Portfolio
Fin de siècle
“And so, as I was young and dipped in folly, I fell in love with melancholy.”
Algernon: I hope tomorrow will be a fine day, Lane.
Lane: It never is, sir.
Algernon: Lane, you’re a perfect pessimist.
Lane: I do my best to give satisfaction, sir.
La Belle Époque
Fin de siècle is a French term meaning “end of century”, a term which typically encompasses both the meaning of the similar English idiom turn of the century and also makes reference to the closing of one era and onset of another. The term is typically used to refer to the end of the 19th century. This period was widely thought to be a period of social degeneracy, but at the same time a period of hope for a new beginning. The “spirit” of fin de siècle often refers to the cultural hallmarks that were recognized as prominent in the 1880s and 1890s, including ennui, cynicism, pessimism, and “…a widespread belief that civilization leads to decadence.”
I can resist everything except temptation.
The painterly depiction above could serve as the aesthetic basis for this creative portrait-photography project. Fully executed at our Galacpic Studio in southwest Montreal, the series comprises a number of instants that seek to convey the ineffable attraction of ‘fin de siecle’ decadence , with a sensible use of color, fashion, make-up, light, and scenery.
For the technically curious, the full lighting setup for these shots consisted of 3 speedlights mounted on a beauty dish as key light placed overhead, a strip box for the colored light one umbrella to fill from close to floor level, and a strip-gobo BG light. The camera body used was a Fujifilm X-T3, and the Fujinon 56 F1.2 was the lens of choice for most of the pictures. The whole shoot was done tethered to Capture 1, which greatly helps simplify the capture and review process.
In regards to the postproduction, the environment is full CGI, created and rendered in-house and then composited along with the raw plates using industry-standard compositing and image editing tools. Truly a blend of the timeless art of capturing photons on a camera obscura, along with really the latest, state-of-the-art digital techniques.
Credits
Photography & postproduction: Boris Martinez | Galacpic
Make-up Artist/Hair styling: Manuela Balk | Galacpic
Model: Caitlin Yardley | @c81iny
Design Assistants: Manuela Balk | Galacpic
Production Assistant: Manuela Balk | Galacpic
