Portrait Photography

Few snaps from my latest project.

Queen of Versailles

The documentary follows the Siegel family as they begin the process of building the biggest home in America at 90000 square feet. The mammoth property is architecturally based on the French Palace of Versailles- a vision of class and elegance. Quite the opposite of 74-year-old David Siegel CEO of Westgate Resorts the biggest time-share company in America.

Director and up an coming documentary maker Lauren Greenfield allows an interesting insight into the lives and fall of this modern American family made up of 8 kids and ex-model wife Jackie Siegel.

As it progresses you realize that this man just likes to use the word “big”. Eventually including the terms “big trouble” and “big debt” in his financial terms.

The portrayal is one of empathy toward the family, I found myself feeling sorry this man, who in fact is probably a criminal as his callousness leads to the termination of thousands of his employees jobs.

David and Jackie Siegel have used their real-life experiences to produce one of the most shocking storylines that could rival that of a Tarintino film. There marriage stays together, the expected breakdown of the couple acts as a cinematic form of tension throughout the film.

And it is true despite the greed and the wealth and outright tackiness of this family; they are in fact very likeable.

It is a fascinating insight into how the other half of the other half lives, the importance family and how much it costs to look just so cheap. An experience that might just leave you incredibly grateful for your normal, comfortable life.

Alison Lapper Pregnant: A revisit.

I recently had to give a presentation on a controversial image backed up by a 500 word essay. Below is my offering. What are your views of the statue?

Alison Lapper Pregnant is a 12-foot statue designed by Avant-garde artist Marc Quinn. The statue was commissioned for placement in London’s historic Trafalgar Square and was unveiled in 2005.

A considerable amount of controversy was caused almost immediately; Alison Lapper is a disabled artist and was born with phocomelia a condition that has left her with no arms and severely shortened legs of just thighbone attached to her foot making it incredibly difficult to walk. After being abandoned by her Mother after her birth, Alison was in and out of care. An experience made all the more difficult by her disability, however after studying Art at University of Brighton, Alison has over come her disability to become a prominent foot and mouth artist and a loving Mother of one.

So what gives her the right to become an enormous marble statue in the middle of one of London’s most historic landmarks? Many argue, nothing.

Criticism took the form that statues in the square should be reserved for historical figures that have built our nation, to match the newly cleaned up Nelson’s Colum in the center.

This strikes me as sheer ignorance. It isn’t 1805 anymore. What with the Houses of Parliament, Buckingham Palace and the National Gallery all a stone throw away, I think Mr. Nelson is in fairly good, celebrated company.

 It is obviously the start of new century with new cultures and new challenges and I believe that Alison Lapper is the perfect symbol of overcoming adversity in the modern world.

The statue has challenged many social taboos, showing Lapper pregnant breaks a stereotype that people do not see disabled people in a sexual way. Though the statue has not overwhelmingly changed life for disabled people it is an important piece of symbolism for the acceptance and understanding of their hardships. This was cemented at the London 2012 Paralympics Opening Ceremony where a huge reproduction of the statue was a key part of the celebration, showing that less than 10 years later, the image is more accepted and barriers have been broken for those of us considered “different”. 

Introduring Youth Lagoon............

Fresh from the popularity of Bon Iver comes the equally talented Youth Lagoon (real name Trevor Powers). The US native song writing style focus' on psychological dysphoria creating a beautiful melodic and entrancing experience. The above song 17 is taken form his first album Year of Hibernation. He also released his sophomore album Wondrous Bughouse in March. Check it out.

Cocaine Cara

It’s happening again. Miss Kate Moss has been revamped and reborn into a young Cara Delevigne: the new face of Burberry luxury clothing company and most magazine covers more recently gracing the front of Vogue, Miss Vogue and countless weekly publications with stories of her party lifestyle.

Her most recent headline feature is the 20 year-old Belgravia born model spotted outside her Central London home looking for her keys when out popped a small bag of the white stuff all over the floor. More desperate were Miss Delevigne’s shameless attempts of covering it up.

The emergence of this model has been very quick, for those of you who don’t think you know who I’m talking about, trust me you do. You will undoubtedly of seen her face almost everywhere. Looking at her she clearly was born for the job, statuesque and diverse looking with long shining hair she is a designers dream. Part of her charm is her charm; her funny and tomboyish ways make her interviews and constant Instagram updates very endearing. Her budding friendships with the likes of fellow models Jourdan Dunn, Karlie Kloss and Georgia Jagger not only make up the most beautiful group in the world but they also give the gaunt faces of London Fashion Week a personality and sense of fun which the fashion industry so lacks in. I genuinely commend this girl for these attributes, paparazzi shots of the foursome eating burgers in various exotic locations reassures young girls that these models were simply lucky enough to be graced with the metabolisms of cartoon character and their weight and body shapes cannot be copied.

And yes, young girls have definitely bought into the Cara glamour of late night partying and lighthearted humor, if you go onto her Twitter she is continually communicating with her fan groups that affectionately call themselves “Delevigeners” with Twitter domains such as “@caras_eyebrows” derived from the models famous thick brows. This hive of activity has only ever been seen on the pages of the One Direction or “Belieber” fandoms, proving that Cara has infiltrated the pubescent.

It is these young impressionable minds I fear for. However much Cocaine Delevigne chooses to poison her body with is her look but whatever happens the history books show she will live to walk another runway and star in another ad campaign a la Kate Moss. The Daily Mail and Perez Hilton gossip columns can be accessed with the click of a button and if these kids are internet savvy enough to create a twitter account heaping praise on their favorite idol I’m sure they are reading the gossip columns.

Cocaine isn’t funny, it’s not fun and it’s not glamorous. It’s destroying, it’s threatening and it should not be encouraged or even printed about. The pictures of Delevigne’s incident with the Class A drug should not have been published, the Cheshire Cat “I’ve been caught” guilty grin should never have been put on the front of our newspapers. The wealth of young models like Moss and Delevigne will help to rehabilitate themselves should the issue ever become so serious, however some young men and women out there are beyond help and chained by the experience of “sex, drugs and rock and roll” there lives are a sad picture of crime, homelessness and desperation. Lets not encourage the affliction on to other youngsters. Last time I checked a walk in the park, a picnic with friends and a nice meal out left me going to bed at 11 0’clock well rested and happy. My job and family gave me enough satisfaction to wake up in the morning. Where did this message get lost for young girls and boys?