Archive for category Photography

Richard Misrach Exhibition

Posted by Vicente in Photography on February 27, 2010

Last Saturday I visited the Pace /MacGill Gallery in New York and was lucky enough to see an absolutely extraordinary photography show by American photographer Richard Misrach.

Unfortunately the exhibition closed that night but you can still see some of the images online. I was blown away by the beauty of this truly exquisite show.

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Photography film results

Posted by Vicente in Photography on February 25, 2010

I’m always apprehensive when the film from my travel (yes film, not digital!) arrives from being processed. Will they come out? Will they be in focus? Will it be the right thing or not…?

On this trip I also photographed a beautiful job (not one of mine, but a home that I had seen) in Bali for publication.

So I usually sit there with the light box, kind of apprehensive, before opening the film box. I’m always surprised, not always pleasently, but seeing the images of the experiences that I lived in my travels come alive again is wonderful, regardless.

With the written text, this trip to Mali will hopefully end up as a chapter in a future book. I’ll share some of the travel notes with you in the upcoming days to give you a taste of this fascinating place.

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Travel Journal – Lisbon

Posted by Vicente in Photography, Travels on February 23, 2010

Many of you have asked me to share some of the photos I took on my recent trip, so I decided to share extracts from my travel journey here, along with some of the photos. I’ll start with my first port of entry, Lisbon, today and give you a couple more impressions over the next few days. Please let me know if you’ve been to any of these places and share with all the readers what you liked most about all these destinations. I think that by sharing our experiences, we make travel so much more accessible to everyone. (Click on the photos to see a bigger version.)

Lisbon – A city of tiles

Small in comparison to other European capitals, Lisbon makes up for what it lacks in size with its charm, its many hills and the churches that are scattered throughout and that expose the high Rococo style.

All over the city, the shimmer of gold leaf and the wealth it gathered with the colonization of India and Brazil is evident. Gold, silk, spices and precious woods were brought here and a maritime nation was launched with the exploration of Vasco de Gama and his men, who found a sea route to India.

My favorite parts of the city are the great museums – small in size, but rich in objects and art. The best of all of these is the Museu Calouste Gulbenkian, which houses an outstanding Lalique collection. The architecture of the building and the area where it is located, is just great. It is part of the Museo de Arte Moderno.

Because Lisbon is by the sea, fresh seafood reigns in their cuisine – and I indulged in daily fresh offerings during my visit.

I also loved seeing how tiles have been used throughout the city – in the facades of the buildings, in the hallways and in churches. It brings tilework to a very high art.

The churches throughout the city are quite magnificent, embellished with gold mantles, carved wood and frescos which, when combined with the color of the local Travertine and marble, ends up with a very soft coloration which is augmented with the Rococo swirls and fantasy.

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Ask Vicente: Getting Into Photography

Posted by Vicente in Ask Vicente, Photography on December 22, 2009

Name: Melissa Allam

Comment:

I just found this video off of the blog visual vamp. Thank you so much for posting this. It is great inspiration and motivation for me. I have a two year degree in interior design and have decided to start my own business next year in interior and event design. I decided this because friends keep asking me to do parties and weddings, so I have kept a file of picures and am starting my own business next year. I have one question for you though. I have taken all my own pictures with my little point and shoot camera. I’ve thought about taking a photography class so I can take more professional looking pictures. How did you do it when you first started out?

Vicente Responds:

First of all, stick to one thing first (you’re talking parties, photography and interiors) – master one thing first and then go onto the next. (Jack of all trades, master of none…) Photography for me was a natural follow on after I became successful in interior design – I wanted to enter a new career and it was the only way of getting published. I didn’t do any photography courses, but rather picked up a camera and started to figure it all out. I’ve never been one to attend courses and believe that if you get a good camera and have some patience, that’s the best way of figuring it all out.

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Georgia O’Keeffe at the Whitney

Posted by Vicente in Art, Photography, Projects on November 25, 2009

I’m designing a new collection of tile for a major tile producer and I’ve been trying to gather ideas and inspirations. Among the places I went to for that was the Whitney Museum where there is a really beautiful retrospective on Georgia O’Keefe and her earlier work. It is not the intense color and graphic style that one is accustomed of seeing of her. It’s beautiful, soft coloration and really such romantic paintings, plus a wonderful photograph that her husband, Alfred Stieglitz, took of her. It’s running until January 2010 and a must if you’re in New York.

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Ralph Pucci

Posted by Vicente in Art, Events, Photography on November 9, 2009

Deborah Turbeville from the Pucci invitation Last week Ralph Pucci hosted the opening of a Deborah Turbeville photography collection and it featured a cross section of her work, mainly of her series at Versailles where she went into the storerooms and photographed furniture and statuary that was in storage.

I haven’t been in his showroom for a while, but it’s always such a thrill to be there. First just to love the space with its skylights, windows and amazing downtown views – it makes me wish I could have it as an apartment – and secondly to see how he has created a collection of designers so varied one from the other, but still with a strong design cohesiveness.

If you haven’t been to his showroom, you should make that a priority when you next find yourself in New York. To me it’s the epitomy of a high-end, modern furniture collection in New York.

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New Book – First Section Done!

Posted by Vicente in Books, Photography, Travels on November 6, 2009

Vicente Wolf I’ve handed in the first of three sections of my new book and it has been time-consuming, energy-draining and very exciting! Working with Christine Pittel, who worked with me on the first two books, I had to match the copy of the things that I talked about to images and the same thing with spaces – matching my photographs to the words.

This is something that starts to become very fulfilling as you see this original concept coming alive. People say why do people want to work on books, and yes, there’s the sense of putting your work out there and having it seen by the general public, but for me it’s the combination of my photography, with travel and a sense of teaching people how to maybe look at things in a different way, which really becomes so fulfilling when you put it together in a book that will be around for a long time (and in the library of Congress!).

There are so many design books out there – designers speaking about how great they are and showing their work. Some of them great, others less so, but I think that we owe the reader something more than just showing one’s work. If they spend their money to buy the book, I think that when they’re finished with looking at it and reading it, they should walk away being more enlightened, more aware, more informed and most importantly inspired.

So, one down, two more to go. I’ll keep you updated as we go along.

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Big Production

Posted by Vicente in Photography, Random on July 14, 2009

Montauk This past Friday, Saturday and Sunday my house in Montauk was rented for a Calvin Klein photo shoot and I have never seen so much equipment come into the house – I have a 2-car garage, which was completely filled with equipment and another room in the house was set up with computers and light boxes. A total of 42 people came, with food, music, make-up, trucks and tons of stuff. Thank God I had organized to stay with a friend over the weekend, leaving a caretaker at the house to watch over it.

It’s encouraging to think that people are still spending this type of money in this economy, which must mean that they feel that things are getting better else they wouldn’t be spending like this. Are you feeling a change?

P.S. I only returned to my house once it was all over and back to its serene self!

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Photography and Design

Posted by Vicente in Photography on June 22, 2009

wallpaper Last week I met with photographer Laura Novak through a business associate – she wanted to get my input on a new concept she’s just launching. It was very intriguing to see how a creative person can take a mundane approach to portraits and turn it into a really exciting way to show off your family and yourself, without using a traditional approach of a photograph of the children and you on the wall. She’s made it exciting and quite different.

From a photographer’s point of view I like how, when showing children, she will sometimes not show the parent’s upper body, which puts the scale of the child into perspective. Baby sleeping They’re quite wonderful – she’s in Wilmington, Delaware and is highly recognized as a wedding photographer, but is changing her focus on bringing portraiture to a different level.

As a photographer I really relate to her work. We were thinking of joining forces this coming fall to host a talk about using photography as part of interior design.If you’re in the Wilmington or Philadelphia area and would be interested in attending this talk, please leave a comment below this mail, or visit Laura’s website here.

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Orlando Diaz-Azcuy

Posted by Vicente in Photography, Random on June 10, 2009

orlando-diaz-azcuy1 At the art auction hosted by Elle Decor at 15 Union Square West last week I ran into the very talented Orlando Diaz-Azcuy who has just published a beautiful book. I was so honored when he told me that he’d love for me to take the photographs for his next book!