Blumenfeld Studio: New York Exhibition

Today I went to Somerset House to see the Blumenfeld Studio exhibition that has recently started there.  It features the work of Berlin-born Erwin Blumenfeld, who was one of the most sought after portrait and fashion photographers of the 1940's-50's. I was amazed at the amount of Harpers and Vogue covers he's done. A long with his work, it was also so interesting to see the Vogue's from the 1940's onwards. Me and fellow Ravensbourne Student Lizzy were discussing how they actually print the text and illustrations onto the page, which we still don't know! If anyone does be sure to comment below as I still want to find out.

Some of his works were so interesting to see. My tutor asked us as a group if we found it interesting or quite boring and 'old' to look at but I did actually find it interesting to see such a big fashion photographers work as I'd previously seen the Tim Walker exhibition there last year. However it was annoying that they didn't have copyright of the images so we weren't allowed to take pictures. But I have sourced some of his images online if you want to see the sort of work he did.

The exhibition focuses on his work from his studio 222 Central Park South in New York. There are over 100 of his original colour photographers. Our tutor wanted us to focus on how he positioned some of the models in and the general composition of the photos to help us better our own photography. There was one particular photo which looked as if the model was submerged in water but she was actually just placed behind fuzzy glass like what you'd find in your bathroom! It's funny tricks like these which can produce some really intriguing photos, and gives me tips to make better images myself.

One of my personal favs featured close up shots of a model smoking a cigarette and it really focuses in on the smoke. For some reason this series of images really caught my eye the most. I've featured them below with other examples of his work. If this entices you, definitely get down to Somerset House for the exhibition. You have till September!