Elina Kechicheva: a foolishly underrated fashion photographer

With the vast amount of fashion magazines readily available as digital editions these days we are literally being flooded with fashion images on a daily basis. The frustrating thing about this is that there only seems to be a handful of photographers (or photographer duos) whose work makes up for the majority of the published images. That surely is one of the reasons many fashion editorials nowadays come across as repetitive, unimaginative and forgettable. I enjoy the work of a lot of the big guns in fashion photography, but I still cannot help but wonder why some talented photographers rarely ever get booked for blue chip magazines? 

One of the photographers whose work has stood out to me a lot lately is Elina Kechicheva's. You won't find her work in any of the Vogues or Elles of this world. The publications she seems to somewhat regularly shoot for are the various editions of Marie Claire. Not really the number one source you would check for striking, unique, different fashion photography (although they also use Jacques Olivar a lot, another favorite fashion photographer of mine). 

source: elinakechicheva.com

The way Elina harmoniously fuses her vision with the fashion and the chosen locations and models in her stories is sublime. She works with light, reflections, water and colorful make-up in a unique way. Her editorials often seem very cinematic and I can only assume that she is very directional and fastidious when it comes to the posing and positioning of the models and the usage of props. I wish more was known about her and her way of working, but it's hard to find any information about her on the web (The biography on her website simply states, "Elina Kechicheva was born and raised in Bulgaria and has been working as a photographer for the last 14 years."). I think she's awesome and I consider myself a big fan. Check her website and also her thread on TheFashionSpot to see more of her impressive work. 

Numéro Tokyo #77 (June 2014): "Fashion Survivor"

June issues of fashion magazines are only just coming out, but I am already declaring this story from Numéro Tokyo my favorite editorial of the month. Dutch model Querelle Jansen delivers in this story, photographed by Laurie Bartley and styled by Felipe Mendes. Her nonchalance and coolness paired with the unusual photography - gotta love those angles and the intriguing setting - make this an inspiring, memorable editorial that I just had to share here.

source: tfs forums

Model Natalie Westling nails it once again

For a new model to constantly deliver flawless work, that is quite something. Normally I am left unimpressed with the editorials that model agencies make their models do while being in development. That's not the case with Natalie Westling.

Natalie came pretty much out of nowhere and showed up on the scene in August 2013. Her bookings for fashion week in her first season were solid (Marc Jacobs in New York, Giles in London, SLP and Louis Vuitton in Paris) but her abysmal walk had me question her skills as a model. And then what happened? Girl wowed me with her first proper print work, a stunning editorial in Vogue Russia's November 2013 issue. What followed was nothing but inspiring, fun, interesting appearances in publications such as LOVE, Interview, i-D and Vogue Paris. Her uniqueness partly stems from her seeming so confident about being awkward and weird, and it resulting in unusual visuals that you will be sure to remember (and pin! pin! pin! on Pinterest). But see for yourself:

(Vogue Russia, November 2013, ph: Benjamin Alexander Huseby)

source: thesocietymanagement.com

(LOVE Magazine online, S/S 2014, ph: Drew Jarrett)

source: models.com

Her latest coups? Three shots in the Jeff Bark editorial from AnOther Magazine's S/S 2014 issue, which make the other models' pictures pale in comparison. 

source: models.com

AND some seriously striking and captivating shots in Vogue Italia's April cover story, "Horror Movie" (by Steven Meisel):

source: vogue.it

"Bouquet to Arts 2014" at the de Young Fine Arts Museum

I am usually only mildly interested in going to museums when there is no big photography or modern fashion exhibition to see. I tend to not get much from seeing paintings or pots up-close and can easily feel overwhelmed by the mass of art pieces in just one room at some museums. But when I found out about the "Bouquets to Art" show at the de Young Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco, I was intrigued by the concept and was eager to see the show. Apparently it's a springtime tradition for the museum to have "gifted floral designers bring their imaginative interpretations to works in the de Young’s permanent collection", but this year was the first time I was here to see it and I am thrilled I got to experience this unique exhibition. 

The numerous floral arrangements were placed with their corresponding art pieces all over the museum and it was absolutely stunning to see how they so harmoniously became part of the individual shows. 

The most impressive work was definitely to be seen in the room dedicated to the "The Bay Bridge: A Work in Progress, 1933–1936" show. The photographs and sketches are interesting enough themselves, but the floral designers' interpretations of the artworks certainly added a very mesmerizing element to it. The geometry and architecture seen in the images did not get lost in the bouquets and in my opinion this was where the floral designers were most creative with their creations, taking into account the shapes and lines of the original image but coming up with incredibly unique arrangements that were enjoyable even when not viewed in context of the room's theme.

Another highlight was the "Shaping Abstraction" exhibition room, which seemed to have very literal floral adaptions of the artwork on display. What I liked about this room is that it could easily have been the painting having been inspired by the bouquet rather than the other way around. The paintings and the flowers were in sync and the whole room was simply gorgeous.

The whole exhibition was so enormous and the museum was so crowded, it was impossibly to study all areas of the museums closely. Nonetheless this was more than worth the visit and I am glad I got to see this beautiful show (which ended yesterday, btw).

The b/w bouquet pictured below, which matched the marvelous Jay DeFeo painting seen in the background, was probably my favorite piece in the entire show. 

all pictures taken by me