EDUN IN HARSH AFRICAN LANDSCAPE

Last year EDUN approached a group of diverse African photographers to interpret their new collections and represent it in their own way. Been one of the Photographers and having an open window to do as I wished with the clothing, I took inspiration from the garments themselves. The outfits reminded me of some of outfits I had been documenting in the different sub-cultures around Johannesburg. Namely the classic Zulu fashion culture 'The Swenka's' and 'Pantsula' the dance culture I have spent years documenting. I wanted to show the uncanny link between selected looks and these cultures attire. Performer Manthe Ribane (and her sister Tebogo) who I had extensive experience working with on my Ghost Diamond Short Film and Dear Ribane Music Video,  interpreted classic poses from both the cultures and transformed them physically on the downtown streets of Johannesburg.

We re-interpretted classic masculine poses from the different sub-cultures and posed the shots in the harsh the South African summer light, not shying away from its encompassing effect. I wanted to keep it as real as possible, maintaining a sense of believability which is often lost in fashion photography, but maintaining the fantasy of the over the top garments. The results are a less than typical aesthetic, poses which reference by-gone showmanship in masculinity shot in reality. 

The images take clothing which is designed in New York, manufactured ethically on the African continent, transported back to the USA and now imagined back in Africa and specifically in Johannesburg, South Africa. 

Thank you to Julien Labat, the CEO of EDUN for making this a possibility. 

Credits: 

Photography Chris Saunders

Photographic Assistant Kyle Goulden
2nd Photographic Assistant Lesedi Mothoagae
Producer Jodie Ennik
Styled By Crystal Birch
Make-Up Alex Both

A Soweto Home

Busy Recce'ing for a TV shoot coming up and came across this very colourful Soweto home. I think its a portrait of a colourful cliche. 

CT 2015 

Happy New Rolling Stone Cover (And New Year) with HHP

In the December issue of Rolling I was graced with my second cover of the now one year old magazine. The idea was to portray HHP (Hip Hop Pantsula) as the boss (Which he is known as) and major trend setter in South African Hip-Hop. Accompanied by an immaculate and in-depth story by Bongani Madondo its worth checking out.

The shoot was set in Alexandra Township, we shot with HHP's dance crew which are a group of super talented guys from East Rand in Johannesburg. I wanted to portray current Township Fashion Trends including the super popular t-shirts worn by the Isikhotane mixed with the traditional Pantsula Dickies / work wear.

Thanks #Bosso aka HHP and Rolling Stone Magazine.

CT 2013

Okmalumkoolkat x LV - Sebenza Music Video

So for the past two months I have been working super hard on Directing my first music video. I had the pleasure of hooking up with Gervase Gordon from LV in december and have been chatting to Okmalumkoolkat from Dirty Paraffin about doing a project for ages. We decided to splice things up, I wanted to produce a video which was a culmination of my South African sub-culture photographic documentaries and get them to move in a scripted music video format.

We featured some very contentious cultures which are hitting the scene in South Africa, The Isikhothane's (recently featured on ETV in a very negative light), who battle for fashion, Spinning, where people meet up with hotted up cars on weekends and perform mad tricks to entertain crowds of people in public spaces and the new Primal Stof music scene lead by Dirty Paraffin. This video was for one half of Dirty Paraffin, Okmalumkoolkat and this is his second single to go out with LV following in the footsteps of the successful 'Boomslang' in 2010.

With tons of support from Miles Goodall who was the cinematographer on the video and his many contacts, including Media Films services who supplied us with the amazing Ari Alexa to shoot the video on and The Refinery who finished and colored the project (Thanks Terry Simpson, your amazing).

Many Thanks to Malcolm Che at Voltaire for making the cut as poignant and to the track as he did. Without him this video would never have been a success! 

I got to work and work with some amazing guys from Orange Farm and Everton townships South of Johannesburg including Sello Modiga who was our fixer and unit producer and a whole bunch of amazing performers who he helped connect me with.

Credits:
Directed by. Chris Saunders
Produced by. Olga Grigorova & Chris Saunders
Director of photography. Miles Goodall 
Edited by. Malcolm Che' (Voltaire)
Colorist. Terry Simpson (The Refinery)
Executive Producer. Linda Notelovitz 
Unit Producer. Sello Modiga 
Wardrobe and art direction: Jamal Nxedlana
1st Camera Assistant. Lee Goodall 
Grip. Tyler Geldenhuys
DIT. Frances VJ 
Stills Photography. Michael Magagane & Frances VJ
Camera & Grips Equipment sponsored and supplied by. Media Film Service (Johannesburg)

Street Style - Guguletu Cape Town

I hit up Mzoli's in Cape Town this weekend and shot some street style images outside Mzoli's butchery a popular meeting spot on a Sunday afternoon. Met some pretty stylish people who I thought deserved a blog update.

Enjoy
CT 2011

Colors Magazine 78 'Dance' Tear Sheets

If you haven't seen the magazine or the images posted about the Colors dance issue, here are the tearsheets in PDF so you can see the magazine and experience the written word.

Kuduro

Panstula

If you'd like to see the earlier posting and see the images solo, then go to this link:
http://chrissaunderssa.blogspot.com/2010/10/colors-magazine-dance-issue-kuduro-mc.html for Kuduro
http://chrissaunderssa.blogspot.com/2010/10/colors-78-dance-pantsula.html for Pantsula

CT 2010

Super Secret, Tshe Tsha Boys.

Just spent 3 weeks in South Africa creating an array of different work.

One of the projects was on the Tshe Tsha boys, a Shangani Electro Dance Crew from Giyani Limpopo, the heart of the Shangaani people, we met up in Soweto Johannesburg at their manager Producer Nozinja (Dog) for the shoot. More info will come when its out and about. (Electronic Beats, Berlin, is where it'll be)

Ct 2010

Colors Magazine on Youtube

Colors Magazine launched their Youtube channel yesterday. It features two of my videos as well as an erray of other video makers and photographers from around the worlds amazing work. The theme for the new issue was Dance and I flew to South Africa (Pantsula) and Paris (Kuduro) to shoot two documentaries and videos.

The first one is about a group of Pantsula dancers from Orange farm South and the other about a one legged Kuduro Dancer originally from Angola but now living it up in Paris.

I will post the full stories and tear-sheets soon once the magazine has hit shelves.

CT 2010

Dazed & Confused Magazine: South Africa

About a month and half ago I flew from my comfortable situation here in Treviso italy back to the madness of my home city, Johannesburg to shoot a story on my good friends the inspirational Smarteez.

This time we went in featuring them more as designers and street savy revolutionaries as apposed to the normal view point that they are just South African hispters.

It was a pleasure to work with Rod Stanley at Dazed and to be part of this amazing feature. A couple of my other shots where featured through out the South African section of the magazine too.

Check out the next issue for a narrative through images which I have just completed with well known photographer Stefan Ruiz.

Please check out Dazed Digital for the web to see the story. To see the whole feature on South Africa plus the other shots of mine that where in the issue please, buy the magazine in a store now!

Till next time,

CTS 2010

Colors Magazine - Never seen the sea

My first assignment when I arrived at Fabrica this year was to go back to South Africa and document the journey a young girl from Soweto township in Johannesburg called Banele Khumalo. The story ended up being a Augmentative reality video piece in the mag and the photographs where never published.

I have included my favorite shots from the documentary.

Enjoy,

Chris