Photographer Howard Schatz has been featured here before, together with his wife Beverly Ornstein, with their amazing photographs of Olympic athletes. Their work isn't limited to the Olympics however. Since then, Schatz has worked on photographing babies, mothers, kinky subjects and many more. Here, we'll take a look at his photographs on boxers, expectant mothers and kinky practitioners.
Taking inspiration from his
seminal publication, "Athletes", Schatz hones in on the world of boxing, both inside the ring and out. In
"At the Fights: Inside the World of Professional Boxing", the photographer spent six years embedded with boxers ringside, as well as managers in the office and trainers in the locker rooms. Schatz spent countless hours not only photographing boxers and their teams, he also went in depth in interviews to provide commentaries for the publication. The result is a huge book with plenty of insights and images into the world of boxing.
In many of Schatz's boxer photographs, the images share a similar theme: strong harsh light on a boxer in his prime, against a plain dark background. With this simple setup however, Schatz is able to evoke immense drama through his unique use of lights and strobes. Here, we can see the use of off-camera flash capturing the subject in different boxing stances, stitched together to create a unique portrait panorama.
In other images, Schatz makes use of sprays of water or powder to create dramatic flairs, as if the boxers were dancing with droplets of light. In other photos, Schatz juxtaposes images of boxers before and after a fight; the before-photo shows the boxer prepared and calm, while the after-photo shows the boxer bruised and beaten. Indeed, the bloodied faces show how brutal a sport boxing can be.
Schatz reflects on this in his multi-year boxing project, learning how
constrained boxers are, both in their boxing ring space and moves, compared to other sports where players have entire football fields and teammates to work with. The photographer's dedication is evident in the stirring images he presents in his 256 page book.
Schatz doesn't just focus on overly athletic subjects. In his book, "With Child", the photographer-artist turns his attention to mothers and soon-to-be mothers. In this publication, Schatz explores motherhood and the intimate relationship between the mom and newborn baby.
In another series of photographs, Schatz captures a dancing mother in intervals of a few months, from conception up to full-term. Here, we can see the the immense body changes brought about by the growth of a child in the mother's belly, as Schatz uses the same hard light applied on stoic boxers above, but this time, the light amplifying the body of motherhood.
While it may sound like a walk in the park, photographing expectant mothers came with its own challenges. In a few instances, the subjects experienced their water breaking, signaling that their baby was due. Here, Schatz's early medical background came into good use and they were able to assist the mothers in labor.
In his earlier series, the photographer shows tribute to the athletic body, while here Schatz pay homage to the beaty of the woman's body, at the impending moment when she becomes a mom. As is his signature look, Schatz emphasizes lines and colors, and we can see the subtle differences in how a growing child can have on their mother.
On the opposite spectrum of Schatz's work is Kink, a body of work that delves into oft misunderstood world of kink and BDSM. Schatz describes their first foray into this world on a chance drive in San Francisco. The photographer
stumbled into an affair that involved several thousand people, and the entire event actually attracts almost half a million in attendance.
Such is the power of kink, that people from different backgrounds come together in loose clothing, tight clothing, or nothing at all (save a pair of sandals). From the outside, the spectacle looked overly shocking, but inside the fair, there was a joyous atmosphere.
This initial impression convinced Schatz to capture this moment and preserve it in this photobook. During the process, Schatz asked his subjects about their outfit and their lives. Some, like a
modern Snow White, described their outfit as a way to set themselves apart from everyone else. And others elaborated on their outfits' expression of sex, love and pain.
Check out our previous publication on Howard Schatz's Olympic portraits here. His above works are available for purchase: At the Fights, Kink and With Child. His previous work on Athletes is also available from different sources online.
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