For Lovers of The Golden Age

[B R A N D X®]

A couple of years ago I set out to see how close I could come to the look of George Hurrell's work using digital cameras and modern, studio monolights.

Hurrell was one of the top stills photographers for MGM studios during the late 30's and early 40's and produced hundreds of truly stunning images of the great stars and starlets of The Era.

I'd say that his high-contrast lighting has been the biggest influence on my style.

I imagine, due to the retro nature of DE razors, that many here share my enthusiasm for this era.

I hope you enjoy these. Unfortunately, Joan Crawford, Vivien Leigh and Lauren Bacall weren't available:
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2038/1608778303_b5ede50f64_o.jpg

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1416/1478669045_c29a97d89e_o.jpg

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/175/436753406_44f4b43f5a_o.jpg

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/184/371925790_928ea0fd51_o.jpg

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/98/375829674_4373cd2f54_o.jpg

[ouch]

Very skillful. :thumbup1:

[Isaac]

That is some top notch stuff. I particularly like the one with the lighter

[NorthALABeeKeep]

Stunning photos. Nice work:tongue_sm

[THECHEBB]

Very cool old skool style!

[pibeandres]

Great 1930's/40's feel in the last few.

[Alacrity59]

Number 4 is the winner . . . just my 2 cents

[DunEdinRanger]

Outstanding!

[B R A N D X®]

Very skillful. :thumbup1:

Thank you......it was a very fun session. We played period correct music and served martini's.:biggrin:


That is some top notch stuff. I particularly like the one with the lighter

:biggrin:That was the hardest one to pull off. If you have your strobe lights actualy fire they over power the flame so we had to use the strobe as a hot light and just leave it on and shoot by the "modeling" lamp without firing the strobe bulb.

I was pleased with how that one came out. It's arguably the most Hurrell like of the bunch which makes sense because he never used strobes.

Hurrell essentially used Hot Stage lights and by the end of a photo shoot his subjects would literally have sunburn on their retinas leaving them nearly blind for a day or two.


Stunning photos. Nice work:tongue_sm

Thank you!


Very cool old skool style!

Thanks Henry!


Great 1930's/40's feel in the last few.

Thanks for the comment!


Number 4 is the winner . . . just my 2 cents

Erin, the model, had the closest look to what I wanted for this shoot. The lighting in that shot was more like CS Bull's work than Hurrell's though. Still....certainly one of my favorites as well.

Thank you!


Outstanding!

Thank you Lou!

[Haiku]

I've always loved Hurrel's work, and I think you've captured his look very well indeed.

I don't know if you know about it, but Roger Hicks did a book in which he analyzed old Hollywood photographs and "reversed engineered" the lighting setup.

Thanks for posting your work, it really is top flight.

[Rorschuck]

I've enjoyed your work for the past few days.

Did you do the hair/makeup as well? Just curious...

[Shane]

I'm partial to the second one myself...

[TstebinsB]

Erin, the model, had the closest look to what I wanted for this shoot. The lighting in that shot was more like CS Bull's work than Hurrell's though. Still....certainly one of my favorites as well.


Is she a redhead? I see her and think Debra Messing.


I'm partial to the second one myself...

+1

Mmm hmm. I will say though that no.1 has got some hourglass figure.

[Duggo]

I'm partial to no. 2 from the top and no. 2 from the bottom.

Very Very nice work.

[pibeandres]

This seems right up your alley (if you happen to visit Santa Barbara sometime soon):
http://www.sbma.net/exhibitions/current2.asp
I can't wait to go.

[SCWilson]

BRANDX, would you be willing to share some of the lighting techniques that you used to get the Hurrell effect?

Thanks,

Sam

[B R A N D X®]

This seems right up your alley (if you happen to visit Santa Barbara sometime soon):
http://www.sbma.net/exhibitions/current2.asp
I can't wait to go.

Very cool. Thanks for the link and enjoy the show.....wish I was closer!:smile:

[B R A N D X®]

BRANDX, would you be willing to share some of the lighting techniques that you used to get the Hurrell effect?

Thanks,

Sam

Hi Sam,
I don't have any secrets worth keeping so always glad to share!:wink:

For the most part I have always been *very* unscientific in my lighting. I own, but never use a lightmeter and I typically just push lights around, swap out diffuser types etc...until I see the light to shadow ratio I am looking for.

I use the modeling lights to gauge the overall effect of the lighting.

For shots 2 and 4 which have the softer lighting I used a relatively low wattage, Norman ML600 strobe firing through a 5' Octabox. I used no fill light or reflector which allowed me to create some rather dramatic shadows on the side opposite the key light.

For the first shot in the post I used barn doors to create the spotlight type effect.

For the 3rd and 5th shots I wanted a harder/harsher, higher ratio look (which is what Hurrel is most famous for) so I used a tight honeycomb grid for very little diffusion.

I believe I used a highly diffused hairlight to help minimize tonal merge b/w hair and the background for all of these.

That's really about it.

Early on I worked with an amazing photographer who was essentially my mentor. He was fond of saying "It's light, not rocket science."

He encouraged me to never pick up any books on lighting for fear of having them cloud my own personal vision of light, but rather to learn to "see the light" and then use the light to create whatever my vision was for the shot.

That's what works for me. I know nothing about ratio's, typically use no more than two lights...often a single light, but I *see* the scene as shown by the pre-flash modeling lights. I just move things around until I see magic and then I start shooting.

I know this is vague, but I hope it helps!

[burnwood]

While the photo quality is great, the rating of the models is as follows,

photo 1, NO
photo 2, meh
photo 3, no
photo 4, hells yes a thousand times over
photo 5, meh

[B R A N D X®]

While the photo quality is great, the rating of the models is as follows,

photo 1, NO
photo 2, meh
photo 3, no
photo 4, hells yes a thousand times over
photo 5, meh

Interesting....especially your comment about the model in image #5.

In my "My Muse" post your comment regarding her was a little different:

uhm, she belongs in front of the camera.:blushing:

As for #2......most would find Courtney to be exceptionally beautiful!:rolleyes:
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2268/1738642379_2fd41c523a_o.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2196/1719225038_89933f10f4_o.jpg

But then I kind of covered this in my OP:
"Unfortunately, Joan Crawford, Vivien Leigh and Lauren Bacall weren't available"

[burnwood]

that was the same girl???:blush:
okay.
change every photo to yes.

and those pictures of #2 make me scream hells yes even louder. I guess that their faces were not made for black and white photos. you understand?
those color photos are outstanding beauty.
let me clarify
photo 1, dont care for the tight corset
photo 2, cant believe it was beloved muse. I guess photo 4 just overwhelmed me
photo 3, not a big fan of the blonds
photo 4, just a beautiful photo
photo 5, she just gives off a disinterested look that wasnt appealing.

havent said that, autographed photos of those ladies can be sent to me post haste.

[burnwood]

oh, almost forgot,


Lauren Bacall=Beauty personified

[B R A N D X®]

that was the same girl???:blush:
okay.
change every photo to yes.

and those pictures of #2 make me scream hells yes even louder. I guess that their faces were not made for black and white photos. you understand?
those color photos are outstanding beauty.
let me clarify
photo 1, dont care for the tight corset
photo 2, cant believe it was beloved muse. I guess photo 4 just overwhelmed me
photo 3, not a big fan of the blonds
photo 4, just a beautiful photo
photo 5, she just gives off a disinterested look that wasnt appealing.

havent said that, autographed photos of those ladies can be sent to me post haste.

For what it's worth....the blond was far and away my least favorite and we definitely did not mesh personality wise!:smile:

Courtney, on the other hand, is the text book definition of a brick s@&t house. Gorgeous face, incredible body (all natural I might add) and mad modeling skills.

Lee is my dream woman personified....Brilliant Duke grad working on law degree.....strikingly beautiful and physically fit, enormously entertaining and incredibly creative.

The girl you like best, Erin, is truly stunning and was the one best suited for this style of shoot. She's also a cheerleader for the Carolina Hurricanes. Go Canes!:smile:

[B R A N D X®]

oh, almost forgot,


Lauren Bacall=Beauty personified

The most smolderingly sexy woman to ever grace the silver screen.......no doubt about it. In her first role.....in To Have and Have Not......she just KILLED!

[burnwood]

alright, tell Courtney, Lee and Erin:001_wub: I expect a photo of the 3 of them saying hi to me. It is spelled Ray.
by the way, you are a great photographer, I just like discussing the content of said photos.

oh, and if they need my address just let me know.:001_tt1:

[King of Kailua]

You got anything along the lines of say... Grace Kelly?

http://img.skitch.com/20080816-cd2nbp56xd56fisq55frh7fe2k.preview.jpg (http://skitch.com/mharing/uq3q/grace-kelly-white)

[B R A N D X®]

You got anything along the lines of say... Grace Kelly?

http://img.skitch.com/20080816-cd2nbp56xd56fisq55frh7fe2k.preview.jpg (http://skitch.com/mharing/uq3q/grace-kelly-white)

They'll never be another like her.....not in a million years.

That's the hardest part about trying to recreate this style. It's not using a digital SLR camera versus an 8X10 1:1 wooden camera the size of a small car, it's not using modern monolights versus hotlights and it's not even computerized photoshop editing versus manual negative editing with led retouching pencils......

The hardest part.....the missing link.....is finding young women with the grace and elegance of the great starlets of The Golden Age.

[dcormier]

As for #2......most would find Courtney to be exceptionally beautiful!:rolleyes:

Whoa.

[B R A N D X®]

I guess that their faces were not made for black and white photos. you understand?
those color photos are outstanding beauty.


Actually, the B&W photo of Courtney is in *some* ways one of my favorites; the lighting is very, very close to something Hurrell would have done and therefore comes very close to achieving my goal of re-creating his look.

On the other hand.....I always felt I had captured an angle/expression with that shot that made her look a bit mannish.....kind of hard to do with Courtney.

I also wasn't crazy about the hairstyle. The stylist was a hotshot from Manhattan who had an incredible reputation.....that may explain why he showed up 4 hours late.....and ultimately I thought the hairstyle he gave her was...."meh".....

A large part of her hair was cloned in in photoshop to try and *fix* it. You can see that if you know to look for it.

So.......actually I do more-or-less agree with you. That photo doesn't accurately reveal her beauty. As the photog......that's my fault.

I should have said this in my initial reply to your comment rather than letting artistic pride/arrogance cloud my judgement!

[gunner6477]

I look at your pics and feel all warm and tingly inside:biggrin:

Edit: Except the one of your daughter...That one is just plain cute:)

[Lefty]

Mmmm, brunette muses are my fave. :biggrin:

Actually I like the blond smoking pic better. Which is very strange because I do not usually like blonds and i hate smoke. Odd.

[B R A N D X®]

I look at your pics and feel all warm and tingly inside:biggrin:

Edit: Except the one of your daughter...That one is just plain cute:)

Kind of you and thoughtful as well. Thanks for the comment and the edit!

[B R A N D X®]

Mmmm, brunette muses are my fave. :biggrin:

Actually I like the blond smoking pic better. Which is very strange because I do not usually like blonds and i hate smoke. Odd.

What I like about that shot was the fact that I achieved the goal of being able to see the flame from the lighter. That required thinking outside of my usual box as strobe lights tend to overpower things like that. Thank you!

[burnwood]

I come back and view the photos over and over, well and over and over and start to see more and more the beauty you were going for. I am looking at the surroundings, shades and shadows.
I must be crazy. Back to oggling my beloveds.
I tried going to your sites but they are filtered as verboten at work.

[SCWilson]

I know this is vague, but I hope it helps!

It helps alot. It just kinda reaffirms what I've been doing and thinking about doing. I'll be attempting some b&w shots of my pregnant wife pretty soon and wanted to get some basic advise about lighting but didn't want to buy any books for fear of bias and questioning myself.

I'm just an amature, but I've always loved being on the working end of a camera. Lately most of my pictures have been of my 1 year old son who is a bear to work with and I've gotten many more picture of much higher quality than the studio my wife took him to.

Your work is great and has inspired me! Thanks.

[dcormier]

I'll be attempting some b&w shots of my pregnant wife pretty soon and wanted to get some basic advise about lighting but didn't want to buy any books for fear of bias and questioning myself.

If you want to learn about off-camera lighting, check out Strobist (http://strobist.blogspot.com). Specifically, start here (http://strobist.blogspot.com/2006/03/lighting-101.html).

[TstebinsB]

As for #2......most would find Courtney to be exceptionally beautiful!:rolleyes:
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2268/1738642379_2fd41c523a_o.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2196/1719225038_89933f10f4_o.jpg

But then I kind of covered this in my OP:
"Unfortunately, Joan Crawford, Vivien Leigh and Lauren Bacall weren't available"

You know, I live in NY. PM sent for Courtney's phone number.

[burnwood]

You know, I live in NY. PM sent for Courtney's phone number.

back off man. back far far off. I have said it before and I will say it again, Courtney can reject me like a dog rejects baths.