Catherine Servel Photography

[onemancult]

Talk talk.

http://www.catherineservel.com/index.htm

[airfrogusmc]

Talk talk.

http://www.catherineservel.com/index.htm

CRAP!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Carl]

You think so frog?

I'm not the one to critique some fashion photography but i got a very "Newton"esque vibe from it.

I like it.

[onemancult]

i got a very "Newton"esque vibe from it.

exactly why i dig it.

the 'aged photo' touch really strikes me, as well.

[airfrogusmc]

Crap!!!!!!!!!!!

[swapmeat]

The hues of the photos are great!

[malsponge]

So how do you think she gets the hues? Can you do it in photoshop? Like warming the picture maybe. Or maybe a filter on the lens?

[airfrogusmc]

In Image adjustments photofilter theres a filter pack which include warming and cooling filters also image adjustments hue/saturation you can dial down the saturation.

Gimmicks never make for good photographs. A good image is a good image and technique should never be an issue.

[onemancult]

Gimmicks never make for good photographs. A good image is a good image and technique should never be an issue.

having a particular style that you adhere to doesn't automatically make your work gimmicky, in my opinion.

if so, then every single photographer ever was prone to gimmicks, and thus,

no one has ever created anything pure and real and unburdened. that's foolish.

a good image is always a good image, but unless you bear witness to the reality

where and when the image was taken, you should not speculate about technique or modification or enhancement- that would be ignoring the art and focusing on artifice

for no other reason than to be some sort of purist jerkoff that validates only experiences and not the beauty that can come of marrying experiences with imagination.

[airfrogusmc]

Edward Weston had a style that transcended technique as do all other truly great photographers as does Witkin. To me there is nothing to any of these images. If you think they are great in anyway please tell me why you think that? HHHMMM purest jerkoff now thats intelligent!

[C0C0]

Edward Weston had a style that transcended technique as do all other truly great photographers as does Witkin. To me there is nothing to any of these images. If you think they are great in anyway please tell me why you think that? HHHMMM purest jerkoff now thats intelligent!

agreed8576578

[Analog]

CRAP!!!!!!!!!!!!

Crap!!!!!!!!!!!

Edward Weston had a style that transcended technique as do all other truly great photographers as does Witkin. To me there is nothing to any of these images. If you think they are great in anyway please tell me why you think that? HHHMMM purest jerkoff now thats intelligent!

[isdenn]

most of her photos feel really hollow and insincere, or at best uninteresting. i dont think her images benefit from the low contrast and muted tones. set 5 is the most successful - this is my favorite image from that set:

[Vitamian]

A misguided attempt to meld Bourdin and Newton.

As if the hack-ish Ellen von Unwerth wasn't enough.

[airfrogusmc]

If it weren't for that 60s faded C print kinda thing theres nothing to talk about thus my point. Great images always transcend technique and if you find yourself in a discussion about technique and not the image itself then???

[Vitamian]

Compare the above mediocre images with a master such as Bourdin:

The above photographs are like something a pretentious, possibly lesbian, Photo Major at some liberal arts college might produce--a graduation from Lomography.

[airfrogusmc]

Thats better.... Love the strong use of primary colors and the human form becomes an visual element reminiscent of Westons Attic

http://www.eastman.org/taschen/htmlsrc8/m196600700052_ful.html#topofimage

[onemancult]

I'm attracted to that hollowness and that insincerity in photography- I think it is an unexplored frontier for the medium, one that television, born much later than photography as a medium, has already plumbed the depths of. I guess my rubric for evaluating photography is just completely off the mark compared to a more traditional perspective on the craft.

As photography has evolved, everyone seems to want something more out of a photo than a photo is necessarily willing to give. And so, this necessitates that the photographer constantly search for the perfect moment, that skullcrushingly epic

slice of life that will wow all the believers of the same old tenets- whether or not that epic moment is evident in the subtle creases of an old woman's mouth or in the majesty of a mountaintop is another argument entirely.

Bourdin and Westin triumphed in my eyes by marrying rigid graphic themes rooted in architecture to the fluidity of the human form. How a couple of you are extrapolating Bourdin and Westin references in Servel's work is beyond me- anyone who photographs women is indebted to Bourdin and Westin now all of a sudden? Quick, someone tell the Cobra Snake he has a lineage!

I don't need a photo to validate my soul or reaffirm my belief in anything except for one thing, and that is my sight. Beyond reminding me of the fact that I can see, what more is there to desire from a simple photo of a pretty girl riding a plastic toy? It is pleasing aesthetically, and doesn't deign to satisfy anything beyond the surface of my senses.

In a world where every hack is reaching for the deepest depths of the human soul with their Leica lens, Servel's work is incredibly refreshing.

[airfrogusmc]

Well I'm certainly glad things in still photography didn't live up to the prediction of Sontag. I think the most important thing a photographer has to answer to himself is why am I making these images and what am I trying to say and can I say it thru fresh eyes.

Adams said

"A great photograph is a full expression of what one feels about what is being photographed in the deepest sense, and is, thereby, a true expression of what one feels about life in its entirety."

The only thing clear to me in these images is the why is $$$. The style is certainly nothing new. Looks like fashion stuff from the 60s only not as fresh. Like a copy band, just an imitation.

Another Adams quote,

"If all photographers could realize the ultimate importance of a high ethic and would join in a collective determination to maintain clean standards, a vast change for the better would be obtained."

[aaronS]

well you guys are getting pretty heavy but i'll add my opinion

i don't think this photographer is out there to change the world of photography i think they're out there to get jobs shoots some fashion and editorial and bring home a pay check. as for that, most of the images would make good editorial in the majority of fashion mags from vogue to nylon and i could even see purple running some of these if they were of more famous models

[Vitamian]

I'm attracted to that hollowness and that insincerity in photography- I think it is an unexplored frontier for the medium, one that television, born much later than photography as a medium, has already plumbed the depths of. I guess my rubric for evaluating photography is just completely off the mark compared to a more traditional perspective on the craft.

As photography has evolved, everyone seems to want something more out of a photo than a photo is necessarily willing to give. And so, this necessitates that the photographer constantly search for the perfect moment, that skullcrushingly epic

slice of life that will wow all the believers of the same old tenets- whether or not that epic moment is evident in the subtle creases of an old woman's mouth or in the majesty of a mountaintop is another argument entirely.

Bourdin and Westin triumphed in my eyes by marrying rigid graphic themes rooted in architecture to the fluidity of the human form. How a couple of you are extrapolating Bourdin and Westin references in Servel's work is beyond me- anyone who photographs women is indebted to Bourdin and Westin now all of a sudden? Quick, someone tell the Cobra Snake he has a lineage!

I don't need a photo to validate my soul or reaffirm my belief in anything except for one thing, and that is my sight. Beyond reminding me of the fact that I can see, what more is there to desire from a simple photo of a pretty girl riding a plastic toy? It is pleasing aesthetically, and doesn't deign to satisfy anything beyond the surface of my senses.

In a world where every hack is reaching for the deepest depths of the human soul with their Leica lens, Servel's work is incredibly refreshing.

Considering that the coloration and thematic elements contained in this woman's work--especially in the red hose and heels, and accents of color--there is a distinct "tribute", if not unconscious, to Bourdin's prototypical look.

Also, the distinction between this woman's work--a studio photographer--and the work of someone "reaching for the deepest depths of the human soul with their Leica lens" is completely different. The latter is more likely to be a documentary photographer, similar in outlook to say, Winogrand or Bresson.

well you guys are getting pretty heavy but i'll add my opinion

i don't think this photographer is out there to change the world of photography i think they're out there to get jobs shoots some fashion and editorial and bring home a pay check. as for that, most of the images would make good editorial in the majority of fashion mags from vogue to nylon and i could even see purple running some of these if they were of more famous models

I don't believe all photographers all follow some commercial approach. For one example, Guy Bourdin was known to be extremely difficult to work with and would leave models lying nude on glass tables for several hours whil he went around trying to find the perfect flower. Also, there is that particular situation of Bourdin's patronage by the very progressive Charles Jourdan.

Ralph Eugene Meatyard was another image-maker who pursued a private passion, if you will; he only photographed and printed on his yearly vacations.

[airfrogusmc]

There are fashion and commercial photographers that have been able to do commercial work and still make great photgraphs. Servels work is average at best. I feel nothing more from it than collecting a paycheck and copying 60s looking fashion images becasue its always easy to copy than create. Avadon, Penn, Skrebneski, all did fashion and still created images that were more than just commercial.

[Fuuma]

Compare the above mediocre images with a master such as Bourdin:

The above photographs are like something a pretentious, possibly lesbian, Photo Major at some liberal arts college might produce--a graduation from Lomography.

Hey that's my wallpaper!!! Bourdin's photos power come, in part, from the discomfort they create, they're so deshumanizing....The female body as a pictural motif.

[Vitamian]

Hey that's my wallpaper!!! Bourdin's photos power come, in part, from the discomfort they create, they're so deshumanizing....The female body as a pictural motif.

Indeed, it's that vaguely disquieting effect.

Jeanloup Sieff also made some slightly disturbing photos although they are more typically "French".

[Analog]

I find myself feeling ambivalent towards Catherine Servel's photos.

However I feel that the critiques have been quite disproportionate to the work presented (in some cases ridiculously so).

Do Servel's photos warrant comparison to Bourdin, Weston, Witkin, Newton, Avedon etc.? Did Onemancult make such claims in his original post? Should all photographers who fail to compare favourably to said "legends" be relegated to "crap" status?

[ChadM]

Servel's photos aren't my favorite, but in an age of low qaulity point and shoot photos taking over fashion magazines, I think they have a nice place.

[airfrogusmc]

I find myself feeling ambivalent towards Catherine Servel's photos.

However I feel that the critiques have been quite disproportionate to the work presented (in some cases ridiculously so).

Do Servel's photos warrant comparison to Bourdin, Weston, Witkin, Newton, Avedon etc.? Did Onemancult make such claims in his original post? Should all photographers who fail to compare favourably to said "legends" be relegated to "crap" status?

To me most commercial stuff is crap. The buck is the obvious motivation in this photographers work. My point is there is so much crap out there that the world and my eyes really don't need one more piece of it. Not every image or photographer will be or can be on the level with any of these other photographers but I've seen work by photographers that post here that are far more interesting visually than the stuff that she shoots. If I felt any kind of honesty to what I saw I probably wouldn't have been so hard on it. I don't find her work very interesting and void of any personal vision. He asked what we thought. "talk, talk". These are my thoughts.

[RAISED BY WOLVES]

This work isn't "bad" per se, it just doesn't seem to require much of me as a viewer, which can often be the case with fashion and commercial work, whose chief concern is to sell you a lifestyle and the products attached to it.

That said, I thought it would be interesting to share the work of one of my favorite contemporary photopgraphers, who recently did a 26 page spread for W Magazine. The creative control they gave him is more than evident in the resulting pictures, and though they are not as emotionally engaging and visually intriguing as his personal work, I think they suceed quite well in accomplishing the task at hand.

See Alec Soth's work for W Below:

http://book-of-job.blogspot.com/2007/04/alec-soth-in-w.html

[C0C0]

i think the images you chose for this post...don't really do her much justice...these were some stronger ones imo as one who needs something more than just a 'picture', to me these not only have more thought from the photographer's side, but also better technique

btw i enjoyed the soth spread in vogue...especially the one in the 'teeny bopper' room...and the girls from some team

[wild_whiskey]

I wish I could put together my words on how I feel about these photos as well as OMC, but I guess all I can say is that I'm fond of these photos. They have some bit of glamour and sex in them but not in such a misogynist way that much fashion photography does. The way the model exists as a part of a photograph is pleasing, somewhat whimsical and very alluring, to say the least.

They express a different type of femininity than Bourdin's photos, and while the style might be similar, I don't think a comparison is in order. Comparing every fashion photographer to Weston or Bourdin is like comparing every modern pop band to The Beatles. Eventually the argument is going to get tired because it would be absolutely impossible to not be influenced by such prominent photographers.

I see the nastalgic, muted tones as an aesthetic choice and not necessarily indicative of a tribute or homage. I think they add directly to the distinction between photography or the photograph, and imagery, if that makes sense.