Friday 21 March 2008

Just a Paparazzi Shot? Or Something More...?

I had the idea for this post quite a while ago so these photos are quite old, but Easter vacation just started so I've had a lot more time to blog than usual. Anyway...
There are two types of pictures I'm talking about. Firstly, there are the very beautiful, chance photos taken by a paparazzo, or someone with a camera handy, that look like they could be from a photo shoot, or some sort of ad campaign. These usually go unnoticed, but photos are a huge part of my life, as well as the lives of many bloggers that I come across during my daily 'blog rounds', so this post isn't just for me, really. It's for anyone who understands the importance of pictures.
Secondly, there's the career-making photos that can either be taken by chance or, carefully planned and hunted down. These photos make headlines around the world. A picture's worth a thousand words, after all...
Beautiful by chance...
Hilary Duff
I stumbled across this paparazzi shot a while ago, on People.com. I don't know if it's the wonderful contrast of colour (dark weather and clothes, bright red umbrella and coffee cup), or the inanimate raindrops captured perfectly still, but this photo is an instant classic in my book.

Paris Hilton
Don't worry, in no way am I referring to this shot as beautiful. It's mainly here because I, personally, see it as...captivating. I'm not a huge Paris Hilton fan, but back when Ms Hilton was in Australia, frolicking on Bondi Beach, this photo was making 6pm news nationwide (just to showcase Paris' open sexuality, I believe), and I took notice. It is very sexual, but there's something graceful, yet edgy at the same time about it.
I guess I just have a thing for photos featuring drops of water mid-action.

Kate Bosworth
As I've previously mentioned, I love this photo. It's so retro, and could totally just be a nostalgic photo from someone's photo album. There's just something about it...

Head-Lines, Here We Come...
Ok, so this didn't exactly make headlines, but it definitely caused a stir.
The story:
the picture on the left is the poster for Lindsay Lohan's 2006 movie 'Just My Luck', and on the right is the picture (not the exact one, I couldn't find it) that the poster 'ripped-off'. A paparazzo doing the daily 'Lindsay rounds' snapped this gem, and apparently after Lindsay failed to get a good enough picture during a photoshoot for the poster, they decided to use this one. I remember seeing it in a magazine a little while ago. I knew this poster looked familiar...

Gisele is one tough cookie.
The story:
during a taping for the 2002 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show, four PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) protesters managed to get up on stage, carrying these signs ('Gisele Fur Scum') chasing Gisele down the runway. But the supermodel, just tried to ignore them and kept on walking like the absolute professional she is. The protester's were later led away by security, and news of the incident made headlines around the world. Why Gisele, you ask? Maybe because she had just been coined a supermodel at the time? But the fact that she'd signed a modelling contract with American Fur company Blackglama probably didn't help...

It was the photo that started a chain of events that would catapult Kate Moss into a world of ΓΌber-fame, eventually securing her more modelling contracts than before the incident. I'm a little fuzzy on the details but here's the basic story as far as I know it: back in 2005, whilst in a London recording studio with then-boyfriend Pete Doherty, Kate Moss was photographed snorting cocaine by a reporter, seemingly un-phased about being caught in the act. Kate was soon dropped as the face of campaigns for H&M, Chanel and Burberry. She then released this public apology "I take full responsibility for my actions. I also accept that there are various personal issues that I need to address and have started taking the difficult, yet necessary, steps to resolve them," she said. "I want to apologize to all of the people I have let down because of my behaviour which has reflected badly on my family, friends, co-workers, business associates and others." Friends such as Naomi, Helena, Johnny Depp and Alexander McQueen publicly defended Kate, but in early 2006 she was arrested in Britain, only to be released after 6 months due to lack of evidence (photos of alleged-drug use don't stand up in court).
Today Kate is the second highest-earning supermodel after Gisele, with Moss earning $USD9 million dollars over the last 12 months.

I'm sure there are a thousand more of these beautiful photos being taken as I type this very post, but these are the only ones I could rustle up in time. So, with that in mind, I was thinking of making this an ongoing thing. Think of it as an ode to all the photography/fashion/celebrity lovers out there, myself included.
Let me know what you think. The importance of pictures - go or no?

EDIT: many of you were commenting that the pictures weren't showing (I guess we all the realise the importance of pictures, now, lol). Thank you for letting me know, that could have been quite embarrassing. Lol.
I made some adjustments so hopefully they're coming up now. If not, let me know in a comment or email, and I'll see what I can do.

Catch.

Romany

[photos courtesy of cbsnews.com, popculturebuzz.com, people.com, thesuperficial.com and posterwire.com]

22 comments:

Unknown said...

paparazzi or not, you did a good job. nice post! keep it coming. Cheers!

jealoushe said...

Unfortunately, none of the pictures are showing up for me! :\

Which is a fantastic segue into what I was going to say. The lack of pictures creates a noticeable void. Bloggers, especially fashion bloggers, rely heavily on pictures as a powerful visual aid for their writing. I can't imagine running a fashion blog without at least linking to photos.

And because a picture is in this day and age worth a thousand words, it comes as no surprise that photo albums and paparazzi pictures are wildly popular. After all, there's nothing like a candid camera.

bronwyn said...

None of the pics are showing up for me either but sounds like a great theme for regular posts.

Devi Girsang, MD said...

Great post! I appreciate your effort to compile those pictures and bring them to an amazing topic. Kudos!

Anonymous said...

the pics arent working hun :)but great concept !

Anonymous said...

Hi! Just stumbled across your blog by accident after visiting CT's. Your blog is officially my favorite blog now...CT hasn't been quite the same since her long hiatus. Keep up the good work!!

Aisha said...

I read the whole post, but any of the pictures showed for me =L I'll come back later to see if they work maybe then.

Anyway, the topic is very original and i enjoyed the descriptions of the pictures.

On your question at my blog, this site summary thing is not a Blogger's tool, but you can get your own from http://www.sitemeter.com, it's very easy, you just need to creat an account. If you need any help, just let me now ;)

maverickandlove said...

none of the pictures showed up for me, but i lvoed each of your paragraphs under the pictures!

Anonymous said...

Kate Moss - the best))

Secretista said...

True, very true. The pictures arree captivating.

Secretista said...

OH! Great post dear ;).

Adele said...

wow great post idea! i think your great posting this... im studying photography at college and i personally enjoy shots like this. My personal fav is the one of Hilary its fantastic... i love how theres a few flashes of red. great post.x

Ella Gregory said...

It is ironic that one photo on a grainy camera phone would lead Kate Moss onto so many big time shoots!

Miss at la Playa said...

great post! thanks for the comment in my blog :)

Marilyn Hayward said...

I really liked this post! And that dress in my picture actually is vintage fifties! haha

discotheque confusion said...

Can't believe they used a Lindsay Lohan pap candid for the poster..I hadn't noticed that!

Something quite shameful, but funny about it.

Unknown said...

this is absolutely amazing! great post! I remember the whole Gisele incident...lol...I applaud her for not letting them faze her.

This is a WONDERFUL post! Kudos!

Romany said...

Oh that's too bad that the pics didn't originally show up - thank you all for telling me, so that I could change it. :)
Anonymous: wow thank you so much! CT is that Closet Therapy? That's very kind, thank you again. :)
Jealoushe: you're very right. I guess the whole situation really backed up my point didn't it? Lol. So true, pictures are what make a fashion blog, most of the time. Very interesting observation.
Aisha: oh thank you I'll definitely have to check that site out!
Adele: the Hilary pic is my favourite, too. :)
Coco: so true, I don't think anyone saw that coming!
Discothequechic: yes it's funny isn't it? I remember reading somewhere that the whole production team denied using the picture, but it's been proven that they did, so it's even more funny. Lol.
Fashion's darling: thank you! That's very sweet of you to say. It really did show how much of a pro Gisele is didn't it? :)

Thank you to everyone for the wonderful comments! :)
Romany
xx

Anonymous said...

Great post! i like the most the 1st photo - really amazing, a hot cup of coffee right in the middle of the rain and cold.

Annabel said...

this is succch an interesting and inspiring post. even, surprisingly, the paris hilton one!

fashion satisfaction said...

i am thinking same for Kate Bosworth pic..can be a classic in time
http://fashionsatisfaction.blogspot.com/

Anonymous said...

Great post,really amazing photo and an inspiring post. Thanks.