First Face: A Collection of Photographs of New Irish Models in the 90s
Paul Martin
Self-Published
English
Softcover
Edition of 300
104 pages
210 x 300 mm
2022
ISBN Not available
A book of photographs featuring new Irish models in the Nineties.
The book has two sections. The first is a traditional photobook, focusing primarily on 1994 -2004. What’s special about this period is that it’s the last decade when film photography still held a significant foothold, when the creation of a still image still required some skill and commitment and was still something special. The material itself ranges from test shots with unknown models to magazine editorials with models like Caitriona Balfe (Outlander and 2021 Belfast) who was already doing ad campaigns for Calvin Klein. As interesting as it is to see her hugely successful career it’s equally interesting and somewhat sobering to be the sole keeper of photographs, the ephemeral ghostly traces of a 19 year old Ross Hamilton the lovechild of Phyliss Hamilton and Fr. Michael Cleary on the cusp of modelling and acting success that never materialised starting a luckless descent that left him effectively homeless.
There are also a few chapters on creating fashion photographs. It’s a subject that is rarely given much attention not least because it’s hard to describe the ephemeral, magical process that imbues certain images into words to explore the journey that leads to a successful fashion image. Whether it’s just curiosity about how fashion images can happen or a source of solid knowledge ahead of a shoot.
About the Artist
Paul Martin is an Irish Fashion Photographer.
