

Rather than retell the story of how Chanel became a success, this book is filled with pictures (and a few select phrases) taken when the icon was 79 years old, when Douglas Kirkland (a very young-looking 27-year-old American photographer at the time) had the opportunity to spend three weeks taking pictures of Paris, Chanel fashion, and, of course, Chanel herself.

Before there was Christy Turlington, Naomi Campbell, and Linda Evangalista, Veruschka reigned supreme in the world of modeling. The 60s-era German icon begin her career at the Ford Modeling Agency and became a muse for famed fashion photographers like Irving Penn and Richard Avedon. Oh, yeah. She dated some guy named Warren Beatty. You may have heard of him.

Anyways, the legend has resurfaced to hawk her new hand bound fashion tome aptly entitled Veruschka, which features tons of glossy images of the supermodel and interviews done by David Willis. Recently, Style.com caught with Veruschka to discuss her new project and the circumstances that surrounded her most iconic images. In this clip, see the supermodel transform into a a sexy femme fatal, a yoga master, and yeah, a black president.

Happy Monday, guys.

Style impresario Scott Schuman (also known as The Sartorialist) is back.

The blogger will be doing what he does best during New York Fashion Week: snapping a select few on-the-street looks that catch his eye.

With his penchant for relaxed but sophisticated style, Schuman's photographs are just as inspiring as anything that comes down the runway. (And they always leave us wishing we could pull off the effortless chic of his Parisian subjects.)

Check out his latest picks here. Just don't blame us if you're struck with the sudden urge to buy an all-new wardrobe.

Students of photography know that some of the most stunning examples of the craft come from advertising work. Edward Steichen In High Fashion is literally a beautiful illustration of this truth.

Although Steichen might not exactly be a household name, his subjects were. In his distinguished career, which included 15 years as the chief photographer for Vogue and Vanity Fair, he snapped stars like Greta Garbo, Fred Astaire, Gloria Swanson and Charlie Chaplin.

The Connections Tradeshow, held over June 10–11, at The Puck Building, NYC, brought together more than 50 of the country's pre-eminent agents for photography and creative services. Attended by art directors, art buyers, advertising agencies, and various ad producers, the show is organized by Le Book.

Le Book, an A–Z directory with editions for New York, London and Paris, is widely used among the fashion and advertising industries for sourcing production elements and talent, but not especially well known in general. In this case, the third year of Connections shows Le Book has moved beyond a niche publication.

Everyone knows image production and advertising are not mere tangents to fashion. And editorial plays a key role as well for the photographers, stylists, art directors, and beauty artists represented at the event. It's a unique show, without any direct competition, that's proving to be remarkably successful in connecting the folks who know the people who make pretty pictures. Photographer specialties included still life, beauty, landscape, interiors, fashion, men's fashion, lifestyle, children, automobile, and celebrity. And while digital image capture is the norm, there was a reasonable amount of film photography represented.

Basically, the convention is three rooms of portfolios to flip through. The strength is that the group isn't entirely New York centric, there's a real intention to pull from other markets. Check out event pictures and these photo portfolios:

• Metz + Racine
• Martien Mulder
• Jork Weismann
• Danielle Levitt
• David Emmite
• Gemma Booth
• Thomas Mangieri
• Franz Walderdoff
• Sabine Pigalle

Michael Buckner is a fashion and celebrity photographer who travels around the world taking pictures on the red carpet. He gives us a behind-the-scenes look at the hottest entertainment industry events.



Thursday I shot inside all access at Billabong's Design for Humanity Fashion Show that benefited the Surfrider Foundation. I roamed on the carpet on Vine Street until the models walked down the runway to music spun by DJ Aoki. Prog rock revivalists MGMT played to a packed house.

The Surfrider Foundation is an environmental organization dedicated to the protection and enhancement of the world's waves and beaches through conservation, so beach apparel was the focus.

Celebrity designers included Cory Kennedy, Lisa Kline, Jenny Han, Amber Valetta, Joy Bryant, and Charlotte Ronson. There were some throwbacks to the seventies and a tribute to the American flag to name a couple trends that Billabong hopes will catch on for Summer.

Celebrities Adrien Grenier, Cameron Richardson, Juliette Lewis, Maynard James Keenan of Tool, John Legend were on hand to catch a glimpse of the show.

Michael Buckner is a fashion and celebrity photographer who travels around the world taking pictures on the red carpet. He gives us a behind-the-scenes look at the hottest entertainment industry events.



I worked on the yellow carpet for video game sensation Rock Band while the Universal Studios back lot burnt down. It took two hours to get to press check-in. I was on a stage at the very end of the carpet with some skilled video-game designers who have a knack for virtual rocking. From Stone Temple Pilots to Queens of the Stone Age, these guys knew every four-button combo of every song.

Being at the end of the carpet, most didn't want to stop, let alone play a three minute karaoke version of Bon Jovi's "Wanted Dead or Alive." I got some good talent nonetheless: Carson Daly, Cisco Adler, the Pussycat Dolls, Tila Tequila and so many others.

Michael Buckner is a fashion and celebrity photographer who travels around the world taking pictures on the red carpet. He gives us a behind-the-scenes look at the hottest entertainment industry events.



The sun blasted on me behind the line at Grauman's Chinese Theater on Sunday at the Kung Fu Panda premiere. Jack Black, the voice of "Po," was dressed to the 9's in his sweat pants and blue T-shirt. He put on his usual high-kick action show. He's got a Black Belt in hillariousness!

Lucy Liu, who plays Viper, was striking in a Pink dress with ruffles.

New World star Q'orianka Kilcher wore a dress of her own bohemian design. You gotta respect someone who cuts and sews her own fashion.

And all star Maria Bello channeled the style of Italian Star Sophia Loren. Scarf tied around the neck, white pants. Very Italian mod.

Besides Dustin Hoffman and James Hong, it was a pretty light morning.

No Angelina Jolie and kids.

Michael Buckner is a fashion and celebrity photographer who travels around the world taking pictures on the red carpet. He gives us a behind-the-scenes look at the hottest entertainment industry events.

The rain wont stop, and when you're riding in a scooter there is no better idea than to drink vodka on the rocks with a lens all night. Oh, and work too.

By the time I made it to the Belvedere Vodka Jagger Dagger Party, I had already clocked 16 hours. So it was time to relax. Which was inevitable because no security guard in the V.I.P. club in Pointe Croissette cared that was the hired photographer this night. "Unlimited access" quickly turned into "hanging with the papparrazzi." Mark Ronson spun some tasty grooves as Jade Jagger, daughter of Rolling Stone Mick Jagger, displayed her $250,000 diamond and gem studded ice pick.

Browse the gallery to see my photos from the party, along with a few shots from Tuesday and Wednesday.

Michael Buckner is a fashion and celebrity photographer who travels around the world taking pictures on the red carpet. He gives us a behind-the-scenes look at the hottest entertainment industry events.

I drove around in a scooter all day and nearly all night searching for the talented and fashionable. It rained and rained nearly all day. Wet streets, tuxedos and a dumb American who can't read the street signs spells disaster. But I've done alright so far. I had to lay her down once while I was parking because I accidentally pushed on the gas while breaking.

No Scrapes, no foul.


See coverage of all the films Cannes has to offer at Cinematical.

Michael Buckner is a fashion and celebrity photographer who travels around the world taking pictures on the red carpet. He gives us a behind-the-scenes look at the hottest entertainment industry events.

The Blindness after party at the Beach 3.14 was packed and vibrant. Beautiful well dressed people drink champagne and eat caviar. A splendid mix of tourists, executives, French locals, models and actors pack these beachfront restaurants-turned-all-night-dance parties. Julianne Moore stayed in the corner with the Focus Features clan while Danny Glover danced with the locals.


Producer Isabel Werlink (L) and actor Gael Garcia Bernal attend the Focus Features Party held at Beach 3.14. Gael sports the "No Tie" Tuxedo better than any man I've met.

Do you ever wonder (while flipping through yet another fashion magazine and pausing to ponder exactly how the hell someone thought to pair that giraffe-patterned sweater with the mango-colored footless tights and managed to make it look fashionable), if anyone in the real world actually puts together ensembles like that? You know, without a team of stylists working for them?

While I can certainly put together an outfit for an occasion, I'm sorry to say I don't dress quite to the nines every time I hit Whole Foods. And even then, I look around, and I'm not the worst dressed person in the building. This is depressing.

The Sartorialist has renewed my confidence in the world's ability to dress for everyday activities. The blog consists of pictures of fabulous (but for the most part, regular) people on the street (and occasionally at a fashion show, but not the models), and was started by a man who had been in the fashion industry for years. It has garnered numerous awards and is a Time Magazine Top 100 Design Influencer -- I know for certain it has influenced me. How will it change your closet?

So say you're a world-famous model or actress, and everyone is constantly taking your picture, telling you how beautiful you are, and including you on Top Ten Most Attractive lists -- how do you deal with it all?

Keira Knightley simply responds: "Thanks. I've got good genes!"

But beyond that, the star also acknowledges that much of her appearance is crafted by others. She tells People: "OK, I'm on the cover of a magazine, but somebody else does the hair, and the makeup, and airbrushes the f--- out of me -- it's not me, it's something other people have created."

We're used to seeing movie stars', and even politicians' images grossly manipulated by photographers who go crazy with Photoshop. It's refreshing to see someone in the public eye being so frank and down to Earth about what's becoming an increasingly ridiculous practice.

You've heard time and again that photos of models in magazines are digitally altered -- sometimes drastically. People look thinner, have whiter teeth and brighter skin -- even re-shaped breasts and backsides. Most of these effects are achieved with photo editing software, which is time consuming to learn and to use. So, chances are, you don't have time to trim a few pounds off in photos you share with friends and family.

But what if your digital camera could do that work for you?

A feature on some HP models allows you to condense the image your photographing, which -- in essence -- makes the subject look thinner. You've all head that "the camera adds 10 pounds," and, according to the camera's manufacturers, the "slimming feature" corrects that. In that way, it's like using red-eye reduction to keep your subjects from looking like demons when you use the flash, or the camera's "skin tone" features to make sure no one winds up a sickly shade of green.

Or maybe it's just a little boost for your self-esteem. In any case, if you're interested, check out this list of HP cameras that come with this feature.

Imagined by We Make Money Not Art, a style/fashion/art collective with contributors from the UK, Japan and Germany, this reflective photo spray can't stop the paparazzi from taking your photo -- but it can make shooting your more or less pointless.

The idea is simple. Because the spray is filled with super-reflective nanoparticles, it messes with camera sensors, and makes anything you spray it with look like a white flash when photographed.

At the moment, it's only a theory, but the technology exists to make it possible. The concept for the spray based on an existing project by Hewlett-Packard. The company is working on an electronic badge that, according to the Times Online, "will allow the publicity-shy to transmit an infrared signal to any nearby compatible camera. Once activated, the camera's software will automatically blur beyond recognition the face of anybody wearing the badge."

Granted, that article is from 2004, so who knows if they ever completed that project. Given the number of celebrity photos I see every day, I guess the badge never made it off the ground.

That said, it's certainly an exciting prospect for anyone who's sick of being chased by paparazzi every time they leave their house.