Fashion Shift Magazine Summer 2014 | Cover 3 by Fashion Shift Magazine

Carmen Obied

Magdalena Bieth

Kartee Munusamy

Features Editor Professional Model Industry Expert carmen.obied@fashionshiftmagazine.com

Founder Editor-in-Chief Fashion Photographer magdalena.bieth@fashionshiftmagazine.com

Official F*Shift Hair Stylist Creative Director at The Hair Room London By Kartee Munusamy

Summer 2014 LOVE | FOLLOW | SHARE GET INVOLVED | CONTRIBUTE facebook.com/fashionshiftmagazine submissions@fashionshiftmagazine.com instagram.com/fshiftmagazine twitter.com/fshiftmagazine

Photographed by Kaylin Amabile www.kaylinamabile.com

Photographed by Phoebe Cheong www.phoebecheong.com

Photographed by Nicolas Spinelli www.nicolasspinellI.com

Contributors

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Embedded necklace: NATERCIA LINO

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BIRD OF PARADISE CREATIVE DIRECTOR & PHOTOGRAPHER: Phoebe Cheong DIGITAL ASSISTANT & RETOUCHER: Estefania Aviles WARDROBE STYLIST: Neil Baulita MODEL: Tatiana @ D1 Models HAIR STYLIST: Silvio Hauke using Airbase & Mac ILLUSTRATOR: Elliot Coffin www.elliotcoffin.co.uk

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Leather Corset: DEE Floral Jumpsuit: ASOS

FashionShift Jacket: SANDRO Top: ASOS Shorts: FOREVER 21 Necklace: NATERCIA LINO Brooch: VINTAGE

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Tube Top: VINTAGE Embedded necklace: NATERCIA LINO

FashionShift Jacket: SANDRO Brooch: VINTAGE Necklace: NATERCIA LINO Top: ASOS Shorts: FOREVER 21

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FLAMINGO FLAMANGO PHOTOGRAPHY: Kaylin Amabile www.kaylinamabile.com MODEL: Monique Brigham HAIR & MAKEUP ARTIST: Laura Barone www.blendtrue.com

FLAMINGO BATHING SUIT: Victoria's Secret Pink

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RASH GUARD: Victoria's Secret

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POLKA DOT BATHING SUIT TOP: Victoria's Secret

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FLAMINGO BATHING SUIT: Victoria's Secret Pink

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TROUSERS: Polo Ralph Lauren TOP: Wetseal SHOES: Charlotte Russe

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LAST SUMMER PHOTOGRAPHY: Tomokazu Hamada MODEL: Varvara WARDROBE STYLIST: Yuta Kotani HAIR STYLIST: Keiko Tada MAKEUP: Maki Kojima

WARDROBE DESIGNER: Wolford

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Dress: A DEGREE FAHRENHETT Earrings: YVES SAINT LAURENT VINTAGE (LAILA ATELIER

Dress & Bracelet: TAE ASHIDA Shoes: SELLENATELA?

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Jacket: ISSEY MIYAKE Body & Belt: WOLFORD Shoes: SELLENATELA?

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Dress: A DEGREE FAHRENHEIT Earring: CHRISTIAN DIOR VINTAGE (LAILA ATELIER)

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Dress: ATSUSHI NAKASHIMA Body: WOLFORD

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Dress & Bracelet: TAE ASHIDA

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Top: PREY OF LONDON Skirt: LOVE On the right Dress: DOLCE&GABBANA Coat: ASOS Sandals: TOPSHOP Bag: DOLCE&GABBANA

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www.dlinderyd.com

Save The Flowers PHOTOGRAPHY: Donald Linderyd www.dlinderyd.com WARDROBE STYLIST: Dasha Egay www.funfunstyling.com MAKEUP ARTIST: Kat Krupa-Ringuet www.katkruparinguet.co.uk HAIR STYLIST: Vimal Chavda www.facebook.com/VimalChavdaHairstylist MODEL: Megan Halsted @ Profile Model Management www.profile-models.com PHOTO ASSISTANT: Sabrina Cichy | www.sabrinacichy.com WARDROBE ASSISTANT: Dayana Nessenmayeva www.dayananess.wix.com/dayana-nessembayeva

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Dress: ACNE Bomber Jacket: ASOS Sandals: TOPSHOP

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Dress: H&M Leather Jacket: OAK WOOD Sandals: ASOS Necklace: ZARA Clutch: JUICY COUTURE

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Dress: RED VALENTINO Glasses: TOPSHOP

Top: PETER PILOTTO Playsuit: ASOS DENIM Sneakers: NEW BALANCE Glasses: VINTAGE

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Top: COSSTORESS Jumpsuit: ASOS

Top: VILLAIN Skirt: TED BAKER Slippers: TOPSHOP Hat: RIVER ISLAND

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Dress: RED VALENTINO Denim Jacket: ASOS

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www.dlinderyd.com

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INTERVIEW

by features editor, Carmen Obied

In this summer issue we bring you an interview with inspiring Cheng Han, a published fine art and fashion photographer with an incredible passion for creating unique stories and sets. From surreal Icelandic locations to submerged worlds, Cheng Han gives us an insight into his photographic journey.

www.cheng-han.com www.cheng-han.com

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Carmen - Q1 - How and when do your ideas usually strike you, and what’s the process of bringing them to life? Cheng - I think that the path to a shoot idea starts from little seeds of thought born through casual, relaxed conversations with like-minded people, just discussing our curiosities. Sometimes they start from the everyday browsing of websites, books and observing the world in general over time. Then, in an unpredicted moment, a tipping point thought will cause the many separate little ideas and observations to magically lock together, imploding into a cohesive concept with enough layers of detail to form a workable image. However, for an image idea to become a shoot, it needs the right team and the practical ability to pull it off. I do find that the closer I get to finally putting a shoot together, the harder it becomes to believe that we have everything we need to pull it off. Bringing it to life is then about risking that final jump. There are also times when ideas happen at the moment of pressure or stress during a shoot when there is a strong urgency to get a worthwhile image. Sometimes it happens weeks after a shoot when I revisit images. I’ve had the benefit of forgetting what I had, perhaps too rigidly, set out to do and can see a fresh approach. Carmen - Q2 - What was the first picture you took which made you think – “this is what I want to do”? Cheng - I’ve found that images I wanted to attempt have been the combination of technical photographic ‘what-if ’s followed by a desire to express a current thought, emotion, idea or story. I do have to keep reminding myself to steer back to the expression of emotion since I have the tendency to favour dwelling on the technical aspects of photography. The first picture I’ve taken being born in this way is “The Struggle is Within Us”. It was shot over 7 hours in the middle of a rapeseed field. It started with the technical curiosity to shoot the same outdoor location during the day and during the night. The shoot started at 3.30pm and the final shot was taken at 10:30pm. It required us to build a platform in the middle of the field and for me to spend the week bribing the farmer with gifts to constantly remind him that we were going to shoot on his field. From an emotional perspective, the idea was created at a time when I felt very torn and undecided about what ‘type’ of photographer I wanted to be and had doubts on whether I could pull off such a shoot. It seemed natural that the subject matter was about the two sides of every person, struggling opposites that were forever and inevitably linked. When I finally completed the image weeks later after many drafts, I thought never again and almost immediately, this is what I want to do! Carmen - Q3 - Has your source of inspiration changed much over the years? Cheng - Not at all. I see the moment of creativity as the spark of finding inspiration from the seemingly ordinary. I just try to always stay curious, open-minded and patient and suddenly, there it is!!

“It was shot over 7 hours in the middle of a rapeseed field. It started with the technical curiosity to shoot the same outdoor location during the day and during the night.”

Carmen - Q4 - Do you strive for a certain reaction from your images or do you like them to be more open to interpretation? Cheng - If I can get a strong reaction from a viewer or make them feel they were there then I’ve achieved what I’ve set out to do. Carmen - Q5 - Your images are incredibly creative and often have a surrealist feel to it – is post-processing an important part of creating your final images? Cheng - Very much so. Even though I learnt photography during the film era, I am definitely not a purist. I think of the role of post processing as the same as a camera – both are merely tools which help thoughts to manifest as emotive story telling images. It sounds contradictory but I still like the images to feel ‘natural’. Post-processing should facilitate the realisation of a mental image rather than dominate it. When at a location, I am a big fan of stitched panoramic images shot with a 50mm lens. It allows me to create a wide, epic view while preserving the natural perspective of our eyes. As a result, it actually looks more natural than a wide angled lens but needs the post-processing stitching of images to happen.

Carmen - Q6 - You seem to enjoy going out of your comfort zone to create unique images in amazing locations. Which has been your most memorable location shoot? Cheng - Most definitely, my trip to Iceland. I felt such an obligation to do justice to the incredible vastness of the scenery there, to simply try and present what I saw and felt - an epic, vast, dramatic landscape. I decided that I would shoot almost every image as 20-30 image panoramic shots as close as possible to 50mm to preserve the natural perspective. This takes time and the freezing temperatures, frequently changing weather, lightly dressed models and at times, hazardous landscapes made it incredibly challenging and thus memorable. I didn’t want the models to dominate the attention of the images. I wanted the viewer of the images to feel like the models were occupants of that land. We were merely witnesses to a scene; surreal holiday snapshots of individuals from that land, very much in their natural environment, ignoring the camera. I wanted anonymity with the models which is why, for most of the shots, none of them were looking at the camera.

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INTERVIEW

“Radio waves don’t work underwater so triggering underwater and overwater flash simultaneously is a challenge. Backdrops & sets are always trying to float away.”

Carmen - Q8 - Tell us a bit about your gear and what you can’t live without! What’s next on the list to buy? Cheng - For my underwater work, I use a Canon 5D mk3 with 24mm f1.4 or 50mm f1.4 lenses protected by an Ikelite underwater housing. For lighting I use a combination of battery powered Elinchrom Quadras for above water lighting and Ikelite underwater flash. However, my to-buy list has actually less to do with camera equipment these days. More scaffolding, platforms and as many things from dry land which I can throw into the water without any dyes leaking out, rusting or falling apart. Perhaps even an industrial gas powered heater blower to keep models warm during the water surface shots. Having said that and being a gear junkie at heart, I certainly wouldn’t mind trying out the new medium format Pentax 645Z.

Carmen - Q7 - Knowing how you work, you put a lot of effort into getting that perfect shot. Can you tell us about the challenges you faced to create the underwater set? Cheng - First rule - no tiled walls in the background. I wanted the images to be free from the sense that we had to compromise in either the quality of images or setup because it was underwater. Unfortunately, it’s an environment which you can’t breathe or see in and it’s difficult to find equipment and clothing able to survive it. Radio waves don’t work underwater so triggering underwater and overwater flash simultaneously is a challenge. Backdrops & sets are always trying to float away. What is it like? Imagine doing a conventional dry studio shoot where we’ve set up all the lighting, backdrops and styling. Model and photographer step out of the studio [i.e. above water] and decide what they are going to do. At this point, they both hold their breath, the model shuts her eyes and they both try to walk [swim] into the studio, trying to get to their respective positions without knocking everything over. In position, the model poses mostly blind (since she doesn’t have goggles on) and tries to maintain the right expression while her eyes are being stung by chlorinated water and lungs are needing air. The shot is taken, both frantically run out of the studio and can finally breathe. Keep repeating this for every shot attempt. Everything just takes 3-4 times longer to do.

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Carmen - Q9 - What is the best piece of advice you have been given? Cheng - The advice has come from two photographers I’ve had the fortune to spend time with over the last 3 years. The first is Miss Aniela, a photographer I have great admiration for and very much a mentor from the first time I started working with a full team. It wasn’t so much direct advice but from seeing how she worked. She made it ok to be unsure about what the final image would be. It didn’t have to be a perfectly completed idea at the time of shooting and to use that time to gather multiple shots as the raw materials to evolve into a final image through post-processing. Conversely, the other person is Kirsty Mitchell who is obsessive about creating highly detailed full-scale sets. She takes months to physically build all the elements for an image. For her, there is no substitute for photographing reality. Make it ALL real and it will be worth it. They come from differing schools of thought in some respects but share the philosophy to value emotion, story and detail in the image above all else. Both are highly skilled beyond being camera operators and steer me away from dwelling on equipment technicalities. Both are reminders that great images never come easy and that the glorious millisecond when you suddenly perceive and shoot a satisfying image is often the result of months of planning, thought and practice. Carmen - Q10 - So what can we expect to see from you next? Cheng - More elaborate underwater images, building sets and little ‘worlds’ to develop my specialisation in this area. The key to achieving this is to find a team of individuals with the same like-minded madness [Carmen] to try and do this just because the promise for unusual images far outweigh the difficulties it presents. Makeup, Hair and Stylist teams willing to jump into the water during shoots are always useful. Models who are half-fish and can hold their breath for several minutes are most welcome… anyone?

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www.cheng-han.com

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SECRET HIDEAWAY PHOTOGRAPHY: Kendra Storm Rae www.kendrarae.com MODEL: Sophie Japp HAIR & MAKEUP: Manuela Hölzl-Make Up Artist STYLIST: Sarah Conen

Dress: ISABELL DE HLILERIN Jewellery: VINTAGE

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SUMMER 2014 Cape: BOESSERT/SCHORN Shorts: URBAN OUTFITTERS Stockings: FALKE Necklace: STELLA & DOT Bracelet: ALEXIS BITTAR

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Shirt: VINTAGE | Pants: VERSACE Necklace: LOVE ILLUMANATI

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Top: REALITY STUDIO | Pants: REALITY STUDIO | Bracelet: STELLA & DOT | Shoes: SUPERTRASH

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Top & Ring: VINTAGE

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