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Photos to Inspire: Jeff Dunas
By DE Staff | Photos to Inspire |
Feb 23, 2010
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©Jeff Dunas
Salma Hayek
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Jeff
Dunas has been working commercially as an editorial, fashion, and
advertising photographer since 1971. Over those 30+ years, he has
assembled an impressive list of accolades, awards, and accomplishments
too long to present here in its entirety. He has contributed
photographic essays to publications worldwide. His photographs have
appeared in more than 60 one-person exhibitions around the globe and in
nearly every mainstream magazine including GQ, Life, Vibe, Entertainment Weekly, and Esquire.
What
Dunas is perhaps best known for, however, are his celebrity portraits,
photo-essays and nude photography, for which he has garnered
international acclaim and attention with his fine art approach.
Realizing he could pursue his own creative and artistic visions while
still putting food on the table, he began putting his energy on his
personal endeavors after he arrived back in the States in 1989.
“You
have to take the pictures you want to take, and not the photo you think
your client wants,” advises Dunas. “When you start doing that, a
‘style’ will emerge on its own.” From that philosophy came some of
Dunas’ most stunning series of photos and monographs, including his
last three:
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©Jeff Dunas
Keb' Mo'
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State of the Blues
(1998) – A powerful and expressive tribute to the American musical
tradition, State of the Blues features Dunas’ interviews and portraits of the
greatest blues musicians ever to perform (B.B. King, Koko Taylor, Jimmy
Dawkins, John Lee Hooker, and Bonnie Raitt among them), and includes
photos of legendary landmarks and birthplaces of the blues along the
Blues Highway stretching from New Orleans to Chicago.
American Pictures
(2002) – After moving back from Paris to Los Angeles, Dunas revisited
the country of his youth, documenting the architecture, landscape, and
people representative of 1950s small-town America. "Visually speaking,"
Dunas observes, "the texture of this country has evolved from
wood-and-brick buildings to glass structures that don't open.
Air-conditioning runs in place of fresh air, which in itself is
sometimes difficult to find. I wanted to take an archive of work from
the last century into this century while I still could."
Up Close & Personal (2003) – Dunas describes Up Close & Personal,
which showcases portraits of top-name celebrities including Nick Nolte,
Billy Bob Thorton, Cuba Gooding, Jr., and Kate Winslet, as “a
photographic exploration of the ephemeral and intangible qualities that
have led to the fame possessed by my subjects. I’m interested in the
idea that there is something intangible that draws us to a famous
person. I don’t want to photograph the fame. Instead, I try to find
their unique edge, the magnetism…”
“I’m
happy when I’m shooting and even happier when I’m printing,” Dunas
says. “I print all my personal myself and supervise assistants or lab
technicians when the work is a commercial assignment…. When I seek
diversion, I seek it with a camera. I have been shooting street
pictures in Paris, New York and elsewhere for fifteen years at every
opportunity.”
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©Jeff Dunas
London Tube, 1996
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For his new projects, he has
two books in the works—a 30-year retrospective of his fine-art nudes
and a chronicle of his street photography—projected for publication
later this year or in 2008. “It’s been a long time coming,” he remarks.
“I’m pursuing book-making more than anything these days. It’s what I
feel is important in photography, a way to leave your mark.” He has
also just finished a book that he photographed with James Nachtwey and
Steve McCurry, a privately published book that was produced by Toyota
as the result of a major advertising campaign.
Connect 2010 Palm Springs Photo Festival
Among
his most exciting projects, however, will be directing the upcoming
Palm Springs Photo Festival. It was only a year ago when
Dunas co-founded the festival with Hossein Farmani, yet already it has
emerged as the premium photo festival in the U.S., offering a
star-studded lineup of some of the most important people in the
industry.
“The
Palm Springs Photo Festival,” Dunas points out, “offers the rare chance
of meeting one-on-one in an informal, social situation with famous
photographers, magazine editors, museum curators, art directors and
photography educators. Attendees can sign up for portfolio reviews
throughout each day of the 4-day event as well as study with master
photographers and attend informative seminars and symposiums with
influential industry experts. This festival is intended for
professional
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©Jeff Dunas
Paul Bettany
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photographers, passionate amateur photographers, students,
and retirees. This is your chance to see how it’s done by great
practitioners of the medium. Watch them work, show them yours for
critiques, learn how to be better - think differently about your work,
attend events to see their career slide shows. Come and feel
photography clear to your bones.”
Click here to visit Connect 2010 Palm Springs Photo Festival, and register today!
See more of Jeff Dunas' work at www.dunas.com
Let us know if you found this article useful, and tell us what kinds of articles you'd like to see in upcoming issues. Send your comments and ideas to the editor.
© Copyright 2010 by PHOTOWORKSHOP.COM
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Last Updated: Jul 10th, 2010 - 16:19:44
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Photos to Inspire: Additional Articles
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