We at NOCTIS thought it only customary to culminate the fourth issue with a blog post reflecting on some of our favourite work [though this is not to say that we didn't love everything else!]
To jog your memory we have kindly screen grabbed the opening page of their editorial and the artists we chose took the time to answer a few questions for us.
Read what they have to say and what their plans are here:
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Xanthe Hutchinson - Photographer
Xanthe Hutchinson graduated with a first class honours degree in photography, and is currently an Associate of the British institute of Professional Photographer. She is one of our favourite photographers and has been featured in some of our favourite magazines, including Papercut, Fake Magazine, L'Autre and Sideview Magazine's Global Issue.
She has just been voted as one of the best photographers in the north by Manchester Fashion Network's Ten Of The Best, whose panel of judges included Drapers Online, Wayne Hemmingway and Flux magazine.
What gave you the inspiration for your shoot for issue 4 of NOCTIS?
Myself and stylist Zoe Hancock work really closely in creating the briefs for our shoots and we had a very specific look in mind for Trailer Park Girl. It was definitely heavily influenced by Americana, with a little bit of Black Snake Moan and True Romance thrown into the mix.. Alabama Wurley is our favourite fashion crush!
Given the chance would you do anything differently?
I would have liked to have shot some interiors at the caravan park; the trailers are amazing but as it's a site occupied by Showmen, there were families at home having their lunch and watching tv; there's only so much you can ask!
How did you get into your working practice?
Over time I've managed to get a workflow into place that i feel works really well; from the initial concept I draft moodboards, i try to find the right model and location and then Zoe gets to work sourcing the garments.. which is definitely the most onerous part, but one of the most important. With all this in place we then consider hair, makeup, lighting etc until it all falls into place. Working on location can be challenging but its great in that weather and time constraints make you more adaptable; you have to roll with the punches.
What gives you inspiration on a daily basis?
For me cinema is a huge influence, but I find inspiration can be drawn from the strangest things.. I once did a shoot based solely on the colours of an album cover! I think as a fashion photographer though it's really important to understand what's current, so I do a lot of research online and buy inordinate amounts of fashion magazines - I'm slightly obsessed!
What plans do you have for the rest of the year then?
We will be working super hard as always, and have lots of great shoots planned with some really amazing models.. And we are going to be collaborating with some incredible designers too, so watch this space :)
♥ You can see more of Xanthe's beautiful work
here
Tiffany Dawn Nicholson - Photographer
Inspired by the model herself, photographer Tiffany Dawn Nicholson, created this wonderfully enticing shoot titled "Albany".
Tiffany said "Before shooting she [the model] had described herself as an Asian School Girl version of Kurt Cobain. It was all very organic and not too pre-meditated. We shot inside her apartment and I sort of let things come together. It was a collaboration between me, the model and the H&MUA".
Talking about whether any changes would be made, it becomes apparent that given the opportunity the strobe light could have been turned down a notch; though at the time Tiffany explained she was into the L.A way of photography and experimenting with strong flash. Exploration of the "super cool" apartment could have took place too.
Based in Chicago, a love of photography has continued to grow over the years, particularly since the sophmore year of college in 2005 when the first official class was taken. Photography was added to the study of printmaking, which has now ceased. Congrats to the photographic world for gaining amazing pieces of work which can be found here
When asked about inspiration, Tiffany replies, "I find inspiration from all over. I think the mose successful photographers are the ones inspired by life and being out doing things. I forget this sometimes and get way too involved in my blogs/checking what other photographers are doing... etc. I think that all still has merit but currently I am seeking balance. I have bookmark list of about 50+ blogs/magazine websites ect that I frequent often... probably too often".
Nothing wrong with browsing, checking out the competition?
Big plans for the year? Not quite.
Tiffany plans to take a two week break and focus on getting her website up to date and do some self reflection on her previous works to see what she can do next. We're sensing something amazing and we can't wait to see.
Katherine Whyte - Stylist
Katherine Whyte is a stylist based in Glasgow, she has an aim to create fashion driven editorials of an exceptional quality. With a clear passion for fashion and art, she has had her work featured in Vice Style, C-Heads Magazine, Slave London and Spectrum Magazine (Scotland on Sunday).
Here's what she had to say for us...
What gave you the inspiration for your shoot for issue 4 of NOCTIS?
The theme of the issue was 'Youth' and i've always loved looking at pictures from teen 'youth tribes' such as teddy boys, punks, skinheads, grungers etc. I always liked how relaxed and natural the images were, which was something I was really wanting to come across in the 'Tearaway' shoot to make the models seem like an authentic group of teenagers. As well as this, I was really inspired by how a lot of these groups would customize or recycle clothing and really put their personality on show which again was an element I felt was important to the shoot to keep the authenticity.
Given the chance what would you do differently?
If I were to do the shoot again, although some amazing brands had kindly let me use their samples, I would really of wanted more time to create some pieces that I had personally customized/ruined (however you prefer to look at it!).
How did you get into your working practice?
Without any background or study in fashion, I knew I had to start at the bottom, so started testing in my area and luckily everything seems to have snowballed from there! I was going off of gut instinct of what I thought I should be doing for a while but as I started getting more requests for work, I started to also assist more established stylists and magazines alongside, just to check I was going along the right lines! This really solidified the idea in my mind of where I want my work to be and has given me the drive to (hopefully) get there.
What gives you the inspiration on a daily basis?
I hate to sound cliche but it really could be anything! Films, music, architecture, story books, photographers, stylists, make-up artists, models, my friends, art, I could go on. I find it hard to define what it is about something that inspires me, I think maybe just originality in general? Like when you see/hear/feel something that is just a great piece of original work, I always think 'That's so amazing I wish I had/could/thought to do that!' which then pushes you to create something great.
What plans do you have for the rest of the year?
Plan for the rest of this year is a big move to London next month to hopefully meet some amazing talents and create some great work!
♥ You can see more of Katherine's amazing work
here
Samuel Gallagher - Photographer
Samuel Gallagher finds his inspiration in beauty. A beauty found in a wide variety of boys who he chooses to shoot on a regular basis. He says "the people who I want to shoot are my personal inspirations as I have an attraction towards them in one way or another". This is an attraction drawn from appearance and/or personality.
Samuel started studying fashion photography at university and moved to London for internships and to gain working practice with various photographers and stylists in the industry. He gets his inspiration from the nice weather, of all things. "it makes me want to get out and be creative.. but that's pretty rare as it's always raining in Manchester!"
We should keep our eyes peeled as we could see Samuel Gallagher walking the streets of London in the near future, and for more of his work you can visit his tumblr
here
Sophie Gaten – Stylist
Sophie Gaten was introduced to fashion styling through an Art Foundation course. She says, "I was always interested in creative direction, but also something more hands on".
She has embarked on styling window displays in the past, and quickly became interested in interior design and set design; through styling she was able to focus as much attention on location and set design as well as the styling of garments.
Inspiration is drawn from everything; "I think its important to absorb fashion and trends in my work of course, however its not all about that" says Sophie. "I tend to become fascinated with different traditional styles of dress. I think I prefer to represent a story in my work so a lot of research goes into it. I am always inspired by different cultural trends and traditions and why people dress the way the do".
As for future plans, Ms. Gaten aims to produce a vast amount of work with people who she is inspired by. She always wants to spend some time in San Francisco and to create work over there, and then of course to return for her final year of university. In her own words, "quite a restless year".
♥ For further examples of Sophie's work, click
here
Han Lee de Boer - Photographer
When speaking of his shoot for issue 4 of NOCTIS magazine, Mr de Boer said "The Dungeness idea - someplace/anyplace - has been knocking around in my head for a while.. but I wanted to avoid the cliche of all the dilapidated fishing boats/huts.. and the full sunshine that day just added to the air of unreality".
Given the chance to do anything differently he simply said he would get somebody else to do the driving because it was a bloody long day! A slightly amusing annecdote, but a relatable one nonetheless. But when asked how he got into his working practice he replied "I haven't yet... I'm still figuring things out".
So what gives Han Lee de Boer his inspiration? "Nothing - I mean that I don't get ideas all the time and am grateful when they come along". An interesting concept, and a means to appreciate what you have. Particularly as his passion for photography was only rekindled when he discovered "beauty" and ultimately "fashion".
For the rest of the year there are aspirations to get some paying jobs so that he can make out he does what he does for a living. We wish him the best of luck.
Sian Miller - Stylist
What gave you the inspiration for your shoot for issue 4 of NOCTIS?
The theme was a sort of coming of age tea party so I wanted to go quite ladylike for the girls and slightly feminine for the boys too. Lots of soft colours and all quite pretty and kitsch. I went quite stereotypical with the blouses, bow ties and tweed jackets as I wanted to keep it quite traditional but with a few injections of modern pieces to mix it up.
Given the chance what would you do differently?
The men's trousers!! They were great pieces but didn't fit the theme as well in the flesh as I first anticipated.
How did you get into your working practice?
I studied fashion design at university and realised my passion for styling when I did my final collection photoshoot. Twitter has been a fantastic way to make contacts in the industry and it's actually how I became involved in this issue of Noctis!
What gives you the inspiration on a daily basis?
I love people watching and getting inspiration from what other people are wearing and their personal style, I really appreciate seeing people who can put something really unique together. I love getting inspiration from other cultures, films and television. I like quite dramatic styling, something you wouldn't see someone walking down the street in and I like making art through styling.
What plans do you have for the rest of the year?
I am planning on building up my portfolio further, lots of collaborations, magazine submissions and so on. I'm excited to see where the next year will take me, hopefully abroad somewhere hot!
♥ For fashion, style and everything in between, click
here
Helen Green - Illustrator
Helen Green is one of our favourite illustrators, she is simply amazing. The recent drawings for NOCTIS were a selection of some of her favourites, and of some of her favourite people to draw. You can read the full interview on page 66 of issue 4, but knowing that Helen started her blog as a personal project to help develop her drawing style, it is clear to see why she wouldn't change anything, she says, "I feel happy with how everything's turned out!"
Helen knew from studying art in college and foundation studies that sse wanted to go into illustration."It seemed like the right path for me. I started up my blog on tumblr as a way of producing and posting work on a daily basis, it also serves as a kind of portfolio too! Which is really beneficial for me as an artist!"
Tumblr is also the home in which she finds new inspiration on a daily basis. It is often where she finds new material to draw too; and generally inspiration comes from music and fashion.
For the rest of the year, Helen plans to continue her daily drawings and to work on a time lapse video to show her drawing process. As a final statement, she told us "I'd like to do more illustration work for magazine editorials! I love those sort of collaborations!"
♥ You can see more of Helen Green's amazing work
here
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For now, that's all we have here at NOCTIS as we are hard at work putting the finishing touches on Issue 5. Be sure to keep checking back for more amazing work.
Words/Interviews by Jodie Shepherd / to see this post on the NOCTIS blog
click here
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