James Vaughan Photo

... Mr. Forensic Psychology!

2012-01-29T14:26:00.003-05:00

... shooting and 'art directing' for top legal consultant and expert Ken Manges PhD.

Prototypes: the top image for his 'media' on-camera personality site. The lower image for his 'courtroom' site.

... have chosen 1440 dpi as the relevant median monitor resolution and 16x9 as the ratio.

It is a high-resolution, widescreen world out there!

... shooting and 'art directing' for the Internet.

2012-01-29T14:12:00.000-05:00

(It's been quite a learning experience! The Internet is very ugly. Cookie cutter templates, heavy on text. Designs that are sure to fit into every monitor resolution; even the steam powered ones in Tiny Togo-Land.

It's all being driven by profit models utilizing cranky and divergent technology. It's a mess and it looks like it. Some of my initial designs were impractical with existing technology. I do not know 'code'. I am reliant on smart 'engineers' to turn my ideas into website reality. But I also began to discover that a lot of internet design firms were not interested in what I was doing because good looking websites do not fit into how they are making money. Search Engine Optimization and all sorts of other accounting philosophies have become the latest dominant force. It's all complex, vague and seems like a new gold-mine for a lot of people. It boils down to the fact that pictures can not be counted, analyzed and turned into a pie-chart 'power point' presentation by other computers. To a lot of the professionals in the website field how a site actually looks is almost irrelevant. Making it look even mildly aesthetic and contemporary to our visually oriented 21st Century world is just plain annoying!

I am obviously 'preaching'. There are a lot of very smart and well meaning folks out there designing websites. But it does add up to an actual anti-art anti-creative industry. A lot of money is being spent on what is little better than Yellow Pages ads. It is making money for the people doing it- and they do not want it to change)

... Dark Queen

2012-01-29T13:05:00.003-05:00

... the evil, murderously jealous Queen and her Magic Mirror from 'Snow White'.

... Dark Queen (detail)

2012-01-29T13:01:00.002-05:00

... for some reason the Poison Apple from the 'Snow White' story eluded me for about six months. It seemed like a simple prop to 'build', but at first all the results were awful. Then, after leaving it alone for a long time, it all just came together. In some versions of the story it is deadly on only one side; so the Queen cane take a bite out of the unpoisoned part to show Snow White it is safe.

... Jeanine

2012-01-29T12:30:00.000-05:00

... a good model is a special kind of actor. They are able to evoke a story in the viewer's mind. Very subtle. It is a 'transcendental' experience.

... Jeanine with ruffles.

2012-01-29T12:24:00.004-05:00

... 'restoration' of a shot from the Chicago studio. Jeanine O'Connell: one of my favorite models.

... Ichabod Ysabel

2012-01-29T12:21:00.001-05:00

.... some of the results of cooperative with Mask Artist Tom Banwell. This is a good example of a photograph that just builds itself. My original ideas had nothing to do with this image.

... County Commissioner

2012-01-24T10:46:00.000-05:00

... Sherlock Holmes

2012-01-24T10:40:00.000-05:00

... part of a series shot at the Chicago studio for an advertising campaign. One actor did twelve different historical characters. This was his 'specialty'. A regular one man show complete with costumes, make-up etc. He also did the 'Einstein' which appears earlier in this blog.

... CEO General Hospital

2011-12-08T20:08:00.001-05:00

... it took some effort to come up with a satisfactory solution for this subject.
In a world of lean and mean MBA's, being a senior executive,
newly brought into run the fleet, can be a daunting assignment.
I wanted to convey that this mans age was his strength.
Older means experience.
Older means a calm, steady overview of the battlefield.

I used as my inspiration the portraits that Joseph Karsh had done of Dwight Eisenhower.

... Mayor of Akron

2011-11-12T00:05:00.001-05:00

... CEO, Children's Hospital

2011-11-10T20:26:00.001-05:00

... at the last minute, before my shoot with Bill Considine; President of Children's Hospital,I decided that I needed a bunch of stuffed animals. My producer scoffed at the idea saying that an important man like that wouldn't let himself be upstaged by a teddy-bear. My next-door neighbor's seven year-old daughter saved the day by auditioning her entire menagerie.

I confess to stacking the deck by pulling the stuffed puppies and bears from an old shopping bag while looking him in the eye and saying, "It's not about about money or power... it's about the children!"

When the shot was done I could hardly separate him from that bunny.

... artist Robert Wood

2011-10-03T00:14:00.002-04:00

... Bob Wood is a longtime famous character in my college town. Part genius artist, part eccentric street person. His past and origins are cloaked in colorful mystery.

... CEO, Summa Healthcare

2011-09-27T16:25:00.000-04:00

... Kimmer vs. Giany Atomic Mutant Spiders!

2011-09-17T21:14:00.002-04:00

... made a lot of changes to this since the last posting.
Mainly I thought the odds were a little lopsided. Especially since we can easily imagine that the streets of this post-apocalyptic city are a solid mass of these writhing hungry man-eating arachnids. So I evened things up a little by giving Kimmer some back-up in the form of that Lockheed C-130A gunship that's rolling in for some very close fire support. That should whittle down those pesky varmits until the choppers show up!

... tactical eye-wear

2011-09-12T16:58:00.002-04:00

... series for a hi-tech research company producing liquid crystal variable tint technology.
Used for websites and large-scale display at conventions.

... heirs apparent

2011-09-06T13:44:00.003-04:00

... knowing from experience that there is noway to get four people to all give their bestexpressions at the same time; I photographedeach of them separately during the samesession. Then photo-shopped everyonetogether.

... Sydeny- portrait

2011-09-05T23:53:00.000-04:00

... Renik in black

2011-09-05T20:43:00.003-04:00

... for a long time I did not particularlylike this image. It was a mistake. Thebackground strobe did not fire. But so manyothers have responded to it that I ambeginning to give it a second look.

Serendipity wins out.

... 'The Minx'

2011-09-02T11:19:00.004-04:00

... first successful digital spray on latex costume- all pixels, no fuss, no muss!

mask by Tom Banwell: http://tombanwell.blogspot.com/

... Martin Hauser- Summa Healthcare

2011-09-02T11:12:00.001-04:00

... the second in a series of portraits of business leaders of Akron, Ohio. This was the shot that helped

to explain to the other VIP's why I needed to shoot them 'in studio'. Marty runs the insurance division of the huge conglomerate that is Summa Health Care. Since I've done a lot of research on 1940's and 50's advertising, it was easy to pull inspiration from the dramatic insurance advertising of that era. My

biggest mistake was not spraying him with a little water. It took hours to photo-shop the rain onto that trench-coat!

... 'simulation' of exhibition

2011-07-26T11:41:00.001-04:00

... put together photo-shop simulations of upcoming portrait show. Very useful to determine size and placement of prints!

... city planner- Tony Troppe

2011-07-06T10:53:00.002-04:00

2011-07-06T10:37:00.000-04:00

2011-07-06T09:51:00.000-04:00

2011-07-06T09:46:00.001-04:00

... Tony was a lot of fun to work with. Very easy going and full of energy. Not what is usually expected from such a powerful and prominent individual. Maybe I need to revise my expectations?

... Cindy Adams on Kodachrome

2011-06-25T14:55:00.003-04:00

... some redheads are 'pink', some redheads are 'gold'. Cindy is a 'pink' redhead.

This is as far as Kodachrome 25 in 35mm format would go. Above that and it was up to God.

... portrait of a college student.

2011-06-16T18:52:00.003-04:00

... Megan Neel, and her family for generations to come, are glad they commissioned me to photograph such a wonderful face.

... after I posted this shot, I took it down and cropped it tighter.
One of the complications of having a commercial background is that I tend to leave more 'air' around the subject than is needed. I do this all the time even though I much prefer a tighter more dramatic crop.

I suppose it is a 'good' habit which I must simply learn to be aware of and make the appropriate choice based on final use.

... high school teacher, artist.

2011-06-15T23:03:00.005-04:00

... portrait of my high school art teacher: Ken Gessford.

... the second, black and white shot, is a stern and powerful side of Ken. Not his normal sweet demeanor. But then; he is the only art teacher I know who has raised two U.S. Rangers!

... Renik in striped robe

2011-06-12T11:47:00.001-04:00

... Alana (cropped)

2011-06-07T06:39:00.000-04:00

... corporate

2011-06-07T06:30:00.001-04:00

... digital/ computer photography has allowed me to do a pretty fair job with subject matter I would have never attempted in the past!

... portrait of a surgeon/ MD

2011-05-24T17:57:00.003-04:00

... a great portrait can go a long way in success. In a world that has become dominated by visual information a photo becomes the most powerful and universal calling card. If you want to be famous and successful - it helps to look famous and successful!

Ironically, most people will spend a lot of money on clothes, cars, houses- then when they need a photo of themselves, they shoot a fuzzy snapshot with a camera-phone!

... end of lecture.

... Julie- bridal

2011-05-24T17:29:00.005-04:00

... there are just those faces that I love. Julies' is one of them.

... girl and T-Rex

2011-05-23T17:19:00.004-04:00

... part of the new series exploring the limits, or lack of, digital photography and post-production. I told myself that if I could produce a believable image of a beautiful amazon riding a dinosaur than I could do anything! The hardest part was coaxing the T-Rex into the time machine!

... Morrocco set

2011-05-23T17:17:00.003-04:00

... I shot this at the studio in Chicago during a cold, frigid winter. After the job was done I left the set up because it was nice to sit in it pretending it was Summer.

... portraits

2011-05-23T17:10:00.004-04:00

... from the Chicago period.

... 'death from above'

2011-04-21T22:32:00.002-04:00

... project for USAF experimental electronic auto-tint pilot visor.

... prison camp breakout!

2011-04-21T14:53:00.002-04:00

... more adventures on the road to producing an 'illustration look' for the pulp magazine covers of my childhood fantasies.

... I need to come up with a better title; something like "Polish Prison Paratroop Pussycats of WW2"

... Kristin at the pool

2011-04-21T13:18:00.003-04:00

... this is a rebuild of a shot from the Chicago period. At the time, instead of the gun, she had a state of the art 'Walkman' which was about the size of a refrigerator! Can't doubt that she's a super-hero because she is impervious to 300,000 volts of electricity!

... giant mutant atomic zombie spiders!

2011-04-04T23:01:00.003-04:00

model- Kim Bishop

... what is just outside of the frame is the AC-130 gunship rolling into firing position to save our heroine just in the nick of time!

... Niki

2011-03-23T15:26:00.002-04:00

... new black and white version created with Silver EFX.

... point of purchase- Alphamicron

2011-03-18T12:03:00.002-04:00

... shooting and falling

2011-03-03T10:54:00.002-05:00

... did some more work on this shot of Kathryn Bell including the ejecting shells.

... wanted

2011-03-03T10:37:00.003-05:00

... originally shot on Panatomic-X, black and white 35mm film back in the 1980's.
Re-engineered with Photoshop and Corel Painter.

... Kim Bishop

2011-02-07T10:06:00.001-05:00

... Carrie Lynn

2011-01-18T13:40:00.001-05:00

... wow, is she pretty!

... Eva

2010-12-10T12:40:00.004-05:00

... to be able to pull a decent headshot from a 3/4 composition on a '35 platform' is quite a testament to the power of digital photography! (Canon 1DsMIII)

... actors portraits

2010-12-09T20:38:00.003-05:00

... 'reprinting' some shots in photoshop from the Chicago days.
Rebecca MacLean and Ed Blatchford

... Niki

2010-12-06T09:08:00.001-05:00

... just now starting to get good results from digital 'black and white'.

... Amanda

2010-12-03T22:08:00.000-05:00

... Monika

2010-12-01T19:16:00.000-05:00

... model test- Kat

2010-11-23T16:37:00.001-05:00

... pink and blue sci-fi

2010-10-14T11:54:00.001-04:00

... Amy

2010-10-12T21:31:00.000-04:00

... girl - desert sunset

2010-10-12T21:27:00.002-04:00

... inspired by a road-trip from Chicago to L.A.

... halo - study -repost

2010-10-11T21:45:00.005-04:00

If I turned around and saw a real angel standing there, what would her halo actually look like? This is one of about 16 different versions that I have worked up. I could not make up my mind. I liked them all. I suspect that the final piece of art will have to be a short animated clip. It feels like a halo should be a constantly shifting transient thing; varying in brightness, always moving.

... model test - repost

2010-10-11T20:13:00.000-04:00

... young woman in long-johns

2010-09-28T17:02:00.000-04:00

... test billboard number one- Tokyo

2010-09-22T21:02:00.001-04:00

... test billboard number two- Barstow

2010-09-22T19:21:00.001-04:00

girl at deserted gas station

2010-09-21T20:36:00.002-04:00

... Quaker Oats- Cindy

2010-09-21T20:28:00.000-04:00

Ewa- portrait

2010-09-10T21:22:00.000-04:00

Figo at the Louvre

2010-09-10T21:16:00.001-04:00

My friend Figo was feeling a homesick so we dropped in the Louvre in Paris for his background.

... penguin mischief

2010-05-19T10:58:00.003-04:00

... this is what photographers do when they have an old broken down refrigerator.

... woman, desert, chains

2010-05-13T21:07:00.000-04:00

... bride in dismay!

2010-05-05T16:09:00.000-04:00

... President Lincoln tries on hats

2010-03-23T10:58:00.002-04:00

We think of Lincoln as a somber and serious leader but he did in fact have a very good sense of humor.

... roller derby (b)

2010-03-23T09:40:00.000-04:00

Marshall Field's sleepwear

2010-02-01T12:41:00.003-05:00

... since I have posted this and other shots to online groups whose subject is working in the studio- I never shoot on location and I always use strobe.

2010-01-28T11:36:00.006-05:00

The problem with being good with kid photography- is that everyone hires you to do kid photography! Actually the terrible truth is- I like photographing children. But don't tell anyone!

... more Time-Tripping

2010-01-25T21:10:00.006-05:00

... a poster idea started in 1980, regarding the year 1917 and finished in 2010!

... see the black and white version
http://jamesvaughanphoto.blogspot.com/2009/10/girl-on-flag-wwll-propaganda.html

Coca-Cola circa 1936

2010-01-11T17:30:00.003-05:00

I have chosen the top image for the portfolio... but I still like the second one too much to put it away!

... Halim El-Dabh

2009-12-07T19:51:00.004-05:00

World renowned composer and educator. He used to hang out with Aaron Copeland and Leonard Bernstein. He's 88 and really likes my coffee.

... young woman with headwrap

2009-10-23T12:30:00.001-04:00

Courtney- model test

2009-10-19T14:58:00.005-04:00

... Courtney gets an A+ on her model test.

girl on flag- WWll propaganda

2009-10-02T10:26:00.002-04:00

I am working on a "hand colored" version. In the meantime I'll post this bw version.

Max - 1980

2009-09-26T15:01:00.004-04:00

Max. My first rep. The man who got me into the business. Known around Chicago as the "Silver Fox".
Wounded and decorated at the Battle of the Bulge. Taught me about 3 martini lunches.
Very good, decent man. Last name was Pride- yep, Max Pride.
I miss you Max.

Riley with storm clouds

2009-09-26T14:36:00.000-04:00

Artsquest Interview

2009-09-26T14:33:00.004-04:00

Follow the link- http://www.vimeo.com/7690096

Merlin and Young Arthur

2009-09-13T19:02:00.000-04:00

Figo...

2009-08-27T12:37:00.005-04:00

...looks like a scene from "North By Northwest".

Erin...

2009-08-23T22:00:00.003-04:00

Testing new lights, new model.

... hoping for the Armistice

2009-08-20T11:37:00.010-04:00

Rather ghostly. I've been watching a lot of old "Twilight Zone"s lately

Always interesting to re-create an image from the past.
The sepia color common to old photos was not there originally-

it is a result of the image fading over the years.

2009-08-11T20:25:00.005-04:00

Wonderfully nude, yet partially clothed.
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Unless the Blog Police come after me I am not going to put up one of those Orwellian warnings-
"Halt, Stop, Beware - nudity ahead!"
This is clearly Art and I do not intend to post that which is not.

2009-08-11T12:09:00.003-04:00

...nice thing about making 'propaganda' is that there is no pretense.

These a part of a long genesis that started with playing with color Xeroxing in the early 1980's.

Barry Benjamin- host of "Sustainable Life"

2009-08-11T10:11:00.009-04:00

Top photo is the one I wanted to go with. Client kept pestering me to do something more extreme "out of my comfort zone". So I tried for over the top, then more, and more and more....

I kind of like it- has a Christmas tree feel.

pink and blue sci-fi

2009-08-06T20:46:00.002-04:00

...girl in headwrap

2009-08-06T16:35:00.004-04:00

... am currently experimenting with a background for this image- where, where in the Universe do I want her to be?

'Podkayne of Mars' - portrait

2009-08-04T10:01:00.005-04:00

Inspired by the heroine of Robert A. Heinlein's novel of the same name. One of the first science fiction novels I read; when I was about nine.

Clarke, Heinlein, Asimov and Bradbury are the great , classic science fiction writers that have had a great influence on my imagination.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Podkayne_of_mars

big is best....

2009-08-02T13:26:00.005-04:00

I spent a lot of time worrying about how to keep the evil dark ones of the Internet from stealing my photos. Make them small, low resolution, watermarks plastered all over them, mean messages that pop up when you right click. There were all sorts of ways and means. They all added up to lessening the enjoyment and impact of the image. The bad-guys had already won and I hadn't even posted anything yet!

So you get to see my pictures big- without guard-dogs or taking your shoes off.

If you try to steal my photos an ancient curse will fall upon you- and I'll sue you and make a lot of money AND Ninjas will crash into your bedroom late at night and cut you into unrecognizable pieces- not necessarily in that order.

2009-08-02T13:18:00.005-04:00

A good prop can make a photo.

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Re-tweaked this for the umpteenth time. Original was shot with a Nikon on Panatomic-X.

Printed 16x20 and then painted over with Marshall's Oils. Then rebuilt in Photoshop.

no fish were injured in the production of this photo

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model: Joe Glassberg- he was not injured either.

Northshore Magazine- bridal fashion

2009-08-01T13:12:00.003-04:00

Why go on location when it's more fun to build a woods in the studio?

----------------------------------------------------

I am fascinated by the storybook feel of "location sets" from old movies. For me studio photography is not reality- but how we think reality looks.

Air Rescue, Meigs Field- Chicago

2009-07-31T10:26:00.006-04:00

I have a degree in photojournalism. In my early years in Chicago I shot a lot of freelance photo stories.
This is from a summer I spent flying with the Chicago Fire Department - Air Rescue Unit; based downtown on Lake Michigan.

bending Time and Space

2009-07-26T09:26:00.006-04:00

Having lunch with Albert. This is a photoshop elaboration on an advertising project shot some time back. The original was the immediate area around Einstein and chalkboard. It had some sort of a corny cut line like "you don't have to be a genius to use our [product]" The character actor was Jan Leighton. Jan specialized in doing historical characters. He had all his own wardrobe and did his own makeup for over a thousand persona's. I think we shot about six characters for the client. It was a lot of fun. He enjoyed "staying in character" and during the shoots I kept a running banter with him, pretending I was a reporter prying out the real story behind each famous figure. His Albert Einstein kept telling dirty jokes.

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"...an zen she sayz, datz no Cucumber!"

...that which inspires

2009-07-23T00:13:00.014-04:00

The movies that I saw when I was a child had a huge impact on me
and shaped the artist I have become.

When I was ten I saw "Doctor Zhivago".

Before there were DVDs or cable, when wide-screen flat HD/TVs were only science fiction,
a very big movie like this had a major influence on popular culture.
Everyone saw this movie.

By that winter we were all wearing Russian great coats and big furry hats.

Julie Chistie, the young British actress, who played the central character of "Lara"
became forever etched in my mind as the ultimate heroic beauty.

Unfortunately the movie also became a template for my future romantic life.
Zhivago, the poet and doctor, spends a large part of this four hour masterpiece
wandering through the frozen wastes of Siberia in search of Lara- only to meet
a tragic end when he finally finds her. It's Russian.

As I said I was ten and it was 1965, so my concept of romance didn't go much
beyond deep soulful gazes and quick stolen smooches. My adoration of Julie Christie
was pure.

The point is that Julie Christie's beauty, David Lean's cinematic genius and Maurice
Jarre's soul stirring soundtrack planted a yearning in my little boys heart.
A yearning that later would only find solice thru art, photography and especially
fashion photography.

Frostbitten and weary, I am still clutching my frozen camera as I stagger the Siberia
of my soul, looking for my "Lara".
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Oh my god, that last part is so corny I am going to have to move and change my name!
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links to Dr. Zhivago here- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wAWrXTn5Www&feature=related and here- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BSgryyxp-cg&feature=PlayList&p=A7B34081C11B8256&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=42

My Favorite Mannequin

2009-07-21T09:45:00.006-04:00

I forget that everyone doesn't have a mannequin in the front room of their house.

She's stands in a corner and startles some people when they see her out of the corner of their eye. At night I will sometimes notice a passing cars' brakelights as
it comes to a sudden stop at the sight of what seems like a tall naked women
visible through the large front windows.

It makes sense to be prepared as much as possible before the subject shows up for a shoot. For years I have used a mannequin as a "stand-in" while setting up and adjusting lights in the studio.
Even in a large studio like mine, moving around big stands and light booms can be awkward and dangerous. A mannequin can stand in for the subject while lighting adjustments and tests are made. She is infinitely patient, and never changes her pose. The set is at stand-by and ready to go "hot" hours in advance.

There are two mannequins. The first one was acquired while the studio was being built. Selecting her was a long and strange process of pouring through online catalogs- literally looking for the perfect woman. Some websites had small grainy black and white photos of dime store dummies. Others had lush scenes from the exotic and wonderful life of the high fashion "femme d'les plastere". Choose a face, choose a hairstyle; choose a pout a sneer or a pucker. It was like an old Twilight Zone episode!

For months after being unpacked she stood in a corner of the living room -reception area.
Friends and visitors inspected and poked her. One man insisted she needed a name and called her 'Nora'. Others felt she should be clothed, which I considered... until I realized that worrying how to dress-up my mannequin was much stranger than leaving her in a "natural" state.

When the studio was finally ready and it was time for Nora's big move I found
that I could not part with her. She had become the central fixture of the modern decor of the house. Never smiling, never batting a long eyelash; only asking for an occasional dusting- she had become a fixture of my life.

I had to order another mannequin. The second one is not as pretty. I will not let her be named. She was un-crated in the studio and has never seen or shared the life of her more glamorous step-sister.

She has never had a chance to wave from the picture windows at the cars passing in the night.

..................................................................................................................
here is a link to a wonderful man who will take your old, dull worn out mannequin and give her a new life of health, vitality and inner peace
http://mannequinmakeovers.com/about.shtml
.................................................................
another link to Burgess Meredith reading Ray Bradbury's Marionettes Inc.
http://z0mbieastronaut.livejournal.com/2008/11/24/

Roll Out by Robert McCall 1964

2009-07-18T10:08:00.000-04:00

Everyone has been saying it- but it does seem unreal that we went to the moon for the first time 40 years ago!

I am not surprised that we stopped going. It was a far and hard reach for the technology of the time. People forget that it was a "race". Real space is nothing like "Star Wars" or "Star Trek". Real space is very cold and very, very big.

This is a wonderful painting by Robert McCall which appeared in Life magazine when I was a kid. I carefully cut it out [both pages] and put it in the center of my bulletin board in my room. I was nine.

In 2000, when I was finally learning about computers and scanning, I tracked it down at the Cuyahoga Falls library.

Robert McCall did a lot of high-profile work for NASA and the aerospace industry. He did the posters for Stanley Kubrick's "2001". Today, I am very disappointed by the cheap computer cartoon style of illustration used by NASA and many science publications.

self-portrait

2009-07-06T10:20:00.002-04:00