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Last week, Le Book hosted a conversation with pioneering fashion photographer Sam Haskins that was led by Horacio Silva, the features director of T, The New York Times style magazine. The event, produced in association with the School of Visual Arts, was held at Milk Gallery in Chelsea to coincide with an exhibition of Sam’s work entitled “Fashion Etcetera.” (The show is up through October 26. A book of the same name has also just been published in collaboration with Tommy Hilfiger.) The talk was heavily promoted and drew a large crowd of people. Before it began, we were given a bit of exposition: Sam had suffered a stroke just weeks before. Sobering news, and a reminder of just how fortunate we were to be here with Sam.
It was that much more disappointing, then, when Sam and Horacio began talking and we discovered that Sam’s audio was a problem. Both men were given talk-show-host microphones to hold, but Sam rarely kept his close enough to his mouth to capture his voice. And who could blame him. Most people are unaccustomed to speaking into a microphone. In an ideal world, he would have been outfitted with a clip-on mike. With roughly 80 percent of his responses inaudible, I found myself wishing that someone would kindly interrupt the proceedings and either hold the microphone for the man or at least let him know of the audio problem. No one did.
I took note of everything I could hear, though. Sam was genial and charming and funny—this much was evident even without sound—and he seemed to enjoy sharing his remembrances of fashion photography past, as well as his opinions of the industry now. Here’s what I was able to record in my notebook:
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On developing himself as a photographer in South Africa, where he grew up: “You’re doing your own thing on the other side of the world, and you’re having a great time.” He added that because he was isolated from them, he was “not intimidated” by the photographic masters of that era.
One of the highlights of his childhood in a small town where “nothing exciting happened” was when the circus came through. He’d go and meet them at 5 AM, when their train arrived at the station. He loved the music, the colors, the artistry. “You’d mourn for a couple of days” after they left, he said.
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Sam's groundbreaking book Cowboy Kate.
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Young photographers today are astonished to learn that he achieved the dreamy lighting of some of his best-known photos through homemade means like candlelight and a long exposure.
Horacio asked him about working on his own, as he often did, versus the norm today, when photographers typically are backed by a big crew. “Makeup and hair and styling has become so important these days,” Sam replied. “You’re not dealing with a human being anymore. It’s like [the model is] a wax doll. … I liked models who could do their own makeup, do their own hair.”
On photographers who shoot video: “Video is too easy,” he said, frowning.
How does he feel about photographers copying his style? Does he think of it as homage? “I don’t like it all. This thing about homage is rubbish.” And we all laughed. Sam laughed too. But he meant it.
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Listening to Sam Haskins (or trying to)
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Last week, Le Book hosted a conversation with pioneering fashion photographer Sam Haskins that was led by Horacio Silva, the features director of T, The New York Times style magazine. The event, produced in association with the School of Visual Arts, was held at Milk Gallery in Chelsea to coincide with an exhibition of Sam’s work entitled “Fashion Etcetera.” (The show is up through October 26. A book of the same name has also just been published in collaboration with Tommy Hilfiger.) The talk was heavily promoted and drew a large crowd of people. Before it began, we were given a bit of exposition: Sam had suffered a stroke just weeks before. Sobering news, and a reminder of just how fortunate we were to be here with Sam.
It was that much more disappointing, then, when Sam and Horacio began talking and we discovered that Sam’s audio was a problem. Both men were given talk-show-host microphones to hold, but Sam rarely kept his close enough to his mouth to capture his voice. And who could blame him. Most people are unaccustomed to speaking into a microphone. In an ideal world, he would have been outfitted with a clip-on mike. With roughly 80 percent of his responses inaudible, I found myself wishing that someone would kindly interrupt the proceedings and either hold the microphone for the man or at least let him know of the audio problem. No one did.
I took note of everything I could hear, though. Sam was genial and charming and funny—this much was evident even without sound—and he seemed to enjoy sharing his remembrances of fashion photography past, as well as his opinions of the industry now. Here’s what I was able to record in my notebook:
…
On developing himself as a photographer in South Africa, where he grew up: “You’re doing your own thing on the other side of the world, and you’re having a great time.” He added that because he was isolated from them, he was “not intimidated” by the photographic masters of that era.
One of the highlights of his childhood in a small town where “nothing exciting happened” was when the circus came through. He’d go and meet them at 5 AM, when their train arrived at the station. He loved the music, the colors, the artistry. “You’d mourn for a couple of days” after they left, he said.
…
Sam's groundbreaking book Cowboy Kate.
…
Young photographers today are astonished to learn that he achieved the dreamy lighting of some of his best-known photos through homemade means like candlelight and a long exposure.
Horacio asked him about working on his own, as he often did, versus the norm today, when photographers typically are backed by a big crew. “Makeup and hair and styling has become so important these days,” Sam replied. “You’re not dealing with a human being anymore. It’s like [the model is] a wax doll. … I liked models who could do their own makeup, do their own hair.”
On photographers who shoot video: “Video is too easy,” he said, frowning.
How does he feel about photographers copying his style? Does he think of it as homage? “I don’t like it all. This thing about homage is rubbish.” And we all laughed. Sam laughed too. But he meant it.
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