Russian-born and German-based fashion and beauty photographer Lado Alexi has many stunning images to his credit. His impressive clients include Vogue, Estee Lauder, Swarovski, YSL, Tush Beauty, Triumph Lingerie, HYPE and Icon Magazine to name a few. But his series of portraits titled Amazones II blends beauty with incredible makeup and styling for such hauntingly gothic portraits, I wanted to share them with you here.
Used on the cover and in a Fall 2011 editorial called Witchcraft in HYPE Magazine, the model is Yulia Petrova, with stunning make-up by Loni Baur, hair by Karim Amerchih and fabulously styled by Nadia Rath who frequently works with Alexi. Only 6 of the 7 images (all shown here) from the series were used in the publication.
In a brief interview with Art+Commerce, Lado answers a few key questions about his photography and inspiration:
What interested you about becoming a photographer?
– Strong interest in film and fashion. The fascination of capturing mechanically time and the visual power one single image can develop. As a son of actress and a doctor in Moscow photography was a good way to reflect the world around.
Where do you find inspiration to make your photographs?
– Mostly in cinema - but also art, music and daily observation. Sometimes also a certain mood, or thing that happen in the world.
What do you most like to photograph?
– Faces and people.
Who are your favorite photographers?
– Cecil Beaton, Irving Penn, Helmut Newton, Patrick Demarchelier, NIck Knight and many more.
See more of Lado Alexi's beautiful photography here.
Lado Alexi's Hauntingly Beautiful Amazones.
DHL Delivers Haute Couture. Fashions Made Of Shipping & Packaging Supplies by Michael Michalsky.
To promote global shipping company DHL at Fashion week and in billboards and print ads, designer Michael Michalsky turned shipping and packaging materials into stunning haute couture. Conceived of by German agency Jung von Matt and photographed by Kristian Schuller, the images were used by DHL as self-promotion and in a 2010 Calendar.
The spread (also a billboard) and single page ads:
The Making Of The DHL Campaign:
About MICHALSKY
Michael Michalsky is regarded as one of Germany's most influential fashion designers. He has worked as Design Manager at Levi's and Global Creative Director at Adidas before founding his own Label "MICHALSKY" 2006 in Berlin. MICHALSKY serves the high fashion segment by fusing classical styles with streetwear influences. Besides his work as fashion designer Michael Michalsky founded his design agency "MICHALSKY designLab" , which realizes design projects in the fields of product, interior design and corporate fashion.
Credits:
Haute Couture by DHL
Jung von Matt AG, Hamburg
Self-Promotion
Advertising Agency: Jung von Matt AG, Berlin
Executive Creative Director: Mathias Stiller, Wolfgang Schneider
Creative Director: Markus Ewertz, Boris Schwiedrzik
Art Director: Marc Tebart
Production Manager: Sven Hannemann
Designer: Michael Michalsky
Photographers: Kristian Schuller
Account Executive: Ilan Schafer, Jan-Hendrik Oelckers, Niko Thielsch
Copywriter: Friederike Sinning
Styling: Peggy Schuller
The Astounding Range Of Creative Talent Known As Rankin.
John Rankin Waddell, who is better known by the sole name of Rankin, is a very busy and talented man. Having photographed everyone from the Queen of England to the Queen of Pop, Rankin is often seen as a celebrity photographer, but his talents and repertoire go way beyond portraiture.
above: one of Rankin's more unusual self-portraits
Publishing, direction, film production, commercial photography, charity work, digital art and encouraging new emerging talent are just some of his many accomplishments. Despite all those impressive ventures, it his his enormous range of photographic work to which I find myself drawn.
A chameleon when it comes to style, technique and mood (okay, so he does seem to have a thing for loose and blowing hair), this skilled creative can shoot fashion, beauty, hair, editorial and photo-journalistic work, and of course, portraits. He imbues his work with ambiance ranging from studio sterile to alleyway grungy and moods ranging from romantic to macabre. There is hardly anything he can't photograph beautifully.
Throughout this post are 27 various photographs I culled from different projects of his that I find compelling and, hopefully, convey a small part of his astounding range.
Rankin made his name in publishing, founding the seminal monthly magazine Dazed & Confused with Jefferson Hack in 1992 and in late 2000, Rankin published the heteroclite quarterly Rank, an experimental anti-fashion magazine celebrating the unconventional.
In 2001, Jefferson and Rankin went on to launch AnOther Magazine and then in 2005 AnOther Man was introduced.
His first major worldwide and award-winning campaign – Dove’s ‘Real Women’ – epitomized his approach: to reveal the honesty of the connection and collaborative process between photographer and subject.
In 2010 Rankin celebrated Dazed & Confused’s 20th anniversary, shooting 20 front covers of Dazed favorites and 20 inside covers of the next generation of talent, all for the December 2011 issue.
above: one of his 20 Dazed covers in 2010
With Oxfam, he visited the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Kenya, and in 2011 hosted an Oxglam exhibition, featuring work from some of the world’s most talented emerging young photographers, and raising money for the charity.
In 2011, Rankin Film Productions was born. Rankin developed a taste for film directing music videos, commercials, and short films with co-director Chris Cottam between 2002 and 2009, including their debut feature film, the award-winning The Lives of Saints. He continues to direct independently on both commercial and personal projects.
Taking on the new role of Executive Producer, Rankin recently founded Collabor8te, in association with The Bureau and Dazed TV.
In November 2011, Rankin simultaneously launched The Hunger Magazine and the Hungertv.com website with a unique focus on video content – fashion films, behind the scenes footage and exclusive performances, collaborations, and interviews. The Hunger is both a personal creative feat and a launch pad for other talent to step into the breach.
Rankin has published over 30 books, is regularly exhibited in galleries around the world, and has recently opened galleries in London and Los Angeles.
above: his Los Angeles Gallery, RANKIN LA
Always interested in the democratization of the image, Rankin undertook the biggest project of his career – Rankin Live, the culmination of the accessibility and speed of modern photography.
above: John Rankin Waddell, self-portrait
Rankin lives in London with his wife; model, actress, and art director, Tuuli Shipster and son, Lyle.
RANKIN
