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NOIRESQUE – THE PHOTOGRAPHS

By Gordon Ayres

New Zealand photographer GORDON AYRES has been recording the British swing scene for over fifteen years, following the people that have created a unique look and sound – from the bands and dancers to the fans and characters who populate this secretive, underground and deeply stylish movement.

Using techniques and equipment culled from the classic Hollywood period, Ayres finds inspiration in both the studio glamour photographers of the time and the grainy reportage style of the dime reporters. He balances gumshoe-hack-hailed-hero Weegee with smooth-slick-siren-shooter Bernard of Hollywood, always allowing just enough anachronism to prevent his work being stifled in aspic.

With a minimum of fancy props and gear – his tools-in-trade range from the odd redhead and umbrella to a couple of pieces of cut-out orange box and some old packing foam – Gordon Ayres relies more on working with the old techniques than modern trickery. His sources include old manuals, excerpts from interviews – and, of course, the photos themselves, Ayres often pouring over a single photo for hours on end to work out the exact angle of the lighting required to create an effect.

For “NOIRESQUE,” Ayre’s brief was to capture Sandra Lawrence as a “B” Movie actress might have been portrayed to a cinema audience. A combination of “Picture Goer” magazine shots and stills from the films themselves. Some of the results are below.

Click on a thumbnail to enlarge the image.