PORTRAIT

     

                    

“PORTRAITS” by Lakin Ogunbanwo Opens at Rooke & Van Wyk

Nigerian born multitalented artist and photographer, Lakin Ogunbanwo will from the 20^th November till the 21^st December, 2013 light up South Africa with his solo art exhibition tagged - ‘Portraits’.

The exhibition will take place at Rooke & Van Wyk, a gallery located at Unit 21 Frost Street Lofts, Braamfontein Werf, 2000 Johannesburg, Gauteng.

Portrait photography by local African photographers has been practised in West Africa since the late 1800’s, documenting the early urban modern urban elites through to post-independence 1960s and 1970s. While the subjects then enacted an urgent sense of agency by acting out the poses of international black music and movie stars in the studios, it’s a lot different in the 21^st century.

Lagos Photo Festival 2013 - The Megacity and the Non-City

LagosPhoto 2013 will represent two dominant modes of photographic expression, that of the documentary tradition and the expanded realm of image-based practices incorporating conceptual and new media strategies. The Megacity and the Non-City looks at both the development of urban centers in Africa and the influences of technology, the internet, and the digital revolution, and how they have transformed photography and our sense of place in a globally connected world. 

While these two domains of photography are at once complimentary, they also speak to very different readings and functions of photography. As The Megacity presents a photojournalistic perspective that documents that fast pace of change occurring in Africa today, The Non-City extends LagosPhoto's focus to account for artistic practices that examine the mass circulation of images and the politics of representation. 

A new partnership with World Press Photo, a preeminent international competition and exhibition that showcases the best of photojournalism worldwide, will bring its annual exhibition to Lagos to be showcased alongside the festival.

More about Lagos Photo Festival HERE

Photo Speak: Vlisco Jumping Horse Design

I love everything about this photograph - the elegance of the entire look is just so soothing. I love the contrasting fabrics, the design, makeup, the styling, and the model. The surreal ambiance is also a big plus...Vlisco knows how to make creatively beautiful campaigns that sends a jolt of excitement. 

T for TOM FORD: Tiaras, Trenches, Totes & Topless Girls for A/W '13

I always say Tom Ford doesn't do soft and slow, he goes in hard! *excuse my french*. It's either you go full or not at all ...there's no coming easy for Tom.

I literally screamed when I saw the release for the A/W campaign, the pants...dreamy! The totes with heavy zips and fur...redeeming! The blunt heels...vulgar! The trench coats and track suits...edgy! The glasses...sexily nerdy! 

Do I need mention the patterned gowns? Frankly, no real words here, just love.

Love to my 'daddy' who remains my fearless lover *in my head*

Having said all these words, which do not quite do justice, I shall return to my dreams and perhaps one day I'll be able to own some Tom Ford.

What's more sexy than beautiful ladies in sexy tiara's and striped peep-toe heels? *swoon*

MORE PHOTOS...

Something about Szepesi

Model Szepesi is my latest discovery. There’s something charming about her…

True there’s always something captivating about a model but Melinda Szepesi is more than just looks. She wears an aura that compels you to keep staring; her gap tooth is enchanting too.

The 20-year-old Hungarian beauty has plenty of other impressive features to keep eyes amused.

Hailing from Tiszaújváros, Hungary, Melinda Szepesi is 5-foot-10-and-a-half and boats symmetrical facial features such as perfectly pink lips and piercing blue eyes.

Double ADELE vs Double CAREY

This isn't exactly a game or comparison idea, it's just away of confirming my opinion that Adele doesn't make a good cover. I mean she's covered two magazines so far non of which look beautiful - at least the way it should be. It's either the head is too big (which is in the two cases below) or she gets bloated, too trimmed, something just doesn't work. These pictures perfectly reveal that and personally I think she should drop covers; exclusive inside profile and such might work well, not cover Adele!

On second hand, is 'The Greatest' - Carey Mulligan who looks smashing on both covers below...she looks amazing on both covers!! Styling, makeup and other props aside, Carey just always is a pleasant looking and should I say photogenic woman. I love these covers.

The question now which would you buy because I couldn't bear to buy the Adele Elle edition at the mall the other day...I'll probably do a survey see which sales out faster.

NIPHEC 2013 - For the Love of Photography!

Nigeria Photography Expo & Conference is the largest photography and imaging show in West Africa, with an expected attendance of over 10,000 professional photographers and enthusiasts. You'll have the opportunity to explore over 100 exhibits, see thousands of new products, attend conference seminars, keynote presentations, special events & much more.

This year's show will be held from April 29 - May 2, 2013 at OUR PLACE, 7 Olufunmi Okikiolu Street, off Toyin Street, Opebi, Lagos State, Nigeria. 

"ITAN" - A Tale of African Mythology Through the Lens of Top Female Photographer, Yetunde Babaeko

If I recall vividly, the first exhibition I attended of Yetunde Babaeko's works was around 3 to 4 years ago back at the Goethe Institut in VI. The exhibition which featured four photographers/artists including Yetunde Babaeko,  Kelechi Amadi-Obi and more (can't remember their names now) was quiet fun, the photographers/artists showcased naked photographs of the female physique.

It was quite interesting and almost awkward considering the public's - especially Lagosians' reaction to nudity, non the less, it was one of my favourite open exhibitions then.

Skip few months/a year after that I started working with Kelechi Amadi-Obi while I continued to follow Yetunde's work. Working with Kelechi made me realize his kin interest in nude photography, I noticed he purchased and owned lots of books on naked photography - how to create the right scene and the basics of naked photography. He photographed different stories - quite thrilling ones - of the female physique. The most important thing about Kelechi's photography is how he carefully, in a professional way takes these pictures without making it exotic, rude or vulgar. He inculcates a so mature attention to the details of the female body which overall makes the viewer appreciate as well understand clearly the woman body - I enjoy his creativity.

Skip back few days ago to the Porsche Centre, venue of Yetunde's on going exhibition titled - 'ITAN' . The exhibition featureS well captured scenarios of a woman's naked activities (you need to see the photos to understand, see below). Each piece of art tells a story, a fine one of the beautiful characteristics of the female physique.

Here are few photos of the on going exhibition...

The exhibition which started on the 10th of November continues till the 23rd November at the Porsche Centre, Akin Adesola Street, Victoria Island.

Yetunde Babaeko

Visit her website here - http://www.camara-studios.com/

June Inspirations

“For last month’s words belong to last month’s language and next month’s words await another voice.” The little, big and simple things that have and will continue to inspire me through the month of JUNE.

In Motion: Anthony/Lekki

I took this pictures on the way to Lekki yesterday, ain't they amazing?

In Motion: Extreme Kitchen vs Airtel

Annie Leibovitz's Odyssey

Excerpts and photographs from Pilgrimage by Annie Leibovitz, Copyright © 2011 A.L. Archive LLC.

A couple of years ago, seeking solace during what she describes as “financial difficulties that were distracting in the extreme,” Annie Leibovitz took time out from her professional assignments to embark on an evolving, open-ended photographic journey that led her from coast to coast and to England and back, exploring places that intrigued her and the vestiges of lives gone by—a project that gradually took shape as a book. From the dauntingly resilient American architecture of geysers, mountains, and waterfalls to the homes of a panoply of historical figures from Emerson to Elvis Presley, Leibovitz sinks her teeth into a sizable chunk of our cultural heritage, taking us ever deeper inside the experience. The view from the window of the greenhouse where Virginia Woolf wrote her novels, Thomas Jefferson’s vegetable garden at Monticello, an etching copied onto the walls of the Alcott family home in Massachusetts by May Alcott (the inspiration for Amy in Little Women) scale down our perception of these large personalities to intensely human dimensions and draw us into the intimate texture of their lives. And when Leibovitz focuses her lens even more tightly on objects—the chaise longue, found upended in a closet, that Freud died on; Emily Dickinson’s only surviving dress; the worn and broken pastels Georgia O’Keeffe worked with—the results are almost shockingly disarming.

Beyond the Rooftop...

I took this pictures on the rooftop of Eko Hotel and Suites during the just concluded MTN Lagos Fashion and Design Week.