On Saturday evening, I went to the open discussion at the School of Visual Arts where Cathy Horyn tried to pick the brains of photographer, Juergen Teller.  Many of you may know him as the man who convinced Posh Spice to get into a shopping bag for a Marc Jacobs ad campaign; others know him as the daring photographer who is witty and to the point with his portraits.

Teller talked a little about his past and how he started in photography, his initial work with doing record covers and press shoots for bands before moving into fashion photography, his work with i-D and The Face, and collaborating with people like Marc Jacobs and Vivienne Westwood.  He gave some insight as to how he works and his preference to work as a small operation.  He prefers to work alone with his subjects.  When Cathy moved on to talk about the technology involved in his photography, it was interesting to hear that Teller is quite “anti-digital”.  Blaming his lack of computer knowledge and being stuck in his old ways, he explains that the digital, technological, fast ways that we are so used to now takes away from the time and magic involved in photography.

The discussion went on with Teller touching on working with different characters, designers and campaigns.  There is a lot of trust involved in working with people.  Coming up with successful campaigns takes a lot of brainstorming and planning.  When he knows what he wants, he executes it.  And then of course, there are times when the pieces just fall into place.  “When I’m shooting, sometimes things just happen”, he confidently said.  He gave the example of the Marc Jacobs’ Fall 2009 ad below.  Yes, you saw it right, pardon the model while she jumps out of the window…for a bag.

It was nice to see that Teller has a sense of humour about work and life.  When asked why he liked to take pictures, he explained that taking pictures gives him an excuse for adventures and to really look at things.  His opinions on fashion is that it has a strong influence on culture and is used to make a comment on it.  It shouldn’t be taken too seriously…fashion should be enjoyable.  His pictures say exactly that.

Image Source: Elle.com, MarcJacobs.com

The special edition HP notebook is scheduled to come out next year. it will weigh less than a pound and be small enough in size so it can be carried as a clutch. The exterior of the computer has a red and purple peony print that matched those of Tam’s Spring 2009 designs. The notebook will also come with wallpapers, screen savers and other icons designed by Tam.