Interview with Rose Callahan on the Candid Frame

Thanks to Ibarionex Perello the very talented photographer and creator of the Candid Frame photography podcast for interviewing me! I loved the questions he asked - they steered our conversation to bring out some surprising thoughts and details I hadn't considered before. This is a very special skill, and I am in awe of people like Mr. Perello that can do it so effortlessly. Our conversation centers around my new book We are Dandy, but also covers my life as a photographer and the journey of developing The Dandy Portraits body of work.

Mr. Perello also said We are Dandy was one of his favorite photo books of the year! I'll take that as a high compliment coming from a man that has his eyes finely tuned to the world of photography.

Happy New Year!

Mr. Winston Chesterfield jumps for my camera when I visited him in London last Sept for my personal project The Dandy Portraits.  Inspired by Henri Cartier-Bresson, of course.

In Paris...The Artist

Sorrel Mocchia di Coggiola at home in Paris, September 4, 2011

I met the lovely Sorrel while photographing her husband Massimiliano for my project The Dandy Portraits.  She lives a life filled with art and vintage elegance. You can see more about her art here.

Where have all the gentlemen gone?

Robert E. Bryan at home, NYC, April 2011

The exquisite gentlemen of The Dandy Portraits have a new home at dandyportraits.blogspot.  At the end of last year I gave them this dedicated venue.  I also started a tumblr at dandyportraits.tumblr as a way to share images and refer back to the main blog.  So now you can get lost in the rabbit hole that is tumblr!  Oh, and you can also "like" the project on Facebook.  Phew!

I feel the world has gotten ultra complicated - do you agree?  I kind of like all these different ways to connect, but if one is seeking simplicity...well, it's frustrating.  It helps to see all these venues as having slightly different uses,  and benefits...here is my list:

Blogspot - Pros: better for longer form stories with images and writing - Cons: harder to share and customize, generally wonky.

Facebook: Pros: everyone uses it - Cons: Big Brother is watching, or Stalker's Delight?  Getting personal with strangers is uncomfortable. 

Twitter:  Pros: tune in to what info streams you want, do not have to be "friends", very easy, best for breaking news - Cons: your tweets or ideas have the life span of about 2 seconds, not good for images.

Tumblr:  Pros: images spread like wildfire, tune into feeds, and don't have to be "friends", very easy, good for driving traffic,  - Cons: addictive (rabbit hole), images can lose their source/credit too easily, attention span of 3 sec.

Flickr:  I just use right now as image hosting for the main blog.  I did it because it has a great search engine.  Nicely features and design.

Well those are the ones I use, but there are many more.  Since I started twitter, I kind of like the idea of tuning into feeds, instead of the "friend" thing which devalues the idea of friendship.   If anyone has another venue that they think is brilliant, please do tell!  

Have a Dandy New Year!

Best wishes to all my friends, family, clients, and colleagues!

May 2011 bring you laughter and prosperity - R

Dandy Wellington

I just saw a nice write up about Fine and Dandy's pop up shop that happened this last weekend on The Moment.  Very cool!  Dandy Wellington and His Made to Measure band played to close out the festiviities on Sun.  These shots are from my day with Dandy last winter up in Harlem.

Dapper Holidays: Fine & Dandy Pop Up Shop

My friends at Fine & Dandy Shop are having a pop up shop this weekend that is not to be missed!

There will be cocktails, shoeshines, Richard Haines making portrait sketches, Dandy Wellington and His Made to Measure Band, and of course all the dandy accessories you could possibly want courtesy of Fine & Dandy.  And this will all take place at the Blind Barber (!)  How could you resist?  Here are the details.

Waiting for Monet

Mr. Burton in his kitchen inspired by Claude Monet's, Queens, June 2010

Thinking of Thanksgiving, wishing you all a lovely day...

Dandy Moment

Jose Lemus at the Sportsmen's Lodge in Studio City, Oct. 2010

Mr. Burton Against the World

Mr. Burton, Lower Manhattan, June 13, 2010

He is not exactly a flower among the grey walls, but close to it.  Please click on it to view larger and see all the details.

Mr. Burton Goes to Wall Street

Mr. Burton, NYC, June 13, 2010

Death of a Dandy: Sebastian Horsley

Sebastian Horsley at the Chap Ball in London, Dec 2009

The Dandy of the Underworld died today.

Can't say he was my favorite personality, but whatever he was, he was that 110%, which I appreciate. When I met him I was surprised that he was about 6'5, since in photos I always thought he looked very short. It realized it was because he wore exaggerated proportions - the tallest hat, the widest tie, the broadest collar.

Out takes are available upon request.

Out with the Dandies

Mr. Fox & Raymond Chu having drinks on Doyers Street, NYC, April 9, 2010

Dandy in Chinatown

Raymond Chu on Doyers Street, Chinatown, NYC on April 9, 2010

From an ongoing series on dandies, and collaboration with Fine And Dandy Shop

Dandy Wellington, Part 1

Dandy Wellington, NYC, March 2010

Here is a sneak peak at the shoot I did with Fine And Dandy for their New School Dandy style profile on Dandy Wellington. We visited him at his beautiful home in Hamilton Heights, then went out for a stroll. More to come, but this is one of my favs.

The older man came shuffling thru our "set" on Hamilton Terrace, and he said he was happy to see that "people were still doing it". Dandy Wellington thanked him, and that is when I took the picture. To see the scene a bit better give it a click.

Douglas and Max are coming to town!

Douglas Marshall and Max, NYC, March 2010

Ok, they are not coming to town, but it just sounded cute with the shot! Recently on a beautiful pre-spring day in the West Village I photographed Douglas as part of my dandy portrait project. Watch out for the rest of the story - including go-go dancing at Boots & Saddle!!

The Grand Anarcho-Dandyist Ball, Part 2

On December 5, 2009 I attended The Chap Magazine's 10th Anniversary "Grand Anarcho-Dandyist Ball" in London. For those of you not familiar with The Chap magazine and Anarcho-Dandyism (pretty much everyone) please see The Chap Manifesto. They are doing their work to make the world a better place, one tweed suit at a time. I was not sure what I would find when I went out exploring this unknown world, but I was quite pleasantly surprised by their kindness, humor, and, of course, exquisite sartorial flair.

Gustave Temple, Editor of The Chap

Michael "Atters" Attree

The Chairman

Torquil Arbuthnot

Sebastian Horsley

Mr. B The Gentleman Rhymer

More photos from rest of the night can be found here. Use password "chap"

And many thanks to all the ladies and gentlemen that posed for me!

Cator Sparks, Dandy in Distress

Let's ring in the new year with a visit to a wonderful dandy, why don't we? Cator Sparks is the self proclaimed "Dandy in distress in search of Champagne"; he is a Southern gent by origin, and a dandy by way of London. He is a writer and blogs for T Magazine, and seems to know just about all the most interesting folks around.

For this visit I rode all the way up to Harlem to see his magnificent home. We did four costume changes! I mean, why not? From a full tuxedo with top hat to an Egyptian robe for lounging dandy style. Also he gave me a few key contacts for more dandies to photo for my project, tentatively titled Dandyland. Good things are going on!

Cator fashioned his office after Diana Vreeland's iconic office at Vogue. This makes me like Cator even more.

Techy: I brought two qflashes and ended up using mostly one and mixing with daylight. I usually like to bounce on a wall, but his wall's were so brightly colored I had to fudge it, bouncing into an umbrella and on the white ceilings.