Rangefinder - April 2017

FOCUS

ABOVE: In Kings & Queens In Their Castles, Tom Atwood celebrates members of the LGBTQ community with his distinctive environmental portraiture. (L to R) Fashion entrepreneur Marc Ware in his perch above West Hollywood, CA; New England farmers Holly and Allison; veteran female impersonator Mother Flawless Sabrina.

Filmmaking Essentials for Photographers The Fundamental Principles of Transitioning from Stills to Motion

;; ;;;;;;; ;;;;; ;;;;; ;;;; | ;;; ;;.

When it comes to filmmaking, there’s a phrase
out there that goes something like, “A movie is
just a sequence of still images strung together.”
Thus, motion-picture photography should be a
piece of cake for a still shooter, right? Not so
fast. In his latest book, celebrated educator
Eduardo Angel makes the predictable but
crucial point that outside of the basic similarities, live action is a
significantly different paradigm. There are the expected
hurdles—audio, continuity, the moving camera, editorial, when
you make this transition, and Filmmaking Essentials for
Photographers tackles them all in a comprehensive, profusely
illustrated package. It covers the obvious and, more importantly,
the less obvious bullet points you’ll need to address to make
this increasingly popular hat swap. If that’s what you’re
contemplating, then this book’s a must.

;;;;;: ;;;.;; rockynook.com

Les Françaises

;;;;;;;;;;; ;; ;;;;; ;;;;; | ;;;;; ;; ;;;;; ;;;;;;;; ;;;;;;; ;;; ;;;; | ;;; ;;.

If the photographer’s name sounds familiar,
you’re on the right track. She is the daughter of
acclaimed fashion shooter Jeanloup Sieff, and
this frank and remarkable collection suggests that
at least some of that creative mojo might be
hereditary. Les Françaises offers 155 nudes as
gorgeous endorsements of the idea that the au
naturel portrait is powerful when shot just that way—without
makeup, jewelry, artificial lighting or retouching. The subjects are
models, dancers, writers, artists, designers, all mostly familiar to
the public of their native France. Their touching vulnerability, their
acceptance of this intimate transaction with the camera and the
stunning results are object lessons for any boudoir specialist’s
playbook. The book is an amazing take on one of our most
durable photographic genres.

;;;;;: ;;; rizzoliusa.com

Kings & Queens In Their Castles

;; ;;; ;;;;;; ;;;;;;; | ;;; ;;.

Great environmental portraits blend nuance and details, and, at their best, help tell a subject’s story. The real standouts of this genre do more than that; they celebrate those people in the viewfinder with evocative visual clues, both empirical and symbolic. New York photographer Tom Atwood is something of a master at this, and you can see his process on display in his newly released Kings &

Queens In Their Castles.

The book is a collection of 134 lively, imaginative environmental
portraits—Atwood’s selects from a project that took him 15 years to
complete. He photographed 350 members of the gay, lesbian and
transgender community in their homes around the country for what his
publisher praises as “the most ambitious photo series ever conducted of
the LGBTQ experience in the USA.”
LGBTQ advocacy is an important motif here. So is Tom Atwood’s
acute instinct for conveying the resonance between portrait subjects
and the objects and places that help communicate the texture of their
lives. The pictures are brilliant and celebrity portraits abound (actors
Meredith Baxter, George Takei, Tommy Tune, Alan Cumming, Olympic
diver Greg Louganis, Congressman Barney Frank, filmmaker John Waters,
news anchor Don Lemon and more), along with “real people,” eccentrics
included (female impersonator Mother Flawless Sabrina, transgender
deputy sheriff Anthony Barreto-Neto, chef/drag performer Arnold Myint),
all merging with the surroundings that help define their personas.