FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Welcome to all our viewers and fans. Whew, what a journey this has been..I mean a great journey. This is a dream come true, nothing less. Just a little about me; a guy who loves art to the bone. A professional Photographer and Graphic Artist from the wonderful island of Jamaica who decided to make the move to New York over a year ago to fulfill his dream of being an artist in the fashion capital. My life is centered around Graphic Art and Fashion, but I try to make time to hang out a little, go to the movies or anything that I find interesting. How did Ellements Magazine begin? I called up my friend Brent on Skype and told him about my desire to start my own online fashion magazine, that would showcase the work of talented young and seasoned photographers around the world. Why online? The world is moving in a digital direction, and since everyone is glued to their cell phones, tablets and computers, why not?! He shared the same view, so I am proud to say this is now a reality and not an idea anymore. The Debut Issue of Ellements Magazine. Alot of credits goes to the amazing photographers who came onboard to make this a reality. Without their hard work, talent and creativity we wouldnt have awesome images to show. Compliments doesn’t only go out to the photographers but all who contributed to this being a success. We have an awesome team behind this magazine and it is our goal to make it better and better at every go. Before I forget I want to give a huge shotout to the over 18,500 viewers who have visited our website, read and commented on our features; its a huge accomplishment in a five month span.
Kaneo Biggs
I am excited, energized and ready to take this magazine to the next level, it only gets better from here. Let’s all work together in making history.
Executive Director info@kaneodesigns.com twitter.com/KaneoDesigns
FROM THE DIRECTOR Who is Brent Wellington? Brent Wellington is an accomplished International fashion photographer and graphic designer. I grew up in the tropical country of Trinidad & Tobago, a place that combines the Caribbean’s peace and natural beauty with the bustle of industry and commerce, but now resides in Toronto Canada. Why “Ellement”? Elléments mean to be a part of something. What is your role at Elléments Magazine? I’m the director of Elléments Magazine. My role allows me to get people involved that can make positive contributions to the magazine, I’m also responsible for finding new material for the magazine and with the executive director and review submissions material from photographer, clothing designers, wardrobe stylist, makeup artist and model that would like to submit to the magazine. On a regular basis consultation takes place between the Executive Director Kaneo Biggs and myself. Who is your target market? My target is anyone who has a love for the fashion industry and photographic art. What are your goals where the magazine is concerned? My Goal is to see Elléments Magazine as one of the top print & digital magazines .
Brent Wellington
Director bwellington.photography@gmail.com twitter.com/BrentWellington
Features G. Elliott Simpson Katriena Emmanuel Rosella Vanon Kaneo Biggs Ray John Pila cover feature
Lavinia Ungureanu Jason Brown Fabryan Louis Botha
Kaneo Biggs Editor & Executive Director info@kaneodesigns.com
Brent Wellington Director bwellington.photography@gmail.com Design & Layout www.kaneodesigns.com Website: www.ellementsmagazine.com Phone: 347 867 6214 (USA) 416 527 0427 (CANADA)
G. Elliott Simpson
G
///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// G. Elliott Simpson is a photographer and graphic designer from Toronto, Canada with a flair for the unusual. For many years he has worked expressly as graphic designer across various industries – from Pharma, to commercial, to film/television, and publishing. Nowadays G. Elliott Simpson serves a small roster of clients who require graphic design (and some commercial photography), but much of his time with photography is devoted to Fine Art and gallery/exhibition. G. Elliott Simpson work has been published and exhibited internationally in various magazines also in “Anthologies” by Bruno Gmünder. G. Elliot Simpson is represented by Pentimento Gallery (Toronto).
ARTIST STATEMENT: I’m intrigued by how people transform themselves, and how others experience that transformation. And it seems to me such transformation involves as much a self-deception as it does any expression of faith. People think themselves capable of all sorts of acts that are not necessarily possible. Perhaps it’s because there is only so much that a person can experience in the immediacy of one’s existing body. It seems that any further awareness there is to gain must come through distortions to, and at the expense of, the regular public order of ourselves – so that to break out of yourself, you must be willing to break yourself. My work is more often than not, very personal for me. It speaks to my own experience as well as to my views of this period in history. There is so much fear just below the surface right now. Some are more fascinated than afraid by the darkness closing around. In my photographs I’m responding to this alchemy of fear and fascination – a strange collision between sex-sellscommercialism and Thanatos.
My process is slow and deliberate but also porous. I never know at the start of a session what or who my model will become. Creation is complex and dirty. The charge for me comes when the figure is complete, the result itself not unlike solving a puzzle or equation. I’ve been fascinated by the macabre ever since I was a young boy. In Grade 8 I pulled a practical joke on my French immersion teacher at the small school I attended in rural Ontario. Miss M. was an outsider and a hard person to read, officious in manner but with a sly grin at unexpected moments. Her classroom was on the 5th Floor and the windows were older-style, opening outward and up, with faulty latches. One day when she stepped out of the room during a short recess, I opened the window wide and ran down the back stairwell leading outside. Then I laid myself out motionless on the ground beneath the window, splayed like a starfish, and waited to be discovered. I actually didn’t expect her shock – and certainly not her scream, which was piercing. In retrospect, I was surprised by her willingness to believe the ruse. To partially absolve my conscience I remember that I jumped up and yelled “Its ok! I’m ok! I landed right!” And then I went back upstairs to accept my punishment and make the best of it.
Katriena Emmanuel
Katriena’s Story I took up photography to find a need in my life. The year of 2008 I was searching for something or some meaning or purpose to my life, almost to the point of feeling depressed about my office job (law firm), feeling stiffled in a field that is not creative at all. At first I thought about doing a course in graphic art, because I’ve always loved to draw and paint but I couldn’t really afford to quit my job that pays the bills and pay for tuition. I knew I wanted to do something artistic and in fashion cause ever since a teenager I would sketch designs for gowns. Then I started coming across so many self-taught photographers, even discovering a lot of the great professional photographers had had no schooling other than teaching themselves. So I thought if they could do it then so can I and that way it was free, I was teaching myself something that could possibly take me on a new career path. And since then I’ve been so absorbed in photography, mostly thinking up of new concepts from imagining the garmets, the styling, the makeup, the hair, I just love creating stories in my head of photos to take.My mind can be in constant overdrive sometimes to the point where I’ll be sitting at my desk job and an idea would hit me and I’d have to stop and nut out this whole storyline for a shoot and start jotting down notes or draw stick drawings of the poses or lighting set up. Or I may hear the lyrics of a song or a scene from a movie and viola that takes me on a new journey for an idea to translate into a photograph. As both a person and an artist I think I am very sensitive and mutable, just like my element of water, as my astrological sign of Pisces goes. I consider myself to work well with others in realising their visions as well. Some artists will have their distinct style imprinted on whatever photo they take for whatever purpose it is used for, but I don’t really think my artistic style is that strong that you see it in every photo shoot that I have done. I keep changing, experimenting and adapting my style to the person or the designer’s style of clothing I am shooting. I want to be able to be versatile and be given anything to shoot and be able to do it and do it in a way that subtly you can see it was “one of Katriena Emmanuel’s photos”.
“Living in this realm wasn’t enough for Katriena Emmanuel, so she created her own.”
My dream would be to one day work for a high end fashion magazine and have the creative freedom to shoot fashion in a way where there are no boundaries of artistic interpretation, experimentation and expression and of course with the element of fantasy injected into it. Give me a cardboard box and like a child I will imagine up different ways to play with it and have fun. I also have this idea, that if I worked for like Vogue Australia for example, I would love to travel to every little nook and crany of Australia and shoot beautiful designer threads against those backdrops. Sort of like a caravan expedition throughout Australia, to little villages, towns, ruins, rock faces, caves, beaches, waterfalls, carrot fields, mines, farm houses and just not only showcase Australian fashion designers but all of what Australia has to offer to the rest of the world. Really make it an expedition that could be chronicled because I think they are a zillion places here in Australia that have never been featured in fashion magazines, not everything has to be shot against the Sydney Harbour Bridge or Ayers Rock. There is so much beauty and magic in the scapes that is why I still prefer shooting outdoors in natural light. However, on the other side, shooting in a small studio space throws at you the challenge to be more creative and you have to use your imagination even harder in that space than it is improvising outdoors with the interaction of the environment.
Femme Fatale -
Model Samantha Cannon, Hairstylist Aleesha Darke Makeup Traci e Weaver.
One day, I would also like to use my photography, even through fashion photography, to bring more awareness of things that touch me deeply. I had originally intended to use my blog to post photos that I take, but its become sometimes a way for me to express mostly in writing my thoughts about certain topics. I feel good about inspiring people and I love inspiring people, whether it is through my words or my photos. If I hadn’t taken up photography as a hobby, I’d probably ended up as a counselor somewhere, because I am a good listener and empathetic person that I always want to help motivate and inspire people. Sadly, sometimes I can use a bit of my own medicine.
In summary, my dream is to do what I love and love what I do and get paid to do it all over again every day! Hopefully I can resign my desk job and take up photography full time, not as a job but as a career, cause everything about photography is a journey not a chore.
Oxygen -
Model Kelly Hockey, Makeup & Hair Emily Graham, Stylist - Amy Stewart & Katriena Emmanuel.
Sushairme-
Model Chanel Thomas Makeup Jenny Ockenden Hairstylist Myke O’Halloran Stylist Katriena Emmanuel.
Star Dust -
Model Kelly Hockey, Makeup Carla McKeever Stylist - Amy Stewart & Katriena Emmanuel.
Black Swan Beauty
Makeup Emily Graham Hairstylist Katya Cox Stylist Joshua Hall Model is Amy Jarvis Couture Gown by Shieltz Calamba
the work of
Rossella Vanon
“Rossella Vanon was born in a small city
near the sunny italian capital Rome. After a youth full of creative impulses, she decided to follow her inspiration by travelling first to the north city of Milan and then to the beautiful London, where she currently lives and works, and that she calls ‘home’.
”
RAY JOHN PILA PHOTOGRAPHY: RAY JOHN PILA MODELS: Annie and Andreas OF Q-Models for Cavalli 2011
Lavinia ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// Lavinia is a Toronto-based visual artist and photographer. Her interest in photography started in high school when she began experimenting with her godfather’s very old Zenit camera. Since then she progressed towards digital photography. Lavinia work focuses on fashion imagery, portraiture, experimental and macro-style photography. Her inspirations come from small details, beautiful moments and the spectrum of emotions fuels her imagery. She often dips in romantic and edgy moods combining the two through lighting, styling and colour manipulation. Influenced by the fashion world and the fine arts Lavinia likes to photograph with natural and artificial lighting and is not afraid to experiment resulting in her own artistic voice. She uses her fine arts training often when photographing, always conscious of compositions, colour balance and cropping.
Colour Wrapped
PHOTOGRAPHY - Jason Brown (me) HAIR AND MAKEUP - Vicki Millar STYLING - Jade Truscott MODELS: TEA @ Sutherland DANIELLE @ Sutherland LISA @ Push
Fabrian ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// Photographer- Gabor Szantai Model – Simona Stylist – Riece Forde Make up – Joy Adenuga Hair Stylist - Alexandra Kourieh Designer’s Assistant – Zoe Chinery Jewellery by Trisori and Martine Wester Shoes by Gianmarco Lorenzi and Gina
Louis Botha ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// Photography: Louis Botha Wardrobe & Styling: Kai Waterton Makeup & Hair: Laura Costa Model: Rafael Yapur @ MC2 models Miami WARDROBE CREDIT LIST IMAGE 1 + 2 denim jacket by G-STAR square shirt by G-STAR denim tie by G-STAR denim jeans by DIESEL IMAGE 3 + 4 coat and dress pants by LOUIS VUITTON PARIS cardigan by BARNEYS NYC