Tag: cape town photographer

The Collection: Panties
#51- #53

Post author By Leah
Post date October 13, 2015
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#51- #53

(Please note: This is the “archive” of the collection of shoot props (generally lingerie/womens attire somehow) that I have gathered over the last 11 years of my career.
They are catalogued by number, and description for now as well as any other relevant information about their individual histories- how I came to have the items, what shoots they might have been used for, etc.
The style in which I document an item may vary according to the type of garment/object it is).

#51 – Panties
Mr. Price, size medium, polyamide & elastine blend boy-leg cut panties. These were a gift from my sister I think but not really my style so they went straight into the collection. I’m not a fan of overly synthetic underwear, and also not a particular fan of the boy-leg cut which can often be unflattering if you don’t have the body type for them.

#52 – Panties
Red cotton knickers from Woolworths, size small. This particular cut (with only an elastic around the hip) is rare in SA which was the reason I grabbed this three pack about 7 years ago.

#53 – Panties
Cotton On, size Medium fuchsia/purple and red lace thong. I bought these on sale at Cotton On a few years back for R40.00. They’re sexy and comfortable and a duplicate set went straight into the collection.

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Women I've Shot

Corporate Commission: Alan Walt Architects & Ass.
The Client Christmas Card 2011

Post author By Leah
Post date September 26, 2015
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The Client Christmas Card 2011

Be Cool

If there’s one rule to this game
Everybody can name real plain
It’s, be cool!
If you’re worried or uncertain
If your feelings are hurtin’
You’re a fool if you can’t keep cool
Charm ’em
Don’t alarm ’em
Keep things light
Keep your worries out of sight
And play it cool
Fifty-fifty
Fire and Ice

Joni Mitchell

I had worked with Alan Walt in 2007 when I produced our first collaborative end-of-year card together. This would be our 3rd collaboration (our second was unsuccessful in 2008).

Alan had a reference image which would be the basis of his 2011 card; it was an image of a woman’s bum after she had been sitting on a woven chair for quite some time. The seat of the chair had left an imprint on her skin and it was the combination of the mark-making on a private area of the body, which Alan was interested in.

I eventually found these references Alan sent me... — I eventually found these references Alan sent me…

We had the “Alan Walt Architects” logo cut out of black perspex and I asked a friend who had posed for me before to come into the studio to sit on it for half an hour before I took a photo of her bum, now branded, for Alan’s card.

The idea of branding or ownership is interesting, especially in the sense of this being a corporate commission. There is a play here on elements of the private/public sense of identity which, combined here by Alan with the Joni Mitchell lyrics “Be Cool” make for an expressive and personal statement from my client to his.

Elements of this commission left my head bemused with ideas about “branding”: branding cattle, branding clothing, brand advertising, branding my friends bum with my clients logo, etc.
The other side of Alans commission which also interested me were the elements of the business game which he points out quite unabashedly: being visible, sensationalism in marketing, staking acclaim to material objects or property/ownership all connected to, again, private/public notions.

Below is the laid out document he mailed to his clients at the 2011 year end.

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Women I've Shot

Pregnancy Portrait: This is Ursula

Post author By Leah
Post date September 18, 2015
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I met Ursula a number of years ago and was thrilled to be commissioned to shoot a series of pregnancy portraits of her as well as capture some family moments afterwards with herself, her daughter and her husband.

Ursula was pregnant with her second child, and in her third trimester when we worked together. The pregnancy portraits we shot were very simple but bold. I lit her with one light, set back, to just highlight her silhouette plus a little bit more detail created by a poly board on her other side.

There is a decadence in the profile of a pregnant women which I love. The shapes are so beautifully abundant. Every line of the female body becomes enhanced so that a series of interconnected spheres take over the body.

Heavily pregnant women, especially when shot in this style, remind me of the Venus of Willendorf, a paleolithic sculpture associated with fertility and childbearing (picture below).

Ursula and I also shot a few images with her young daughter in an embrace, the resulting image I find to be a special reflection of motherhood.
Together their bodies become a knot of warmth, love and nurturing.

Tags B&W nudes, B&W photography, cape town photographer, cape town photography, cape town pregnancy photo, cape town studio photography, leah hawker, Leah Hawker cape town photographer, nude photography, pregnancy, Pregnancy photoshoot, pregnant portrait

A Collection of Female Attire

The Collection: Panties
#48- #50

Post author By Leah
Post date September 16, 2015
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#48- #50

#48 – Panties
Plum coloured, lace, boyleg panties. I didn’t expect these to look so pretty when shot, but they do. They are La Senza brooks which were gifted to the collection a few years back and have not been shot with yet. I like the slit and bow details on the front mid thighs.

#49 – Panties
Black, opaque and mesh high waisted panties. I bought these goodies at Woolworths in 2013 for the Miss July Playboy Playmate photoshoot which took place (last minute) in my Woodstock studio. The knickers are a really nice cut and design.

#50 – Panties
Black lace and mesh, side tying thong. I reckon I must have come across these at a Chinese supermarket at some stage. They are so flimsy and badly made its actually impressive.

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