Southern Retro

I've been featured as part of Mat Keller's Southern Retro project, a collection of portraits and interviews with vintage lovers in the South East and beyond.

You can see the photographs, read the piece and find out more about some of the characters on the Brighton vintage scene on Southernretro.com.

Behind the lens: Tony Stubbings 3

Brighton-based photographer on his signiture shot.

Another model, another test! This time with newcomer Miss Vix. I think this was perhaps her second shoot, and by now I was in my own studio and had borrowed a four-foot industrial ringflash. I was using this device on all my shoots at the time, having long admired Rankin and his effortless use of the device.

Indeed you can see the ringflash alien reflection in her eyes. Eyes, I should add, to die for. She oozed sex and fashion and is an astounding model.

A push on the contrast to bring out the blacks was all the editing I did on this: Between her perfect skin and the ringflash's ability to smooth everything away nothing else was needed.

I've a four-foot square print of the shot on my office wall and it also adorns my
business cards.

Behind the lens - Tony Stubbings 2

Brighton-based photographer Tony Stubbings on one of his favourite shots, 'Chloe Can Jump'.

This shot was taken during a test shoot for Curve Couture. Owner Chrissie Nicholson-Wild had arranged the models and a car load of her fantastic clothing for some promotional pics.

Chloe, the model here, was fantastic, taking direction very well. She knew exactly how to work with both the camera and garments.

Chloe had her eye on this coat (I think everyone did) and made a beeline for it. I wanted her to look fierce, she told her to jump at the same time as crossing that leg while bearing her teeth at the camera. She jumped, I clicked, and this is it!

Both of us knew the image was good, so tried half a dozen more times to take it again, just to make sure. Each time something wasn't quite right, either the timing or the flow of the cloth, just something. But that initial snap was almost perfect.

The image isn't complete, it's a touch underexposed, but I`ve been reluctant to edit it. Perhaps one day I`ll feel upto the task of bringing out all that it has to offer. Until then though, I love it as it is.

Behind the lens - Tony Stubbings

In the first of a series which tracks his career, the Brighton-based photographer remembers his first model shoot.

Perhaps it’s because it was taken on my first ever model shoot, perhaps it’s the tight crop (I love tight crops), for whatever reason, this picture has a special place in my heart.

The model is Vicky Decay (now sadly living in Bristol), who had done several shoots and was quite experienced, as opposed to me - a trembling newbie not really knowing what to expect. Although I’d been shooting for a couple of years, both the technology - off-camera flash - and the situation - working with a model - were quite new to me.

For the shoot we where in the basement of a night club. I only had a single flash to light her with and luckily I managed to get this off camera and remotely triggered.

I wanted her to look like she was emerging from the blackness, as if pouring out of the corner ready to pounce or leap on the viewer.

Vicky delivered, the flash worked and, to my amazement, what I wanted was there, staring back at me from the camera screen!

I often wonder, had that initial shoot had turned into a disaster, would I have pursued model photography at all? Of course the pic is not without its faults, but I was (and still am) thrilled at the result. I knew there and then that as great as landscapes, reportage and wedding photography can be, it was working with fantastic models such as Miss Decay that I really wanted to do!

Vicky - I thank you.

www.tonystubbings.co.uk

Behind the lens - Lucie Evans

Photographer Lucie Evans talks about her favourite image:

This was a collaboration between myself and three of my close friends. We'd wanted to do a photo-shoot together for years and the magic happened on the remains of a demolished chemical waste plant in October 2009.

The catalyst for the concept was artist Miss Pybis's Japanese-influenced illustations. Prop-maker Kevin Thornton made the prosthetic tumors and boils and applied the make up and Kirsty Conroy styled the shoot.

The theme is based on two Geisha's that have survived a nuclear explosion and are existing within the beauty of their traditional costume. The characters are our interpretation of the Geisha, but through our vision of a post apocalyptic world where cosmetic beauty is juxtaposed with grotesque facial deformities and a derelict radio active landscape.

Links:
www.lucieevans.com
www.myspace.com/misspybis
www.flickr.com/photos/thorntonprops

Behind the lens - Louise Haywood-Schiefer

In the first of a new series in which photographers explain the stories behind their favourite shots, Louise Haywood-Schiefer tells of a band under pressure.

I took this image of Diagonal frontman Alex Crispin two years ago at Toe-Rag recording studios, where the band were recording their first album.

The studio was amazing; all kitted out with vintage amps and tiny artefacts left as evidence of all the great artists who had recorded there.

I'd been asked to document them during the recording, but couldn’t help spending a great portion of the day photographing the interior and collecting shots of the wonderful memorabilia and instruments, dotted around the place.

After focusing my attention back to the band, I realised the recording wasn’t going so great at this point. It was getting late, and they only had one more day to finish the album.

I took this shot of Alex as they were going for another break to try and clear their heads. I like that his expression conveys how tired and under pressure they all were, and because I was only using the ambient light, it turned into a really moody shot.

The beauty of hindsight

I recently discovered a highly addictive vintage photo site called squareamerica.com thanks to blogger The Big Mac and of all the amazing glimpses into people's private history, the text with this photo really made it come to life for me.

It reads: "On my honeymoon. I was beautiful then. I'm not now - but my face has "character"."

Already, at 25, I'm noticing the first signs of ageing - lines are creeping in around my eyes and my face is starting to look different from how it did between the age of 16 and my early twenties, during which time there was little change. It's not a bad thing per se, it just takes a bit of getting used to.

But while I may not be completely content with the way that I look (who is?), I recognise that it's important not to get hung up on what has been before and to appreciate and celebrate each different stage as it comes.

No doubt I will also look back on my honeymoon photos when I'm older, as the woman in this photo has, and think "I was beautiful then" when what I really need to do is think "I'm beautiful now" and not wait for hindsight to give me that clarity and confidence.