Joel Levinson: Behind The Scenes


Text by Joel Levinson, Copyright 2023

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Behind  The Scenes

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I FELT LIKE I was Marcello Mastroianni walking onto the film set for La Dolce Vita; a colorful cast of characters assembled in slightly exotic circumstances later than scheduled. The Dolce Vita feeling stayed with me, even intensified, as the afternoon progressed.

Tony had invited me to be a BTS (behind the scenes) photographer and I did my best to remain behind the scenes. It was his project and he had a specific vision of what was going to happen, in what order. So…in that context I knew I was merely a passive participant. I had once before shot in another photographer’s studio. On that occasion, it was my show with the model. But on this day, I happily marched to Tony’s drumbeats.

I have almost always photographed with natural light, not studio lights. My eye has been trained over many decades to see the results in advance…that is to say when I deem the daylight just right. Fortunately, there were several occasions through the day to shoot in natural light…in the studio, in his house, and in the garden that separated house from garden. In those moments, between setups, when I knew I didn’t have to be behind the scenes , I was free to pick my subjects and my moments to click the shutter. Not unusual, I shot things that were totally unrelated to the goal of the day. During the shoot, I kept wishing the studio had skylights but that isn’t Tony’s artistic MO.

One of my goals was to capture Tony at work…Tony in his element. It didn’t sink in when Tony invited me to the Dolce Vita event that there would be an artistic director. But first to arrive was KVaughn, a force unto himself; high energy, purpose-driven, stylish in his attire, and from my perspective, the most photogenic character in the studio and on the property. He was OK with me taking a few snaps when he was sitting near me on two occasions, when the daylight struck me as just right. He insisted on always having his glasses on…and he won out…most of the time.

Tony, dressed like he was on vacation but worked with focus…he worked like he was on anything but vacation. He was a pro through and through. I stayed out of the way, mostly behind him as he moved about. Sometimes he was up on a low stool to explore an alternative perspective. He seemed to be in three places at once.

Frankly, I went hoping to see some skin, but I saw less skin on this shoot than in a shopping center. I like shooting nudes (a great challenge to do well), but today the goal was otherwise. Ellen Tiberino, Tony’s subject, has a face that for me, was not easy to capture in studio lighting. When she sat down for a few minutes in the soft up light of a make-up counter, I saw what I was after in reflections of her in the makeup counter’s mirror. She was not aware, at the counter, that I was shooting (happily so…because I do best with candid shots), but at one point, I let on what I was doing and she willingly responded. Those mirror shots were some of my best ones of Ellen.

I also took a few candid shots of Tracey Olkus as she applied makeup or tweaked a few hairs on Ellen’s brow or around her shoulders. Regrettably, I took no separate shots of  Sam Binder as he did Tony’s bidding with the lights, the hand-held diffusing scrim, and the backdrop behind Ellen.

After the session, it was great to sit at a table under roof with everyone for a late but tasty lunch. We all relaxed and became old friends. The only person missing was La Dolce Vita’s director Federico Fellini.

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Portrait of architect and photographer Joel Levinson
Joel Levinson. Photo: Tony Ward, Copyright 2023

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About The Author: Joel Levinson is a veteran architect and photographer based in Philadelphia. Joel is currently working on a book of his photographs. This is his first contribution to TWS.

 

Neal Slavin: Enola Gay. An Assignment That is Hard to Forget

photograph of the cock pit of the Enola Gay. photo by Neal Slavin
Enola Gay. Aircraft Restoration Technicians. Photo by Neal Slavin, Copyright 2023

Text by Neal Slavin, Copyright 2023

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An Assignment That is Hard to Forget

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As the movie Oppenheimer is about to be launched I wrestle with thoughts and feelings I’ve had since 1987. In that year I was commissioned by the Washington Post Magazine to create a Neal Slavin Groups page comprised of Washington based Groups. I was introduced to Molly Roberts, the Picture Editor and together over the next two years we created 79 Group Portraits which ran on the back page every week under the title NEAL SLAVIN’S GROUPS. While there were many portraits that remain embedded in my mind the one pictured here remains the most potent. The picture is called AIRCRAFT RESTORATION TECHNICIANS. It ran on 9 August 1987. If you look closely you will see the technicians working on the outside of the famous/infamous airplane called the ENOLA GAY the airplane that dropped the bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. I remember walking up to the plane, looking at all the hand painted graffiti outside the fuselage wishing the men aboard good luck on their mission; (of course the grafftti was much more direct, specific and lurid than I describe here).

Looking for a location from which to shoot, my assistant Steve Hall and I decided to shoot from inside the cockpit looking out at the restorers. We were told we were the first civilians to enter the interior of the plane as restoration was still being completed. I remember trying to make sense of my feelings as we continued the shoot. I remember talking to Steve to check his feelings and his matched mine.

More recently as I think about the experience shooting this picture I found a position taken by “Revisionist” scholars which posits that Japan was ready to surrender and that the use of the bombs could have been avoided if Emperor Hirohito could remain on his throne. What would have happened to his people is not knowable but the unleashing of the atomic age where we could extinguish entire civilizations with one or two bombs might have been avoided.  Man’s cruelty to man is hard to talk about; it’s legendary, but talking about history that didn’t happen is wishful thinking because it looks back. Civilization’s role is to look forward. I just remember the sickening, quizzical feeling I got sitting in the Enola Gay’s cockpit.

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Portrait of famous photographer of large groups, Neal Slavin
Portrait of Neal Slavin by Ted Kawalerski, Copyright 2023

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About The Author: Neal Slavin is a world renowned photographer and film maker based in New York City.  To learn more about Neal Slavin, access his web site herehttps://nealslavin.com/

Studio News: A Masterclass in Portraiture by Neal Slavin

Large group photograph of fencers in ballroom photographed by the famous photographer, Neal Slavin
DC Fencers. Photo: Neal Slavin, Copyright 2023

A MASTER CLASS IN PORTRAITURE BY NEAL SLAVIN

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REGISTER TODAY: info@nealslavin.com

DATES:
TWO SPECIAL WORKSHOPS: Saturday, July 29 / Sunday, July 30, 2023 & Saturday, Aug 5th / Sunday, August 6th, 2023.

Requirements: camera & gear, a statement telling us something about yourself and your photography (may include a small sampling of your work) which should be sent to info@nealslavin.com before the workshop begins.

LOCATION: Neal Slavin Studio  62 Greene St. NYC.

DETAILS:  Workshop is limited to 8 students
10 AM – 5 PM / Morning coffee at 9:30 am / lunch included
Fee: $595.00 per student

TO REGISTER:  All participants must pay full amount via check or Pay Pal before start of workshop.

INSTRUCTOR:

Neal Slavin is a world – respected photographer and film director. His work includes a professional career of over 40 years, during which he has photographed a myriad of subjects including celebrities, notable dignitaries and is best known for his group portraits.

His teaching credits include classes and workshops at Les Recontres d’Arles in Provence, The Cooper Union, CUNY, SVA, the Ansel Adams Workshop in Yosemite, visiting artist at the Art Institute of Chicago and the International Center of Photography (ICP). His work is collected in both public and private institutions.

CLASS DESCRIPTION:

All artistic endeavors including photography come from the same place – in the belly!  Which one the artist uses to express him/herself is entirely the artist’s choice. What isn’t by choice is the influence the other arts contribute to the success of the artist’s chosen field, in our case photography. Through listening to music, drawing from the figure and listening to oral poetry we are able to create photographs that are honest and expressive. We will learn how to let those other disciplines help us in our creations. We come to understand that the rhythm we hear in a piece of music is the same rhythm made visible in a photograph. The lines in a drawing can be found in the shapes in a photograph. Sound crazy? Come aboard for a sensorial 2 days of experiencing the relationship between your photographs and the world of the arts!

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To access additional articles about Neal Slavin, link herehttps://tonyward.com/ted-kawalerski-the-saudade-of-neal-slavin/

 

Mel: The Apartment

Photography and Text by Tony Ward, Copyright 2023

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The Apartment

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The apartment that I rented in Amsterdam at the turn of the 2000’s was a perfect location for me to work from at that point in time.  I had become friends with local businesswoman, Danny Linden who owned a fetish shop on the famous Oudezijds Achterburgwal in the Red Light district.  Danny and I became friends and worked on a number of shoots together for her shop.  She realized that I was going back and forth to the states on a regular basis between 1999 and 2005 so she offered me to stay at an apartment that she managed just around the corner from her shop on a tiny little street that looked on to rows and rows of prostitute windows.  I was such a frequent visitor that they always said hello to me as if I was their neighbor or something.  Yes.  There was the something too.

In this part of the apartment where I made the photographs of Mel there was natural light entering the living area windows. The warm red walls  bathed my models in beautiful afternoon light as we worked through a series of test pictures for the latest body of work.

Mel was one those visitors on a go see.  I remember her most as a makeup artist. However, when I saw how exotic she looked I asked to photograph her right there on the spot.  No conversation before , it was very spontaneous.  I never saw or had the opportunity to work with Mel as a makeup artist this occasion  but I do cherish the brief time that we met. It was fun to have bathed her in such beautiful light.

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To access additional articles by Tony Ward,  click herehttps://tonywardstudio.com/blog/light-table-a-sliver-in-time/

Travelogue: A Day in The Life of KVaughn

KVaughn scarf designer in New York city fabric shop
KVaughn fabric shopping NYC, November 2022.

Text by Tony Ward,  Copyright 2022

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A Day in The Life of KVaughn

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KVaughn called and said he was on his way to New York to select fabrics for his Winter collection of custom made scarves to be released on December 2, 2022. Every time we talk about his trips to New York you can tell his energy easily matches that of the city that never sleeps.  On that note, Kevin sent me a few voice notes for this article in an attempt for the reader to gather insight on how his creative process works. They are posted here as a linear series of voice messages. This season he focused on purchasing silks, cashmere and wool for his one of kind custom made scarves. He also hung out with this seasons muse:

 

VM 1: Friday, November 11, 2022, Magdim Towers, Philadelphia .

VM 2: Arrives in NYC, journey begins.

VM 3: Arrives at Chic Fabrics, 247 West 38th Street, NYC.

fabric store nYC
Chic Fabrics NYC

VM4: Has lunch at Lazzara’s Pizza Cafe & Restaurant at 221 West 38th st. NYC.

Lazara's Pizza sign in window NYC
Lazzara’s Pizza 221 West 38th st. NYC.
Lazzaras-Pizza-NYC-221-West-38th-street
Lazzara’s Pizza NYC

VM5: Muse Adira love arrives for photos and shopping in NYC.

KVaughn Scarves