Fave Photographer of the Month Aug ’13

Marie Antoinette “The Extravagent Queen”

This month we choose someone hailing from Australia. An award winning Fine Art Photographer and Digital Artist, whose work, ideas and execution are mind blowingly, breathtaking.

Ladies and gentlemen, this months Fave Photographer is Alexia Sinclair.

It’s a painstaking journey from conception to completion but it’s also Fine Art at it’s absolute best. The costumes, the backdrop, the location scouting, the make-up, the editing … each step and element of every, single picture is a monumental task of it’s own. It illustrates the vivid, creative, imaginative and very talented mind of Alexia. An excerpt from her website bio sums it up nicely:

Motivated by her love and devotion for all things intricate and unusual, this versatile creative uniquely approaches her creative production by filling all of the roles, from designing sets and props, to makeup and costumes. Sinclair travels the world photographing locations and models and works in post production constructing imagined worlds through the combination of her photographs and hand illustrations.

Her two flagship projects The Royal Dozen and The Regal Twelve are tributes to prominent historical figures captured in colourful and fantastical settings. The former highlights Princes, warlords, dandies and diplomats chosen by their influence on society and flamboyance. The latter “portrays twelve European monarchs who have ruled supreme and whose lives span over two millennia”.

Her work has gained her many awards and nominations worldwide. Be sure to stop by her website and take look. It’s easier for me to let her work do the talking … count how many times you find yourself catching your breath.

We asked her our three questions, here’s what she had to say:

1. If you could shoot anyone or any place, who or where would you choose?

If it can be any time too… Marie Antoinette in Versailles in the height of her fashion frivolity.

2. We have a saying at 36Moments, “It’s not about the camera man, it’s about the Cameraman” … Do you agree?

Yes and no. Some of my best work is shot in the early days when I struggled to get my hands on good gear. But I’ve been shooting on the PhaseOne IQ systems for a while now, and these cameras produce the most magnificent 80MP files that are truly unrivalled. I can see the difference.

But there are plenty of enthusiasts out there who shoot pretty boring crap on these cameras too and under those circumstances, it’s a heartbreaking waste of equipment.
So really, it’s about balancing imagination, skill and equipment. Chance and luck always help too!

3. What preparation do you do before a shoot? Do you picture certain shots in your head beforehand or just go-with-the-flow?

Everything I produce is pre-visualised and regimentally planned. Unlike most photographers, the camera is one tool that I use, amongst many others, in a very long process.
On personal projects, I design and hand sew all of my costuming before the shoot. I do lighting diagrams and mood-boards before hand too because I rarely work alone and I need to communicate something I’ve pre-visualised. I also have to do a lot of planning to shoot additional components or lighting exposures for complex compositing in post-production. Aside from all of this regimented planning, it’s healthy to go with the flow sometimes too!

Alexia was kind enough to give us a heads up into what’s coming up. The project she shot in Sweden, at Skokloster Slott, is currently in post-production and once it’s all completed, it’s planned to exhibit at the castle. It came about because of her “Christina of Sweden” being a part of the exhibition Images of Christina, currently on display at the Royal Armoury in Stockholm. She’s busy making tutorials with this series… lots of work! Stay tuned 😉

Alexia, next time I’m back home, I think my bro and I need to cook you a feast fit for a Queen.

Genghis Khan “The Mongol Warrior”

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