Re: [Leica] Re: Blow Up

[Mark Rabiner <mrabiner@concentric.net>]

Stuart Phillips wrote:
> 
> I believe that the lifestyle of the photographer in Blow Up was modeled
> after that of the British photographer David Bailey. As for "anyone who
> knows anything about photography", I would defer to Antonioni on the subject
> still or cine!  Images are images.  Alain Resnais produced a striking photo
> book, "Reportages" I think it's called.
> 
> Stuart Phillips

As I understand it David Bailey is a main influence but there were two
others combined to create this character.
David Bailey never did such a thing as an intensive deep cover reportage
of homeless men or was that point a fine art photographer in books and
gallerys. He was a fashion style photographer. That one could be both
was not quite a formed concept. This film was responsible for forming
it. Getting Avedon and Penn to the Met.
The Actor himself David Hemmings, not a photographer had much influence
on how the how things went down in most of the scenes in the film which
defined the character.
This from a guy (me) who prides himself as already having Dektol in his
fingernails before this movie ever came out.
I'm sure most film experts would put Antonioni in the top 5 filmmakers
of all time.
Mark Rabiner