Northlight Photography

Looking to work with talented models, make-up artists, stylists, writers, etc. to produce interesting and worthwhile art...

When I studied Fashion Photography I learned one day about what they called a "Beauty Shot"...it really has no other purpose than to show the beauty of the model...it doesn't try to sell a product or tell a story, or anything else but show how beautiful the girl is... I usually try to get that "Beauty Shot".

I do very little retouching of the images...Shakespeare's King John, 1595:

Therefore, to be possess'd with double pomp,
To guard a title that was rich before,
To gild refined gold, to paint the lily,
To throw a perfume on the violet,
To smooth the ice, or add another hue
Unto the rainbow, or with taper-light
To seek the beauteous eye of heaven to garnish,
Is wasteful and ridiculous excess.


"Fool",  said my Muse to me, "look in thy heart, and write."
                                                       ... Sir Philip Sidney (1554-1586)

I am a fan of the classic outdoor "publicity photo"  of the 1950's through the 1970's that were done of stars, starlets and want-to-be stars and starlets. Mostly in color, but some black and white.  Famous and not-so famous actors and actresses photographed casually outdoors often at the beach with mostly natural lighting, sometimes sitting on or in sport cars. Mostly done in California where most of the movies were made. Some other classics are from France and Italy for their film stars done on the beaches of France and Italy.

"To close your eyes will not cease another's pain -€ Chinese proverb

"Never let the fear of striking out get in your way."
Babe Ruth

The producers of Charlies's Angels, Aaron Spelling and Leonard Goldberg, were once asked what qualities they looked for when they selected the girls for the show...one of them said something like "it's in the eyes and the smile".


"Any girl can be glamorous. All you have to do is stand still and look stupid"                                                   ...Hedy Lamarr,                                                                   often called "€œThe Most Beautiful Woman in Films",  she was one of the most popular actresses of her day. Born Hedwig Eva Maria Kiesler on November 9, 1914 in Vienna, Austria. 

It's as vital as breath. And without it, without love, without
anger, without sorrow, breath is just a clock ticking.
   -Mary O'Brien, Equilibrium

      "€œBeauty is in the eye of the beholder and it may be necessary from time to time to give a stupid or misinformed beholder a black eye."                                              ...a quote from "Miss Piggy"


I usually post several images from a recent shoot on my site and then leave one or two of the better ones...

from the New York Times on exercise and weight...

The difficulty, Dr. Blair says, is that it’s much easier to eat 1,000 calories than to burn off 1,000 calories with exercise. As he relates, "€œAn old football coach used to say, ‘I have all my assistants running five miles a day, but they eat 10 miles a day."

A bell is no bell '€™til you ring it,
A song is no song '€™til you sing it,
And love in your heart
Wasn'€™t put there to stay -
Love isn'€™t love
'€˜Til you give it away.
....Oscar Hammerstein

"Art is not just a mixture of color on canvas, but a feeling; a magical feeling the embracer creates and cherishes throughout life's journey." ~ Harrison F., 5th Grade

"I might not like how my painting turns out, but I always love art."  ~ primary student

"My mind flies away when I do art." ~ primary student

"Art and I are like best friends, like salt and pepper, or socks." ~ primary student

"Just do Art with your heart." ~ fourth grader

"I love art because I can impress myself." ~ fourth grader

Pretty is what Pretty does

Farrah Fawcett- God gave women intuition and femininity. Used properly, the combination easily jumbles the brain of any man I've ever met. (got this one off Craigslist)

Francesco Scavullo (photographed the covers of Cosmopolitan for 30 years) quote or paraphrase? "A 35-year-old man with a great tan looks like a 40-year-old man in great shape"
a tan makes you look good, but older...this goes for women also.

mr youse needn't be so spry
concernin questions arty

each has his tastes but as for i
i likes a certain party

gimme the he-man's solid bliss
for youse ideas i'll match youse

a pretty girl who naked is
is worth a million statues

                      e.e. cummings


  "Meminerunt omnia amantes"*
      - Ovid (Publius Ovidius Naso)

* "Lovers remember everything."        ...for those who don't read Latin.


Beauty deprived of its proper foils and adjuncts
ceases to be enjoyed as beauty,
just as light deprived of all shadows
ceases to be enjoyed as light.

~John Ruskin

The perfect model as defined more or less from a modeling magazine...the face of a 12 year-old, the body of an 18 year-old, the energy of a 21 year-old and the responsibility of a 35 year-old...

In real estate the motto is "Location, location, location"...
In the beauty business the motto is "Make-up, make-up, make-up"...except for those rare, really rare natural beauties...

“A kiss is a lovely trick, designed by nature, to stop speech when words become superfluous.” – Ingrid Bergman





           

                                        ***