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

by Marcello Pozzetti

"The corkscrew"

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

by Frank Reinhold

"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.

By Ray Spence

"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"

by George Swift

"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.

by Neil Huxtable

"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?

Nudes of 'ordinary' women by Jane Lancashire

This is a topic dear to my heart and about which I wrote in my personal blog. Following that post I contacted Jane Lancashire, after seeing her website. 

Jane is a photographer who specialises in doing nudes of women who do not model, either professionally or semi-professionally, and who want such images for themselves, just to feel good about themselves.


The results are stunning as you can see from the photographs :

Says Jane:

It is such rewarding work, celebrating the natural, feminine curves and reminding women how beautiful they are. The creative journeys I share with clients make this a particularly enjoyable type of photography.

Clients will find that even if they have some reservations about removing their clothes, this passes almost immediately and almost everyone has commented on how liberating the experience is."

The testimonials on her website, from women who have experienced being photographed nude, often for the very first time, are proof that what she does is amazing, in terms of helping women to feel beautiful and confident.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Therefore it is perfectly possible to obtain high quality images when photographing women who may not be conventionally beautiful, but as people they are interesting and have a beauty which the camera may (or may not) capture, depending on who is taking the photograph. Jane knows how to make a woman unleash the inner goddess which is in all of us.

When I see Jane's images I feel that the only difference between me as a model and any of her clients is simply that I am more used to being photographed and feel very confident in front of the camera, regardless of who is holding it. It took a while to gain that confidence but I have it now and it will never go away. This is what allows me to be a model. There are times when some (male) photographers, usually middle aged,  try to shutter that confidence by claiming that "the best models are girls under eighteen". I look at them with pity, as what they are saying is but a projection of their desires. I am a photographer myself and I know that the camera is but an extension of my eyes. It sees what I see and my images embody my own prejudices. I believe women are beautiful, simply by being themselves,  and it's wonderful to see someone like Jane putting this philosophy into practice.

I can't help quoting here what one of the women photographed by Jane says:

"Thank you Jane for reminding us of who we are, who we can be and giving the choice of who we wish to be"

Thank you Jane for doing what you do!

Alex



More about Jane at The Real Does Not Efface Itself

Lauren E. Simonutti in memory

Lauren E. Simonutti a very talented art photographer  passed away last year, in April. I am reblogging here the post by Juli Lowe in Cyclops on 13.04.2013. Juli was one of Lauren's gallerists

It is a year since Lauren died but her talent lives on.

At the time of her death, Lauren E. Simonutti was working on a series of spirit photographs. April 14 marks the one-year anniversary of the passing of Lauren Simonutti. We couldn’t think of a better way to honor such a gifted artist then to share some of her last photographs. Our thoughts go out to her parents, and the many people throughout the world who have been touched by her images.

I am also adding here some images from Lauren's gallery on deviantArt. Please visit her gallery, it is an instance of very fine photography

Barely there

The devil's alphabet

Welcome Tim Pile

Award winning photographer Tim Pile talks about his work:

As you can probably guess from the headline I chose for this feature I try not to take things too seriously, and hopefully this is reflected in some of my images. I am an amateur photographer from Birmingham, England. I use the term amateur not just because I make no income from photography, but also because the true definition of amateur is someone who does something "for the love of it", and that's certainly the primary driver behind my photography. I just love working with models and between us creating ideas for images, whether this be in a studio with my ever-expanding bag of props, or at one of the many locations I seem to spend large amounts of time hunting down and researching on the Internet.

When finding locations I am the ultimate opportunist. 

I will contact landscape photographers on forums I frequent about where their images were taken, and they in turn have supplied details of lots of amazing places to shoot at. If friends have properties that I think would look good I will approach them about shooting there.

I also collaborate with many other photographers, as a second photographer is useful as a lookout on location shoots, and I also find that some of our creativity rubs off on each other leading to both of us producing better images.

Location work gives both the model and the photographer so many opportunities for creativity. For the photographer it's all about finding interesting compositions and viewpoints, while for models I like to think of locations as a playground where they can be themselves and express their personality. Locations allow poses that are just not possible in a studio, or they can make very simple and potentially uninteresting poses produce really strong images because of other elements in the image.

I have had a very technical career, and until recently had no real interest in anything artistic. I started shooting models just under 4 years ago, jointly with two female photographers primarily to keep down costs, but also so that we could learn off each other. This worked very well, and I like to think that some of their feminine touch has rubbed off on me, and influenced my photographic style. Even now most of the photographers I collaborate with are female.

What are my images about? Well I honestly don't really know as my style is still developing rapidly, but as far as I can see my images appear to be strongly influenced by shapes, whether this be the shape of the landscape or surroundings, or the pose of the model, and this probably comes from my mathematical background. Most of my images have very little post-processing applied to them, this is not because I am a purist, but because I still have to unlock the door in my mind that leads to the creative imagery that I see in so many of the photographers that inspire me.

I try to capture both the beauty and the personality of the models I am working with in my images, and always involve models in the idea creation as much as possible, as two brains are always better than one.  

I tend to work with a small number of models repeatedly, as I have good working relationships with them, and because having worked together before we both see it is a challenge to produce something different and better than that we have produced before.

My images been successful with numerous photographic awards and distinctions, but I prefer my images to do the talking. I hope you enjoy looking at them as much as the models and I have enjoyed producing them, and a big thank you to all the models who have made producing these images such an enjoyable experience.

Thank you Tim for your contribution!

Welcome Britalicus

Bending nude: a contrast lighting study. 
Model: Raphaella

It's been a while since we posted but today it is our pleasure to feature the photography of Britalicus, who hails from Edinburgh, Scotland.

"I was given my first camera at about the age of eight and knew instantly then that photography was something special. To be able to capture a moment, a feeling, an emotion, was something that I felt was possible, and so it has remained with me since, but capturing that special and perfect image remains just as elusive today as it did then.

      Bow: a pose to create symmetry. Model: Katy Cee                 

After many years of photographing landscapes, portraits, and events, as very much an amateur photographer, I ventured into artistic nudes in January 2010, my wife, I’m glad to say, being very supportive of the idea. 

Once passed the ‘how do you find a model?’ stage, it was a case of finding an approach to the subject with which I felt comfortable. 

It’s plain there are many different approaches to photographing the nude female form, but for me respect for the beauty and integrity of the model comes very high on the agenda in addition to the creation of an artistic image.

Dance: a shot from a dance shoot using fabrics to create shapes in contrast to the models.
Models: Katy Cee, and Kayleigh Lush

EdinburghCastle: the well known landmark of Edinburgh Castle and a cloudy sky used as a backdrop to this rooftop shot. 
Model: Katy Cee

Modern dance and classical ballet have been a strong influence on my shoots. 

I am fascinated with the shapes and forms that can be created in this art form, all too fleetingly, especially when emphasised by contrasting stage lighting. It will continue to be an underlying theme of my work, and has also influenced the choice of models with whom I have worked, many of them having formal dance training and experience. It is also probably why I have a preference for monochrome, this giving emphasis to the captured shapes and forms, focusing the eye on line, light, and shadow, and coming from the age of Tri-X film a reason why I like contrasty shots. 

I treat external location work with caution as I think shooting outside risks being clichéd. However, a location with a strong photographic identity in its own right can add significantly to an image provided that model and location are integrated as one in the composition.

Horse and nude: an early morning shoot on Camber Sands, Kent, using the wide open space to contrast with model and horse. The underlying desire was to create a level of romanticism. 
Model: Kayleigh Lush

Model: Iveta Niklova

Model: Iveta Niklova

Model: Kayleigh Lush

Nearly two years on from my first shoot, a solo exhibition and a magazine spread and publications behind me, together with a website that regularly attracts visitors from around the world, I do not see my desire diminishing to try new concepts as well as developing on existing. In doing so I can, hopefully, get somewhere closer to capturing those elusive moments, those fleeting shadows, that I perceived all those years ago in the days of my youth!"

Kayleigh: posed to create a symmetry. 
Model: Kayleigh Lush

Thank you Britalicus! We wish you well in your future work.  Anyone interested in viewing his latest work please visit his website

                                                                                              

Raphaella: a pose to show the model’s flexibility.
Model: Raphaella

Thonet Rocking Chair: a pose to reflect the shapes in the chair. Shot with natural light.
Model: Raphaella

The nudes of Jorge Pedra

Jorge Pedra

Jorge Pedra, born in 1960 at Porto – Portugal, is a photographer and an architect.

Of his work he says:

I believe that, although photography is always somehow based on reality, every photograph is only partly objective, and is always an interpretation of that reality.

Most of my photography projects are experimental and can rarely be called documentary or even descriptive. I am always looking for an alternative technique, or a new aesthetic. This probably makes me a “user of photography” rather than a photographer. My main goal is to provoke an emotion, in a way that turns the picture into an art object.

Sometimes I use photography mingled with pictorial techniques to produce this art object, and I have frequently used painting over the prints, or over the slides or negative film.

I love photographing nudes. I’m not interested in glamour photography. Instead, I aim to make photographs with an intrinsic beauty in their formal and aesthetic aspects.

"Nude In Space" concerns the relationship, or the lack of that relationship, between a nude (always female) and an unpredictable space. There is no look; no communication between the model and the viewers.  The nudes are non-erotic...