August 25, 2015

Welcome Le-Croix






These photos have been choosed by Le-Croix himself. They represent the way he wants to be showed, today, because tomorrow is always different.

If I refer to the categories in which he sorts his beautiful photos, beyond the dark, gothic, surreal and fantasy ones, I've also seen artistic, glamour and classic labels. In fact, thanks to his fertile imagination allied to a great technique, Le-Croix is not a photographer we could really classify in one only genre.

So, Le-Croix is an inspired artist, a true one never satisfied, a great photographer and an accomplished painter encouraged from his very early age by his father. What a lucky man !








"Easy full frame"








How did all that begin ? I know you received your first camera at the age of five ?...
" I've always liked visual arts, ever since I was a child. But my real passion for photography started when my daughter was born in 1984. As I studied to get better, I discovered a certain 'style' which excited me, this was dramatic black and white.

I was hugely influenced by Bob Carlos Clarke, Ansel Adams and the Hollywood photographers of the 1940' and 50's. "







"Bend over, bad boy..."







Have you some projects running ?
"I have produced a catalogue for a fetish wear manufacturer. I am now concentrating on producing quality black and white erotic photographic prints for sale via the web. Oh ! And I've just done a 7" vinyl cover for U.S. Black Metal band "Black Trinity"."


What about your next book ?

"Ah, the book... It seems I'm always working on the book ! My style is constantly evolving and so the content of the book keeps changing... I am never satisfied."







"Bound, look closely..."





Thank you Le-Croix ! And see you very soon.




August 22, 2015

Alex B, first feature


Alex B. by David J. Green
"Bride"



Alex B. from London, UK, has recently joined the UdA team of editors. Find her at her official site, her very active blog, deviantART, Purestorm, Model Mayhem, Art Limited and Musecube. Follow her on Twitter @alexb244









"The corkscrew"
Among finalists in Carrie Leigh NUDE 2010 international competition, published in summer/Fall issue







"Brancusian"




Art Model, self portraitist and a sometime dancer, Alex is a very prolific writer.

Annie Leibowitz, Man Ray, Cecil Beaton, Helmut Newton, Joyce Tenneson , Pascal Renoux and many more are her favourite photographers.
Her deepest wish is to be someone’s muse for a year or so and travel around the world taking pictures in unusual locations.


"Studio Nude"













Alex B. is an Art Model of Italian origin currently based in the UK. She has been a life model for many years, starting when she was twenty years old but her main activity is the study of dance and performance.

After a modelling come back in her forties, as a life model first, Alex has been doing art nude and commercial photographic modelling for some years. She has also explored fashion and editorial.





by Marcello Pozzetti
"Detail"











With a Doctorate in the Arts, Alex has been involved in higher education teaching since the early 1990s. She is currently retraining as a dance/movement psychotherapist and thoroughly enjoying the experience.


Art nude modelling for Alex is a passion and an extension of her dance experience.















by DG
"The Squat"









"Waterfall"






Wannabe Models : How do you develop staying power?

One of the questions Alex was asked during an interview published on deviantArt was about sharing tips with wannabe models. Alex said the following:
"Ask for feedback on your performance, especially if you are working with a good photographer. Make note of your shortcomings but also review your strengths. Make sure you come across as uniquely different. There will always be thousands of beautiful girls. Just be you, believe in yourself and that will take you far. Be prepared to work hard. And most importantly: if you don’t feel comfortable say no!"
So, back to staying power.






"Black Hat "






As of now, after a hiatus of many years, Alex is back making dance work, rebuilding her creative practice, and continues with art modelling, as well as writing. She is already busy getting features ready for UdA, so keep on visiting.







by Michael Culhane

Male Art Model Mike Cooney
"In love"



Who knows what the future will bring?



August 20, 2015

Welcome Scott Church





Scott Church at his official site, his live-journal, Model Mayhem.









Scott Church is a 35 years old professional photographer since 16 years, doing nothing else but photography :

"This is my day job, this is my night job, this is all that I am."
Of course, I perfectly see what he means, because I share the same kind of complete implication in my writer's job.














Scott Church lives in Lebanon, Pennsylvania, USA. Until now he has published four books ("Thirty Pieces of Silver", "TrashGlamour", "Good Luck In Hell" and "Revelation", link under construction at this time), and he's actually working on his fifth :

" My present world is just about making the best photos I can everyday. I'm currently working on a new book of my "greatest hits". It will be my fifth published book. I'm hoping for a christmas release, but we'll see."


















Scott Church made in october 2006 his first solo exhibition at KMFK Gallery, New York, a great moment he appreciated at its true value, and I'm sure the next show will come very soon because he deserves it.

As usual, facing a fulfilled "young, rich, gifted and beautiful" artist, I find very difficult to make a choice through all his photos. This one because I love the light ? Or maybe this one for the idea ?... Or for the colors, for his shadows, for the pose, the model, his golden point approach ?!!!

Let's stop the words to discover some shots I deeply like, among the hundreds of his amazing work.

And a lot of thanks Scott for the precious time you gave me !







"In a red window"










"Cloth skin and water"










"How many more, how many days"




August 13, 2015

The New Candid Nude by Kiran Patil, part 2




Article written and illustrated by Kiran.




"Rebecca"






The New Candid Nude, written by Kiran Patil





















"Candace N II"



Nudity, by itself, is not sexual to me. It is honest. 

That is the crux of why I continue to explore what I will call the "new candid nude".Candid nudes have been photographed since the invention of the camera. What I feel is 'new' in my work is the philosophy behind the approach of taking the photograph, not necessarily the visible properties of the picture itself. It much more than a simple snapshot aesthetic of yesteryear.


I have found that there are three masks that most people wear when they are photographed : clothing, physical and emotional.






"Morgan"




























"Elisa"



Let's look at an imaginary man walking out of a corner cafe, cigarette poking out between his lips, sporting a leather jacket and sunglasses. What is our impression of him ? His eyes are hidden, adding an air of mystery. The leather jacket exudes a tough-guy persona and the cigarette hanging from his mouth screams of being a rebel. Whether we conciously realize it or not, clothing acts as a mask of how we want the world to see us.

Remove the clothing and we remove the first mask to help reveal the true Essence of a person. This is why nudity is essential in my photography.





























"Carrie"




Clothing is just the first obstacle, however. We still have to deal with the physical and emotional masks, which are much tougher to unveil.

The physical mask is the purposeful way that a person postures their body to interact with the camera, the environment and themself.

As we all know from looking at glamour magazines, certain poses and facial gestures signify sexuality, submissiveness, strength, success and so forth. When being photographed, even inexperienced models will often structure their body and face such a way that projects an image flattering to the viewer. In a world obsessed with perfect images, one cannot blame a would-be model for doing this.






"Kerri"




In order to break the free from the physical mask, I ask the subject to engage in an activity.

I find that the act of doing something - anything - for a length of time can push the awareness of being gazed at from the forefront of model's mind.





"Kerri II"





























"Claire"




The emotional mask is tethered to the physical mask. We express how we feel by our body's posture. When the physical mask goes down, the underlying cause is the erosion of the emotional mask.

In performing an activity and concentrating on that one task, a person will show their true self. 

Even something as innoculous and dull as folding their laundry will reveal a state of emotion that they may have been holding back. It is important that the photographer not take photos right away. Some time must pass before the model "loses themself" in the activity.




























"Helene"



The goal of the new candid nude is to explore the person's Essence - the intangible quality that makes a person who they are.


The emotional mask is the last layer to peel away before the viewer is able to see the truth of a person's existence.

Whether the photo is a success or not, we should applaud everyone who steps in front of my camera. Once the emotional mask is removed, there is a vulnerability that is exposed and if I were a brutal madman, I could easily say something to strongly wound a person's psyche.

The new candid nude is not a venture that should be taken lightly by a photographer. Every word and every action taken should be considered carefully.

August 7, 2015

Siyar Demircan joins us




Siyar Demircan is 29. He's from Istanbul, Turkey, a great city I visited with an incredible pleasure. By now, what I know about him, I'm waiting for more, it's that he loves Nuri Bilge Ceylan, me too, and dark movies (impossible if I want to write fairy tales...).

So here is a short exhibition, the first of a long serie, you'll understand why by watching these pieces of art.





"BW Detail 166"








"BW Detail 165"










"BW Detail 159"










"BW Detail 161"




August 3, 2015

Kiran Patil : The New Candid Nude, part 1


Member since 2010


The New "Candid Nude" by Kiran Patil :

The goal of the new candid nude is to explore the person's Essence, the intangible quality that makes a person who they are. The emotional mask is the last layer to peel away before the viewer is able to see the truth of a person's existence. Whether the photo is a success or not, we should applaud everyone who steps in front of my camera. Once the emotional mask is removed, there is a vulnerability that is exposed.


The new candid nude is not a venture that should be taken lightly by a photographer. Every word and every action taken should be considered carefully.





"Peek"







"Towel"







"Craft"







"Fiddler"







"Beautify"


August 1, 2015

Dave Rudin, a B&W aficionado



Dear Dave,When I proposed you to write an article about your works, you told me a big yes ! A big thank you, Dave, you make my day !





Genesis...
I began photographing nudes at a workshop in Woodstock, New York, in August of 1995.

The previous year, I had completed four years of going to business school at night (including summers) because I felt doing so would give me a better chance of finding a new job. (Ha!) Now that I had completed what I felt I needed to do, it was time for me to do what I actually wanted to do – and that was photography. I had come across the Center for Photography at Woodstock and its workshop programs in the fall of 1994, so I decided to sign up for a nude figure workshop the following summer.




" Nude Nevada 5 - 2006"
Art Model Carlotta





"New Mexico Nude - 1998"



My work with the nude figure also receives the credit for turning me into a primarily black and white photographer. I decided from the start to photograph this in black and white as the masters of the genre had primarily done. This led to me doing my own developing and printing and coming up with my own vision for black and white.

Now when someone asks me why I don't photograph in color, I simply answer, "Why should I ?



"Nude Nevada 7 - 2006"
Art Model Carlotta






"Nude Scotland 2 - 2004"
Art Model Alison



In a world that often seems chaotic, I try to give my images a sense of beauty, of elegance and of grace - hence the name for my website, Figures of Grace. While this may apply literally to my work with the nude figure, my aim is to instill a sense of grace and elegance into all of my images.




"Untitled Nude 2 - 2006"