NEW   NEW    NEW :   January, 2013

KAMILA's BOOK is now available  .. it can be previewed and bought here (available in E-Book form also) :  [link]

KAMILA's  E-Book ...  [link]

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Also published in January 2013:

1.  STREET NUDES ..
[link]
(available also through i-tunes, the Apple bookstore .. [link] )

2.  THE ARTISTIC NUDE ..
[link]


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THE BOOKSTORE where you will find all my books for sale (click on the images to view the content):  [link]


LATEST NEWS/2012: books now also available as Apps for smartphones IPad etc., ...

1. "P R I V A T E - R E C O L  L EC T IO N S  of the girl next door"
    NB.  .. new edition now available ....  [link]

2.  GABI's BOOK is also at last on sale ..
    [link]

3.  "REBECCA's BOOK" is also on sale ..
[link]

Some of you may know Rebecca from television and other media. Please DO NOT disclose her real name on this page or elsewhere (problem of groupies that create blogs). She allowed publication on the understanding that only a few persons serious about photography will purchase this work. Thank you.


3.   "A N   A P A R T M E N T   I N   N E W   Y O R K"
       [link]

4.  "C ON V ER S A T I O N   P I E C E S, my friend Gaia"
      [link] .. she's a fashion model, we did this privately under a pseudonym ..

You can browse through selected pages of all the books by pressing on the "PREVIEW" button.


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My INTERVIEW:  by Chris St James on "Univers d'Artistes"

[link]

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"My photography"

Photography for me is largely about moments, moments that we seize and attempt to hold on to. I have no special aim otherwise, other than to try and produce some attractive pictures of my models. What I frequently enjoy doing is to photograph the girl next door, real persons that we can identify with and imagine that we know, in fact that we so often do. I like to show how they move around and behave when they are alone and natural. Many of the photographs are posed of course, but often when a girl is staying with me, I will follow her around and take  pictures of her at various intervals during the day. They soon get used to it and do not seem to be hindered by the intrusion.

Inevitably, some will always claim that to show a woman in her intimacy is demeaning, but I think that they  show little understanding of the female personality. When a woman reveals herself in this manner, she expresses her self confidence and her power, not just over herself but over others too. It goes beyond defiance, it is a means of asserting her right to believe in who she is. The more sensual and feminine the photo, the more meaningful the result.

As for the models, I guess we choose them in accordance with the result we want. An elegant girl will look elegant in a photo too!  

I suppose one also needs a minimum understanding of the camera, but possibly less than some may claim. I never felt that any of the "greats" of photography were above all technically proficient, other than in terms of lighting and composition. The more I visit galleries, museums and exhibitions, the more convinced I become of this. It's  annoying to those that spend hours fine tuning and perfecting their technique, but that is not what art is all about. When an artist splashes paint on a canvas with a bucket and steps on it or Yoko Ono throws tomatoes on the wall, there is no special methodology involved, yet these are at the forefront of what the world considers art and creativity today. Of course these are extreme examples chosen so as to underline the point, but I think that art has more to do with impact and what feelings are evoked than with any special methods or technique.

NB. Please do not ask me for the models' names or to send them messages. I am a photographer and not a model or a matrimonial agency .. : -).  


The "cigarettes", the "wine" ..

I am surprised how often people comment on this in my photos. It is astonishing how puritanical and intrusive society has become.

A model will look more natural when she is doing something, holding a book, a wine glass, a cigarette, whatever. A cigarette is of particular interest to me in that it helps to emulate the cinematographic style of the 50's that I like so much (HumphreyBogart/Lauren Bacall). I don't think that any figure in a book by Alan Edgar Poe would feel at ease without one either .. surely that too is understandable.


The "Provocateurs"

I have often wondered what it is that drives some people to measure up to others by provoking them  anonymously on the net. Is it a search for identity, recognition or self assertion? I cannot help feeling that some form of inadequacy drives them to behave in this manner. After all, there are so many "real" challenges to be faced in life by those willing and able to confront them.

As a photographer of young ladies, I occasionally  find myself the target of such attention. I will humour them once, rarely twice, but then thankfully DA offers us the option to block them and they can go and bother someone else .. : -)


"Underaged Models"  and  "body weight"

Needless to say, all my models without exception are above 18 years old and have signed appropriate "release forms". Any messages to this end are a waste of everybody's time, mine in particular. Please stop fantasizing in this respect.

As for their "weight", another frequent aberration in the comments, all the models in my portfolio (other than one that has a metabolic disorder and deplores people being so ill mannered as to mention it),  have a perfectly normal BMI (Body Mass Index). This is a measureable unit that responds to certain medical criteria and has nothing to do with people's opinion on the matter. Sometimes  the models may seem a little too "perfect" which appears to irritate some people. But this is photography, we idealize the world.

It is strange how politically correct it is considered  to speak about the pressures brought upon young people by the cosmetic industry, but not that by the food and beverage companies. Apart from in extreme cases, the greatest cause of morbidity and mortality in the western world today is OBESITY, not underweight. Even moderate obesity  leads to hypertension, atherosclerosis, cardiovascular disease, stroke, diabetes and cancer, meaning that it shortens life .. substantially.  Furthermore, the Journal of Pediatrics reported recently that Obese women have 67% more chance of giving birth to autistic children. Now these are the lessons that should be communicated to young people today, not this hysteria about appearing to look too thin, meaning in reality to make others feel bad in comparison.


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Not related to Photography:

A. CONSPIRACY THEORIES

I have been reading up on "conspiracy":  

Whenever things go wrong politically or people are unable to cope, they resort to conspiracy theories of varying content and degree. Plato among others described conspiracy as the impossibility to manage, the standard excuse for failure and inability to overcome weakness. This is particularly true at present in various countries of the Mediterranean, where extraordinary theories are brought forward to compensate for the incompetence and corruption that local governments have produced.

However, as Francois de La Rochefoucauld rightly said, the greatest evil comes from within and what we do to ourselves.  No one is out to destroy us. We do everything necessary in order to destroy ourselves, and then we blame others for the outcome.


B.  POLITICAL DEMAGOGUES

Political demagogues, such as those that always appear in difficulty times, feed on people's ignorance, weakness and stupidity. They have grandiose ideas about what should be done but are never able to suggest realistically how to do it. When confronted, they ignore the facts and hide the truth, while extolling surrealistic theories based on lies.

Equally influential to the extreme left are the right wing mavericks which, alike what happened during the buildup to the third Reich, point the finger at the immigrants and other minority groups.  They enforce security in the streets under the umbrella of national security and bring support to the enfeebled with the purpose of gaining  power and prestige.

A meeting held recently in one of the cradles of democracy during which thousands of participants brandished the Nazi salute, with the proud declaration that their hands were unsoiled. As if beating up poor, terrified immigrants in the streets is not having a filthy mind. This is how totalitarianism begins, by feeding  off the stupidity of the masses
... left or right, same thing.

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