We’ll take Mainhattan
The team at SilvergrainClassics have announced another themed photo shoot workshop. “We’ll Take Mainhattan” is the German version of Bailey’s famous photoshoot with & Jean Shrimpton that inspired the film “We’ll take Manhattan”.
By Marwan El Mozayen
Our Inspiration
In 1962 Bailey made his second photoshoot for Vogue. This time the shoot was in New York. The model was Jean Shrimpton together with her teddy bear.
Instead of photographing landmarks like the Chrysler Tower or the Statue of Liberty, he decided to shoot streets and pagoda-covered restaurants in a grimy, damp, street photography style. This was a breakaway for Vogue and the series went down in the history of fashion photography and represented the “Swinging Sixties.”
Inspired by these images we choose “Mainhattan” (AKA Frankfurt) as our backdrop for an authentic vintage fashion shoot that is being run in collaboration with Leica Galerie Frankfurt.
Why Analog Film?
The different film materials have properties that give the photographs a distinctive aesthetic due to their physical nature. It can’t be replicated by desaturating a digital shot or adding a vintage filter. For an authentic film look, film is still the first choice.
The Workshop Tutor
Marwan El Mozayen is editor-in-chief of SilvergrainClassics, a print magazine about film photography. His main focus is authentic vintage photography.
Marwan has given numerous workshops as director of the SilvergrainStudio in Bad Nauheim.
The Workshop
Day 1: The Fashion Shoot (also bookable separately)
Take part in a professional fashion shoot up close in the streets of the city of Frankfurt!
Marwan El Mozayen will provide tips and technique advice regardless of equipment and previous experience. Each participant will have the opportunity to create unique and exciting new images to enrich their portfolio.
Day 2: Darkroom Printing Your Best Shot (also bookable separately)
On day 2 you have the opportunity to print your best negative, and to create a print with an individual touch. The SilvergrainStudio has a very well-equipped and modern darkroom.
Don’t worry if you have never made a darkroom print before! It’s a fascinating experience, and there will be someone from the SilvergrainAcademy team by your side to support you every step of the way.
- Operation of the enlarger
- Evaluation of your negatives
- The contact sheet
- The development
- Evaluation of the prints
The Process
Creative fashion photography is teamwork. Each participant will be a part of this team. We will be working with our two talented models throughout the shoot, dressed professionally in a contemporary 60s-influenced style. It will be important to find the “magic moment” from the right combination of scenery, posing, lens, as well as film material that makes a shot unique.
Negative Development:
You don’t need to send your negatives away to be developed. The SilvergrainStudioLab team will develop and scan your images on the spot, while the shoot goes on!
At the end of Day One, we will review the images and discuss the workflow and techniques that were applied during the photoshoot.
The workshop fee includes:
- Use of a loan analog camera (please specify if required when you register).
- 2 professional photo models
- Professional makeup artist
- Films (medium format or 35mm)
- Film processing and scans
- Lab equipment, photo chemicals, and paper
- Supervised darkroom printing in the SilvergrainStudioLab
- Non-commercial image rights (model release)
- Small catering (snacks, drinks)
Please bring along:
- Analog 35mm or medium format camera (if you have one)
- 3 lenses: preferably 35mm (MF 50mm), 50mm (MF 80mm), 90mm (MF 150mm or 135mm (or a zoom lens that covers this range)
- If available, a light meter
How to book
This will be great fun. We hope to see you. You can book at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/well-take-mainhattan-tickets-326790728867
The workshop is conducted with the direct support of:
- Peggy Sue Frankfurt
- Negative Supply, innovative solutions for DSLR scanning
- Tetenal, the oldest photochemical company in the world
- and Kodak Professional Films
Images © Marwan el Mozayen 2022.
You can read about a previous SilvergrainStudio 1950’s themed workshop here https://silvergrainclassics.com/en/2021/12/1950s-studio-workshop-silvergrain-academy/
