Photography Figurines

There are numerous photography figurines from different artists and various collectible brands. Here is a modest variety of very memorable artworks that have photography as its theme, although the artists do not specialize in photographic subject matter. From comic to serious the moods vary with each photographic piece. These artworks are scattered about on the internet rather than found under a common banner.

One such artist is Guillermo Forchino (1952) who was born in Argentina and lives in France. He lives in Paris with his studio next to the famed Pere Lachaise cemetery. Since the 1980’s, Forchino experimented with different materials in creation of his artwork. In the end he chose polyresins to create his figurines resembling comic strips and cartoon characters. He began offering his artwork in partnership (2003) with VMM (Netherlands) under the name “The Comic Art of Guillermo Forchino”. These reproductions are handmade and hand painted, often in the same size as the originals, as limited editions in numbered series. In the Professionals series we have The Photographer. (Forchino.com).

In the late 1960’s, Michael Ricker (1940-2006) started Ricker-Bartlett in Estes Park, Colorado. He produced pewter jewelry and sculpture using new molding and casting techniques taught to him by Norb Bartlett. Ricker-Bartlett began selling Pewter PeeWees, small pewter animal figurines which featured chubby-faced anthropomorphized animals, young children and newly hatched tiny animals. In 1975, in honor of the nation’s bicentennial he started his masterpiece Park City, a 30 foot by 10 foot miniature town depicting life at the turn of the 19th century. It was completed in 1986 and presented to former President Gerald Ford at a gala event in Denver. Featured among the work’s more than 470 pieces are a carousel, a town hall, a circus parade and a riverboat. Park City became the foundation for Michael’s Museum and Gallery in Estes Park, which opened to a gala event in 1993. (Martin).

Rochard Limoges (1973) is not an artist’s name but a brand name for hand painted porcelain Limoges boxes from Limoges, France. They claim to be the first to add removable art objects from inside their boxes. Most of these boxes are small, usually less than three inches to a side. The Rochard Limoges Camera with Film & Photo box is hand painted by foremost artists using many of the same techniques that were used during their introduction in the 17th century. (Rochard Limoges).

You can easily find photography themes in figurines made of different materials. In style they range from serious to comical. Some tend to be mass produced to some extant while others are one of a kind handmade. They also range in size from less than three inches to a side up to over twelve inches tall. A large collection would seem eclectic when you display the pieces together.

The Comic Art of Guillermo Forchino

“City” carved sculptor’s niche

Rochard Limoges

Elizabeth Holmes – hand painted Infrared photographer

Eiizabeth J Holmes Photography

“I am always searching for visual references to the past and images that evoke a strong memory and define a sense of place.” Elizabeth Holmes

“Photographing with infrared film and then hand coloring on matte surface prints with oils and pencils, Holmes creates images that appear both dreamy and timeless. The hand-coloring process makes each photograph one-of-kind.” (Alternative Photography).

Light is actually the full range of wavelengths on the electromagnetic spectrum. The human eye can only perceive a portion of these different light waves. Infrared radiation is the longer wavelengths in contrast to ultraviolent radiation which are the shorter wavelengths. The human eye can see only part of the electromagnetic spectrum starting with blue at 400nn extending to red at 700nn. A nanometer is one billionth of a meter. (Merriam-Webster). Infrared film is sensitive to infrared radiation, as well as both ultraviolet radiation and visible light. Infrared radiation is reflected light from any subject that is captured by infrared film. Objects with higher levels of infrared radiation appear lighter in photographs while other aspects show up darker. (Alternative Photography).

“With infrared film, you are seeing in a new light that creates luminous highlights and enhances texture, contrast, and depth.” (Alternative Photography).

Three types of infrared film are covered here: Kodak Infrared HIE, Konica 750, and Ilford SFX. Infrared is situated outside the visible spectrum at its red end —radiation having a wavelength between about 700 nanometers and 1 millimeter. (Merriam-Webster).

Kodak High Speed Infrared HIE is a moderately high contrast film and the most sensitive to infrared radiation with a range of 250nm (ultraviolet) to 900nm (infrared). It is the only infrared film lacking an anti-halation backing in its emulsion, allowing light to bounce back through the negative. This explains the halo effect around bright objects and why this film has more sensitivity to light than other infrareds. (Alternative Photography).

Konica 750 film is a fine grain infrared film with sensitivity to violet and blue from 400-500nm and sensitivity to infrared between 640-820nm, peaking at 750nm. Without filtration, Konica 750 is similar to panchromatic film, which records the full range of visible light. In the 120 format, this film produces fine grain photographs with excellent sharpness and tonality. (Alternative Photography).

Ilford SFX 200 has consistent sensitivity from ultraviolet to red and reaches out to 740nm in the infrared range, peaking at 720nm. SFX 200 is a medium speed film with moderate contrast and full panchromatic sensitivity without a filter. (Alternative Photography).

Elizabeth Holmes

The infrared process

Infrared

Nanometer