Barbra Kolasinski

Best of 2023

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2023 summary

So yes, I have been slacking a bit when it comes to this blog. The last few months of 2023 were really busy with work and travel and something had to give. Overall, last year was good when it came to work. I was involved in some interesting projects - travelled with Gareth Williams to the Scottish Highlands to photograph the cover for his “Songs from the Last Page” release; was in Wales with Brooks Williams photographing and filming the recording process for his just-released album “Diamond Days”; shot a short fashion film for Studio Floor and helped Horse with her successful Kickstarter campaign for the new record “The Road Less Travelled” among others. I also started doing regular personal projects where I take a day each month to collaborate with interesting people and shoot just for the fun and creativity of it. It allows me to try things, experiment, and perhaps fail a bit.

Anyway, I’m back and kicking off 2024 with some of my favourite images from the past year. Enjoy!

ALBUMS OF 2023
The Love Invention Alison Goldfrapp
Fuse Everything But The Girl
That! Feels Good! Jessie Ware
The Age of Pleasure Janelle Monáe
Mid Air Romy
Hit Parade Róisín Murphy
Volcano Jungle
The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess Chappell Roan
Sundown Eddie Chacon
The Returner Allison Russell

SONGS OF 2023
Freak Me Now Jessie Ware
You Knew Róisín Murphy
Lipstick Lover Janelle Monáe
Miley Cyrus Flowers
Houdini Dua Lipa
Rush Troye Sivan
Nothing Left To Lose Everything But The Girl
Demons Allison Russell
Water Tyla

FujiFilm x100v

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Thoughts on FujiFilm X100v Camera

My name is Kris and I am a lazy photographer. What I mean by that is that I’ve never been the type of photographer who carries a camera everywhere they go, taking pictures of anything and everything. I’ve always admired such people, I’m just not one of them. I value comfort and practicality above all else. See? Lazy. When I started taking photos, it was with a Zenit 11 and that camera is built like a Soviet tank, not exactly a “throw-in-your-pocket” type of equipment (although it could certainly double as a weapon if one had to defend themselves). In recent years, with photography becoming my full-time job, I’ve worked with various Nikon DSLRs - D700, D4, D850 - but these are expensive cameras to be carrying around and not exactly light or compact either. I’ve realised, however, that I missed taking snaps of my friends or of places I was visiting. I’d usually use my iPhone for that but it never feels right for me, no matter how great the phone cameras are these days. And this is what brought me to the FujiFilm x100 series.

I’d been watching various YouTube videos about these cameras, reading reviews, checking prices on eBay, and last year I eventually bit the bullet and bought the then recently released x100v model. First of all, it’s beautiful. I often feel that in the digital age the aesthetics of a camera are the last to be considered. I realise that what a camera looks like isn’t of utmost importance for most, and I’m not too bothered about it either when it comes to the equipment I use for work (the Nikons aren’t exactly ugly but they won’t be winning beauty contests anytime soon). However, if I’m going to carry a camera with me every day, I want it to be compact, practical, and, yes - pretty. And the old-school, analog-borrowed look of the whole x100 series is really lovely (I went for the silver model). As for the performance, I’ve been shooting with x100v for almost a year now, always have it in my bag, and I really love it - it definitely exceeded my expectations when it comes to image quality and it also brought back the joy of taking photos just for fun, without overthinking. I’ve got it set on Aperture priority and don’t worry about much else. I mainly use it for personal things: meeting friends, traveling, behind the scenes, etc, but I’ve also occasionally taken it out on work shoots and ended up with decent results. All in all, I’m super happy with it, and here are some examples of snaps I’ve taken with the FujiFilm x100v so far:

Cheerio 2020

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Well, 2020 was a doozy, wasn't it? I wrote a bit about my experience during the first lockdown before - remember that? We thought, or perhaps just hoped, that we were out of the woods by that point and life would merrily if slowly, come back to normal. I mean, LOL! At this point, I feel like that old lady in the Titanic wearily announcing “It’s been 84 years…”.

While my first lockdown was filled with making music, reading books about music and taking online music courses, the autumn one was filled with fanatic cooking and baking. Nigella Lawson has always been a huge inspiration for me (I’m pretty much convinced by this point that we’re the same person) but Lockdown #2 took it to new heights. I couldn’t tell whether these were the signs of me transforming into a fully-fledged “domestic goddess” in my 40s, or that a nervous breakdown was imminent. Still, nobody in my flat was complaining, obviously, and being in the kitchen really helped my overall mental health and became an outlet for creativity. Post-Christmas restrictions, however, just plunged me into a state of numbness. Needing an escape, and not being able to plan a physical one, I’ve been reading about Old Hollywood and watching movies from that era (Gilda, Sunset Boulevard, Jezebel, etc). There is something comforting about getting lost in that world. I also found a brilliant YouTube channel with video essays diving into the history of women in Hollywood through the prism of Academy Awards. Not that I’m obsessive about things or anything.

I do miss working and being creative but have been trying not to think about it or look too far ahead. 2020 has been a challenge and an eye-opening experience for everyone (I didn’t realise I had so many epidemiologists on my social media for example) but it’s over now and despite it being generally shit I still managed to take some photos I’m happy with and here’s a selection of them:

And I loved working with Tam Dean Burn on this music video for Louise Rutkowski:

ALBUMS OF 2020
Róisín Machine Róisín Murphy
What’s Your Pleasure? Jessie Ware
Gaslighter The Chicks
Future Nostalgia Dua Lipa
Women In Music Pt. III HAIM
That's How Rumors… Margo Price
Jaguar Victoria Monét

SONGS OF 2020
Murphy’s Law Róisín Machine
No Time To Die Billie Eilish
Levitating Dua Lipa
Ooh La La Jessie Ware
Midnight Sky Miley Cyrus
Gaslighter The Chicks

Guest Editorial

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I love Barbra Kolasinski’s work and was delighted to be asked to photograph her new collection “Guest”. I don't shoot a lot of fashion for a variety of reasons (lack of budgets, unpleasant individuals, etc). Still, I’m super happy when the right opportunity with the right people presents itself. For this project, Barbra put together an absolutely stellar team of not only talented but also genuinely nice creatives (check credits below).

We shot this collection at The Pyramid, a brilliantly bonkers, Brutalist, B-listed building in the middle of Anderston which now serves as a community centre. Despite many people involved and a variety of clothes and looks to get through, the whole thing went super smoothly and was actually a lot of fun. Long hours and cold be damned if you’ve got a great team you’re working with! Barbra wanted something weird and not traditionally “pretty” - thus weird poses, setups and ambiguity. This turned out to be probably the biggest editorial I’ve done so far and I couldn’t be happier. Check it out below:

Clothes + Styling: Barbra Kolasinski
Model: Erin Lathangie / Colours
Make Up: Sara Hill
Hair: Rochelle Jolley
Set: Flowers Vermilion
Videographer: Bob Rafferty

Behind the scenes:

GEAR
Nikon D850 + Nikkor 50mm f1.4
Profoto A1 x 2
Profoto Air Remote TTL-N for Nikon
Neewer 120cm Octabox
Reflector

New Year, New Decade

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I thought to myself, does anyone want to read another post from a stranger writing about what this past decade meant to them? Probably not. You’ve been warned then, and can just scroll down to the pretty pictures cause I’m diving in!

I don’t know why we feel compelled as humans to do these end-of-year/decade/whatever lists but for me, there can be something comforting about it. My memory is pretty crap and I tend to forget the bad things that happen to me quite quickly, or at least I can’t recall the details so their impact is diminished. I therefore focus on the positives and it always ends up being a hopeful exercise - cause if you can find something good in the past year for example, no matter how challenging it might’ve been overall, chances are there’s more good to come in the 12 months ahead

So 2019 was definitely a strange one - a lot of soul searching, figuring out myself and what I want from life and my career. I took up horse riding which I’m thoroughly enjoying, started meditating (thus becoming the kind of person I would roll my eyes at only five years ago) and reconnected with some old friends. The main event however was my first solo exhibition. It took months of preparations and help from a lot of people as well as shitloads of anxiety but it couldn’t have gone better in the end and its reception was beyond anything I could’ve hoped for.

As for 2010s, it was a decade of some big personal decisions like leaving my job to become a full time photographer and buying a flat with my partner. But when I look back at it, it’s actually the people who stand out more than anything. The friendships and connections I made, something that came as a surprise byproduct of what I do but that is definitely one of the nicest, most rewarding things about my job.

Here’s to 2020 and to the new decade then. Leaving you with some of my favourite shots from last year (I did toy with the idea of compiling a ‘best of the decade’ selection but the task seems way too daunting just now):

SONGS OF 2019
Bad Guy Billie Eilish
Crave Madonna
Juice Lizzo
Like Sugar Chaka Khan
Don’t Start Now Dua Lipa
Adore You Harry Styles
Late Night Feelings Mark Ronson
Ass Like That Victoria Monét
Don’t Call Me Up Mabel
Scandalous Camille Trust

ALBUMS OF 2019
Madame X Madonna
Late Night Feelings Mark Ronson
When We All Fall Asleep… Billie Eilish
Ventura Anderson Paak
New Breed Dawn Richard
Cuz I Love You Lizzo
Kiwanuka Michael Kiwanuka
Fine Line Harry Styles
Norman F*****g Rockwell! Lana Del Rey
Sault 5