His charm, vanity and vivacious personality

A few words to describe Royal Photographer, Cecil Beaton

With many of his photographs taken of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II displayed at the Victoria and Albert Museum, this is an exhibition you wouldn’t really want to miss. It is open until this Sunday the 22 of April, so not long left if you want to go!

“The photographs of the British royal family by Sir Cecil Beaton (1904-1980) were central to shaping the monarchy’s public image in the mid-20th century. Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II was still a young princess when she first sat for Beaton in 1942. Over the next three decades he would be invited to photograph the Queen on many significant occasions, including her Coronation Day in 1953.

The most memorable of Beaton’s images combine the splendour of historic royal portrait painting with an intimacy that only photography and film can convey. His detailed diary accounts reveal the complexities of each sitting, from the intense planning and excitement beforehand to the pressures of achieving the perfect shot.

Beaton bequeathed his archive of royal portraits to his devoted secretary Eileen Hose. In 1987 she, in turn, bequeathed the archive to the V&A. Photographs, diaries, personal letters and press cuttings combine to tell the fascinating story of a magnificent collaboration between crown and camera.”

To read more about the exhibition, please visit the V&A museums site.

Posted by Gema of GemaKatherine Photography

Can you say Controversial

Chalk and sticks of cheese were the prop stand ins…

I came across this series by Frieke Janssens, and just was immediately wowed by the entire project. How often do you see children smoking?! Everything about this series has been done phenomenally well in my opinion; the context, the outfits, the models, the poses and facial expressions, the presentation of the photos as a circle, the quality…

Here is what Janssens says of the project:
“A YouTube video of a two-year-old Indonesian nicotine toddler inspired me to create this series, “Smoking Kids”. The video highlighted the cultural differences between the east and west, and questioned notions of smoking being a mainly adult activity. Adult smokers are the societal norm, so I wanted to isolate the viewer’s focus upon the issue of smoking itself. I felt that children smoking would have a surreal impact upon the viewer and compel them to truly see the acts of smoking rather than making assumptions about the person doing the act. To assure you of the safety of the children, there were no real cigarettes on set. Instead, chalk and sticks of cheese were the prop stand ins, while candles and incense provided the wisps of smoke.” – Frieke Janssens

To see more please go here

Posted by Gema