A Portrait of Loic Prigent

While in Paris recently I got the opportunity to shoot a portrait of the award winning documentary film maker Loic Prigent who is famous for working with well known fashion designers 24 hours before a fashion show. To be honest I have only seen the trailers and have ordered my box set, I will be posting more images from trip to Europe of February 2012 in the next few days.

I couldn't find any tangible links to Loic's work, I a funny feeling it has something to do with the fact that I am typing in english and most of the links are in French. You can see his IMDB page here http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1459873/


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Dirty Paraffin in Dazed & Confused Magazine

I am happy to announce a new image of my mine in Dazed & Confused. The shot is of Dirty Paraffin, the PrimalStof originators from Johannesburg. The shot was done while in Johannesburg working with Rod Stanley (Editor) of Dazed and on the production of the Supremebeing shoot for Styling Concepts last year

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Portraits for Design Indaba magazine 2012

MJ Turpin

For this years Design Indaba, I got the opportunity to shoot portraits of an array of creative folk from Johannesburg. The concept was to spend time with the creators in their studio spaces and get as candid a shot as possible, capturing their environment, themselves and their work. 

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Givan Lotz

Thabo Tsatsinyane from The Smarteez

Adriaan & Katy from Dokter & Misses

Claudia Mohr

Last year I was commissioned by singer and jazz musician Claudia Mohr in Cape Town to shoot her album cover for her first solo release. This was the result.

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Wyatt Hair - Davines WWHT 2012 Miami Shoot

Over the course of last year I worked with the amazing hair dresser and salon owner Candice Wyatt who over the last couple of years has reached international acclaim through numerous competitions. Last year she was awarded the opportunity to showcase her work in Miami at Davines World Wide Hair Tour which took place in Miami, USA.

She approached me after doing a shoot with Eve Rakow from the Johannesburg based based Eletronic band The Frown where she had engineered her hair for the shoot. You should recognise this shot if you know my work as it is the banner image on the blog.

After months of hard work and a process of hair sculpturing, here are the final results which I documented and which where presented in Miami.

Macolm Che', Also made some great videos which documented the whole process up and until the presentation in Miami, see them on his vimeo page here: https://vimeo.com/voltairejhb/videos

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Supremebeing

Late last year Chipo from Styling Concepts a fashion PR company in Johannesburg approached me to conceptualise and work on a photoshoot and fashion film for Superemebeing a UK label launching in South Africa. We had previous success and broken the ice with my Religion series for them but this time wanted to work with a much more street look which I am much more natural at.

While on the shoot I was also working Rod Stanley from Dazed & Confused on a new short film for Dazed TV called Joburg Party so he joined us on the shoot and we managed to fit some of the characters in the film into it too.

We took some of my favorite people from Joburg and shot them on the streets of Joubert park the center of the Johannesburg CBD. On the shoot was MJ Turpin (fine artist, musician), Jamal Nxedlana (fine artist, writer), Bhubessi / Khaya Sibiya (musician, stylist), Eda Rose (radio presenter, musician), Dirty Paraffin (musicians) and Hayley Junkin / Chinxxx (illustrator).

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L'Officiel (Paris) features the Smarteez

Open publication - Free publishing - More l officiel

Another post that I have been anticipating to release is that some of the more recent Smarteez work has been published in the french fashion magazine L'Officiel! I got to meet writer Alexandra Senes in Johannesburg late last year and she showed some interest, much to my suprise she decided to a fill spread on the Smarteez using my images. If your in France, get a copy.

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SABC 1 - Entertainment Campaign.

Finally its time to put up some of the bigger projects from last year. I have been waiting for them to go live for ages now and have finally been given the 'authority' to release this work. One of the great advertising projects I shot last year was the new SABC 1 - Entertainment campaign. I was commissioned by Masters & Savant Johannesburg and the job was an array of different shows, namely Seskhona, Selimathunzi, Club Culture, Turn it out (Where is shot some of the dancers from my S'Phara Phara exhibition) and the Real Gaboza. 

Enjoy. 

Okmalumkoolkat

So I know I have been super quiet on the blog. You know how december holiday time can consume all your time. But its the new year and Im feeling super inspired and here is my first update. Over the december period I have been DOP'ing my first feature length Documentary with Adrian Loveland and while down here I got to meet some amazing dudes.

One of my favorite experiences recently was getting to meet LV from Hyperdub records in London, he has been working with some amazing musicians down here and recording new songs with them. I shot a music vide with Okmalumkoolkat (Dirty Paraffin) and LV for a song aptly named Spitting Cobra following in light with their last big success Boomslang in 2010.

The video will be out soon, but for now I thought I would put up a new portrait of Smiso (Okmalumkoolkat) shot on location during the music video shoot.

Enjoy and Happy New Year !

Chris 2012 

Heat Magazine - Pool Party

I never thought I would ever shoot for Heat Magazine and every time I work for them I have this thought in my mind. All I know is that Melissa Maxted the fashion editor and good friend of mine has turned the magazine around and given it some street cred. She comes up with awesome ideas, collaborates well within the restrictions and makes every shoot a good experience to be on. 

For the summer editorial in the weekly (where fashion is only published every three weeks) we shot a manic pool party shoot with a mixed bag of 'models / celebrities', we had a local actress, girl rock band and a bunch of professional cage fighters. We some how managed to make it work and have a good time. The editorial was shot at the Ellis Park Swimming pool in downtown Johannesburg, here are the images. 

Thanks

Chris Saunders 

My new website - www.whatwasparadise.com

So after months of work and curating portfolios I am pleased to announce the launch of my new website, www.whatwasparadise.com. The new branding and url come with a story. The company that was hosting my last website, became defunct but some how didn't take my website down and allow me any access to the ownership of the url. So at the moment it is hosted but I cannot get hold of them to put my new site up under the same domain. With this obstacle in my way I decided to register a new domain, whatwasparadise. I came up with the name while traveling through the united states this year where I came across a table in the back of an abandoned motel between the Texas and New Mexican border on the old Route 66. The table had the words 'What Was Paradise,' etched in it and I found this inspirational because I believe that what photographs do is document what was paradise.

The new website was designed by the multi-talented designer Magdalena Czarnecki who I met while on residency last year at Fabrica in Italy. http://www.tjaneski.com/

Thanks for now.
Chris Saunders

Featured in The Guardian Newspaper UK's Fashion Statement

Due to the the amazing feature of my work in Helen Jennings's new book 'New African Fashion' (Phaidon), I have been picked up by the Guardian's fashion statement weekly newsletter and blog. Its always been a dream to be featured and have anything published in the Guardian. Check it out further on their website, http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/gallery/2011/nov/02/south-african-fashion

If you are interested in ordering a copy of Helen Jennings book, New African Fashion you can get it on Amazon - http://www.amazon.co.uk/New-African-Fashion-Helen-Jennings/dp/3791345796

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Live Magazine Images, Featured on CNN Inside Africa.

I have had the pleasure the last couple of months to spend my time as photography mentor at a great project called Live Magazine. The project entails giving young people from different backgrounds in Cape Town a chance to make a magazine of their own doing with the help of different mentors. It was originally conceived in London and run in Brixton, where I met the South African founder (who is from the UK) Gavin Weale. The project has been featured in The Guardian Newspaper and recently CNN Inside Africa which is why I wanted to post it. The article will explain much more about the project.

A selection of 10 images from the documentation I have been doing over the last couple of months.

Check out the full article on CNN Inside Africa, http://edition.cnn.com/2011/10/26/world/africa/live-magazine-africa/index.html?iref=allsearch

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
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Religion Clothing

I was approached by Chipo from Styling concepts a few months ago to put together a concept with Stylist Bee Diamondhead and my ex-assistant and now intern at Marie Claire South Africa Candice Jooste. Together we came up with a shoot with Eve Rakow from Johannesburg based band the Frown in an abandoned hospital in Kempton Park (east of Johannesburg).

It was a spooky day with some very eerie vibes in the building. It was fully equipped with beds and wheelchairs. A very strange place indeed. The images where used for the launch of Religion clothing in South Africa, the London brand is been marketed by Styling Concepts, the well known Johannesburg based fashion PR agency.

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