Fine Art Photography 2
Elizaveta Porodina: The Artistic Mind Behind Cinematic Fashion Photography
Elizaveta Porodina is a name that is synonymous with artistic and cinematic fashion and fine art photography. Her works are striking, thought-provoking, and often a little strange. Through her photography, Porodina captures the emotions of her subjects and brings them to life. In this article, we will explore her unique techniques and approaches to photography that have made her famous in the fashion industry and as a fine art photographer.
Highlights
- Elizaveta Porodina: The Artistic Mind Behind Cinematic Fashion Photography
- Beyond the Surface: Revealing Internal Emotions
- Creating a Mood: Deliberate and Thoughtful Techniques
- Fine Art Photography Meets Fashion
- Dior Photoshoot: Fairytale-Themed Campaign
- About Elizaveta Porodina
- Conclusion
BY SEAN LEYWES
Beyond the Surface: Revealing Internal Emotions
When you see Elizaveta Porodina’s photographs for the first time, they will jolt you because they are not run-of-the-mill images. In her experimental photography, Porodina goes beyond the surface to reveal the internal emotions of the model before her. Her works are cinematic, dramatic, and documentary. Her photography techniques are deliberate and thoughtful, and creating a mood is an integral aspect of her practice.
Creating a Mood: Deliberate and Thoughtful Techniques
To achieve different moods in her fashion and fine art photography, Porodina explores melancholic symbolism, imagery, allegory, and set designs that sometimes enhance her staged realities. She spends a lot of time communicating emotions that are sometimes ambiguous, honest, and obvious. Porodina’s photography style has made her famous in the fashion industry and as a fine art photographer.
Fine Art Photography Meets Fashion
Porodina’s recent photography project for Lotte/TextilWirtschaft showcases the extent to which she will go in her experimental fashion and fine art photography to communicate emotions. Using jewelry, ornaments, dresses, and other paraphernalia, she created a series of portraits that navigate the thresholds of fine art photography, fashion, and pop culture. Some of the images reflect dark romanticism, Gothic, and the sublime.
Dior Photoshoot: Fairytale-Themed Campaign
In 2021, Dior tapped Elizaveta Porodina to shoot its fall women’s advertising campaign. The shoot was inspired by the fairytale atmosphere of artistic director Maria Grazia Chiuri’s collection. Since attaining that position, Chiuri has stayed committed to her rule of working with female photographers. Her Dior: Maria Grazia Chiuri’s New Voices, a book published by Rizzoli New York and released on International Women’s Day 2021, features the works of 33 women photographers who have collaborated with Dior and Maria Grazia Chiuri since 2016.
Porodina’s fine art photography was a major influence in her selection for the Dior photoshoot. This is evident in her photograph for Dior’s Fall Women’s Collection. Her palette of amber, orange, and red illuminated the models Sofia Steinberg, Sade van Der Hoeven, Maryel Uchida, and Essoye Mombot in the season’s rose and leopard-printed looks. Accentuating the overall design of the collection are Lady Dior and Dior Book Tote accessories.
About Elizaveta Porodina
Born in Moscow, Porodina is based in Munich, Germany. Originally trained as a clinical psychologist, Porodina has made a name for herself because of her unique technique and approach to photography. Elizaveta Porodina is a renowned photographer whose images have been featured in various magazines, such as Vogue, Vogue UA, Numero Russia, Schön!, Tush, Stern, Sunday Times, Elle, Madame, Gala, and Qvest. Her commercial work includes collaborations with well-known brands such as Louis Vuitton, Philipp Plein, BMW MINI, Marc O’Polo, Joyce Hongkong, Brian Rennie, and Cambio.
Porodina’s photography has been exhibited in several shows, including the recent Un/Masked exhibition at Fotografika in New York. In this exhibition, she provides a glimpse into her creative process, showcasing her experimental, dreamlike, and occasionally surreal photography. Porodina encourages viewers to transcend the boundaries of time and space, merging the past and the contemporary.
Regarding her work in the Un/Masked exhibition, Porodina notes: “I grant my audience a window into my subconscious with my work. I asked them to twist and play with their understanding of reality and to enter another dimension with me through my choice of casting, lighting, and set design.”
In 2016, Elizaveta Porodina’s photographs were featured in Kadavar Berlin at the FOAM Photography Museum 3h in Amsterdam. Additionally, her photographs were showcased in Dark Iconography: The Bikini Diaries at Bikini Berlin. To see more of her stunning fashion and fine art photography, visit her Behance profile and official website.
Above: Elizaveta Porodina, Lotte//TextilWirtschaft-Six. Photo: Elizaveta Porodina
Abandoned Vehicles Regain Lost Glory in Photographs by Jan Stel
Abandoned Vehicles: The Dutch Fine Art Photographer Jan shows the impact of age and the power of Mother Nature on cars and trucks abandoned in junkyards.
BY SEAN LEWYES
Amsterdam, The Netherlands –The Dutch photographer Jan Stel has a fascination for accentuating the glory of the past. His photographs detail derelict objects and places that were once the glory of their owners. One of his well-known photography projects examines what happens to abandoned vehicles in the woods. The photographs are a reminder of the passage of time and its consequences.
Many of the vehicles in Jan’s photographs were once treasures to their owners. One can imagine the owners driving their new cars through the street, waving at friends and family. However, over the years, these cars lost their glare because of usage and broken parts. Some have no tires, and others have broken apart with bits and pieces everywhere. Windows and windshields have also succumbed to the pressure of time and vandals.
Abandoned Vehicles: Lost Glory
The once smooth-running engines have been decimated by thieves who took pride in stripping them of their glorious past. In this graveyard, dilapidated vehicles are totems of the past. Abandoned in the junkyards and forests, these vehicles now have new lives. They serve as homes for rodents, insects, and plants that continue to struggle with what is left of their auto lives.
Despite the rundown nature of these abandoned vehicles, the beauty of their glorious past glared through the accumulated dirt and rust that enriched them with ageless patina. One of the photographs shows the dashboard of a luxurious car overtaken by spider webs. Another dashboard shows the magnificent past of a deluxe car with its beautiful red seats. Although the car has been in the woods for years, the red seats still show the brilliance of the past that captivated its owner. It is easy to imagine that the owner had a lot of fun driving around in this car. Even in its derelict state, the car still conveys its alluring essence.
Graveyard for Cars
The junkyard and forests where Jan went to take his photographs are a graveyard for cars. Everywhere in the junkyard are vehicles that have been overtaken by trees and straggled by time: trucks, luxury cars, classic cars, and cars that were the fastest in the world in their heyday. Many of these cars have fallen into bits and pieces while others have become one with nature. Trees grow, penetrating each part and tearing them apart with exceptional ease. That is the power of nature.
Jan Stel’s photographs tell stories about these autos that were once elegant but have fallen into disrepute due to age and time. Done in black and white and color photographs, Jan Stel’s photographs reveal the impact of the passage of time on all. One of the photographs has an abandoned Red Cross truck or military ambulance. In its primes, this truck was a transport for people with injuries. However, in this photograph, it is a relic of the past. After many years of stagnation, the truck has been overtaken by weeds, trees, and rodents. Branches reach out from the windows as if trying to touch the sky.
Jan Sel’s fascination with documenting places and things that have lost their glory and succumbed to the aftermath of time began about two decades ago. Since that time, he has traveled across the Netherlands and Europe, visiting unknown sites. The series on abandoned vehicles is just one of his many projects. A creative fine art photographer, Jan Sel’s photographs create his images using pure and natural light. He does not use flashlights or studio lamps. Therefore, his authentic working process takes time, patience, sensitivity, and excellent timing.
About the Artist
Born in 1970 in Purmerend, the Netherlands, Jan Stel taught himself photography. In his youth, he loved art and went about the suburbs of Amsterdam creating graffiti murals. At home, he made detailed drawings and realistic illustrations. The discovery of his father’s analog photo gear sparked his interest in photography and inspired him to develop his creative style.
Since that discovery, Jan has been creating exceptional fine art photographs that have been in museum and gallery exhibitions across the globe. In addition, his photographs have been published in The Daily Mail, De Volkskrant, NRC Handelsblad, De Telegraaf, and many websites and blogs. Jan has won several important awards like the Sony World Photography Awards, International Color Awards, and the Epson Pano Awards. His work is part of many private and corporate collections. You can see more of Jan Stel’s projects and photographs on Behance.
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