Hello the MLE,

The shoot went really well this morning, even though I had to work with Sonny (joking). Luckily it was bright and sunny in London, so the light was good. It was also relatively quiet at the location, so we were able to get all around easily, as long as we wore construction gear in some parts. I'll be posting more about the results of this project soon!

Thank you again to our photographer, Sonny McCartney (sonnymccartney.com)!

Suzan xx

Hello MLE,

Hope you're doing well despite the cold!  Today, I'd like to tell you a bit about a project by Sonny McCartney, who is one of my favourite persons and a good friend.  I knew he was a bit of a hero the moment we met - when he saved my life, quite literally, from a fire in my flat a few years ago (long story).

Sonny is a talented and hard-working photographer.  Over the past year, when he is not doing his commercial work, he has been shooting a rather intriguing personal project...  He knows a number of incredible artists working here in London, from a National Portrait Gallery artist, to a Rolling Stone, to a top young artist who unconventionally depicts the UK's urban culture, to his grandmother who paints beautiful watercolours.

His photographs are intimate, and sometimes even touching, as he knows the artists personally.  Sonny has been allowed a glimpse into a private world that we rarely get to see.  He would like to display this to the public, in a gallery setting which will showcase his work as it should be displayed.

Of course professionally printing his work so that the colour, detail and so on is right, preparing the space, and even things like transporting the work to the gallery costs money, and for this Sonny needs some help. He's started a Kickstarter page for this, where people can give anything from £1 to £2000 - whatever the amount it doesn't matter, if folks could donate what they can it would be a tremendous help to bring this project to life:

Sonny's Kickstarter Page 

He's got a great video up there, and some great rewards too, including a very nice poster by Suzan Dann!  :)

Speak soon the MLE!

Suzan

Happy Friday MLE!

Sometimes on a Friday, if I have time, I'll waste it following random links on the internet for longer than I probably should. I have to admit, I still like checking in on the Photoshop Disasters site. Maybe this is because I just can't seem to get bored of how the media warps reality. I love to scrutinize news stories and how they are being spun, trying to catch out the actual motives driving them. I love to imagine myself in the meeting room getting briefed for an ad campaign, so I can see what the client is hoping to achieve. I love to analyse which techniques a film is using to pull at my emotions. Yes, this makes me a very annoying person. And I annoy myself because I often can't seem to just listen to CNN or enjoy a Hollywood film for what it is.

Anyway, check out good old Nicki Minaj above (I really like her music btw). The first thing you may notice is how the Nicki brand has undergone a brand refresh so that the product has more muscles and more expensive clothes and so on... All standard procedure because the more attractive the product, the more it will sell, blah blah blah, boring. But what is unusual is to catch a massive brand's mistake in it's smoke and mirrors work. And it is a reminder that even Getty Images' photos are all glossed over (where this photo was found), particularly when they feature a precious big brand. I just can't get bored of this!  Why??

Update: some people have asked what is wrong with the photo.  If you look at where her leg meets her body (weird) then compare it to where the leg meets the body of the woman behind her (normal) then you can see it.

Suzan xx

Hi Suzan and Emelie,

I've currently been interning at MOTHandRUST for the past 8 weeks, so who am I? Well my names Josiah and I'm a Graphic Design student currently studying at Chelsea College of Art & Design on my summer holiday between second and third year.

Being my first internship I was really keen to do some real work and I can say that it's really been a rewarding experience doing live projects and gaining a lot of skills and knowledge that I will be able to take forward to develop my professional practice.

Something cool I've seen online recently are these images titled 'Crash Landed' that were made for Getty Images by a collaboration between Ken Hermann (photographer) and Gemma Fletcher (Art Director). The images that have been created are really atmospheric and give a sense of mystery whether it being why the hell is a spaceman there or the faceless mask of the spacesuit. Being a fan of '2001: A Space Odyssey' I like anything involving space imagery.

A deep thought: "Be yourself. Everyone else is already taken." - Oscar Wilde

Thanks for all the help and the chance to work for your studio.

Over and Out

Josiah Jones