Visual Diary of Volt Magazine
The English magazine Volt, which it would be more correct to call the album of fashion photography, comes out twice a year, because of its gigantic size, it does not fit on the shelves of beech-shops, has no binding and does not spoil readers with text.
Unlike many other fashion publications, the magazine has practically no advertising and, so-called, editorial placements - materials written to order. Volt is a visual stimulant; a magazine that doesn’t want to talk about anything other than photography. Exquisite photography.
We met with Rui Faria, the founder and chief editor of Volt magazine, the last issue of which was released specifically for the opening of Fashion Week, to find out why he loves Jimi Hendrix, Helmut Newton and ... the smell of industrial chemicals
FASHION PHOTOGRAPHY & HELMUT NEWTONWhen I went to university in New York, I thought that directing was my vocation. I remember I really liked Hitchcock, and especially North by Northwest. But once I accidentally hit the cinema on the film The Eyes of Laura Mars c Fay Dunaway. Having inspected it to the end, I read in the credits that the photographs used in the film are the works of Helmut Newton. I was 17 and I had no idea who it was. The next day, I first went to the library and came across Newton's book "Sleepless Nights". And then I realized that this is exactly what I want to do. Forget about movies, I said to myself and transferred to the faculty of photography. After graduating from university, I began to travel, I worked a lot in Berlin and London. Later founded his photo agency "Areia". And all this time I was haunted by the idea of launching my own magazine. I wanted to do something different, the publication does not look like the rest of the fashion press. I knew for sure that I didn’t want a lot of text, no celebrities, necessarily - a large format and of course a lot of high-quality photos. So actually appeared Volt. | Rui faria Helmut Newton "Sleepless Nights" |
The Eyes of Laura Mars trailer
VOLT & VS MAGAZINE
VS is really quite similar in format to the Volt and it can be said, this is quite a funny coincidence. VS was founded by my good friend and I remember that I came to the party about the release of the first issue and was a little confused, so to speak. Hey, what are you doing, I thought. But it was really nothing more than a coincidence. Despite the similar format, we have a completely different context. In the Volt there is almost no advertising, no big interviews and articles. And most importantly - we do not have celebrities. This is our position and firm rule. I am pretty sad that we now live in a society where you are valued and respected, not for what you have achieved with your own work, but for the week you spent on Big Brother.
ADVERTISINGI do not want a lot of advertising in the magazine. We have a certain limit - advertising should be exactly as much as the production of the magazine. All the money goes only on post-production and printing. In general, I am rather ambiguous about today's advertising campaigns in the press. There was a time when they were really conceptual. For example, I like what Steven Meisel did for Dolce & Gabbana. | Steven Meisel for Dolce & Gabbana |
And today, advertising is one big exaggeration and photoshop, and the work of the photographer loses all meaning at all.
NEW TALENTS
Finding new talents is definitely one of the main challenges that the Volt has set itself. And we do it pretty well! Many who were discovered by Volt have become really well known today. For example, we shot the singer Noisettes in one of the previous numbers. And just the other day, I discover video from a shoot on the NME website in the top 10.
From young photographers, I like what Benjamin Lennox does.
He shot the cover for Volt # 4. He is still quite young, but he has great potential and desire to make a beautiful photo. And today it is a big rarity. People have become lazy, they are not doing, and mindlessly copying other people's work. Unfortunately, all really great photographers are dead today. Helmut Newton, Guy Bourdin, Avedon - they were simply mega brilliant. And not least, they used old equipment and filmed. I confess that I am not a fan of digital photography at all. I love the film - the camera, the process itself and even the smell of chemicals during the development!
VOLT AND MUSIC
Volt loves classic rock and roll. Let's say Jimi Hendrix or Morrison. Unfortunately, as well as brilliant photographers, real rock musicians today are already dead. I absolutely do not perceive all the new music and have not heard anything worthwhile for a long time. Modern music is one big sample.
VOLT AND BEAUTY
Today, people use a lot of tricks to ... spoil a photo. I was once at the seminar of Helmut Newton, where someone asked how to achieve the perfect picture. To which Newton replied - "The sun is only one, and therefore there should be only one shadow." I am simply terrified of photos with "cool" light and lots of shadows. For me, the less, the better. Also, I just do not perceive photos with excessive retouching. Models do not have perfect skin, so why should it be porcelain in a photo? In my shooting there is always an element of "imperfection", there must necessarily be some flaw or flaw. The photo must be beautiful and real.
VOLT WOULD LOVE TO ...I would really like to collaborate with Sølve Sundsbø. Volt always sends a new release to his office in London. I hope one day he will call us and say: “Okay, I want to make a photo story for you! | Photo by Sølve Sundsbø |
www.volt-mag.com
Interview EXODUS