George Hurrell

A great bloke, George Hurrell, and probably one of the most unrecognized photographers who has had a huge impact on the history of photography and indeed film. He is one of the acknowledged masters of the Hollywood glamor lighting style for stars of tinseltown: "The Hollywood Photography of George Hurrell" is a good starting point. Above are some fine examples of the art.

Hurrell came close to a nude version of this technique with this portrait of Anna May Wong:

I have been trying to emulate this method with the nude with varying degrees of success due to perhaps uncontrolled settings, incorrect lighting devices and inadequete preparations. Control of the lighting set-up is key! Here are examples with the model's Daphne C and Sarah Ellis:

I was not wholly satisfied with these images- not enough control of the lights - barn doors, focusing spot and dimmer were all absent but are actually essential and the backgrounds were too uncontrolled. The camera was good- Yashica 124 tlr but not ideal so I looked back at what a consider an better but earlier attempt at the style with Megan:This was a more controlled background and with better light arrangement (although just basic lamps!) and it was also with a Mamiya RB67. I just recently bought a Mamiya RB67 Pro-SD which is the most up to date iteration of this venerable line. I was much happier with these captures as I think it approached the elegant spirit of Hurrell more closely.

So now I have the lights, the camera and the know-how (a few books and movies later). All I need is the models and the studio. That should not be too hard in rural Illinois right? :) Should know about a studio Friday. Once I am up and running the progression and development of this pursuit in both nudes and portraits shall be posted here!