Michelle Alena Magnoli
Michelle Alena Magnoli is a photographer based in San Jose, California. Specialising in fine art photography and family portraiture whilst also working at a local bakery in the bookkeeping and decorating departments. In her spare time she enjoys creating costumes and sourcing the perfect looks for her fine art series, spending quiet days by the coast researching new and unfamiliar places to travel to. Her work invokes a sense of being in a dream, a make believe world that is all at once both familiar and fantastic.
Words &Photography by Michelle Alena Magnoli
You could say that I wanted to get lost in make-believe and lose myself as one of these characters. Ten years later, I now find myself creating not out of necessity to heal, but to create worlds I would like to visit and illustrate narratives of stories I would like to read.
The small details are sometimes what make the biggest impact in the end.”
- Michelle Alena Magnoli
I prefer to photograph no faces, as it helps the audience project themselves into the scene and allows for a more open interpretation. While many of the self-portraits I have shot feel like visual diaries to me, I love hearing what others read into them. Images that feel like a piece of a daydream with an ethereal, mysterious quality is my goal.
Inspiration comes from everywhere for me because the number one influence is emotion itself. From viewing a film, listening to music, being in nature; oftentimes I find one interesting item that could be used as a prop, and it inspires a whole series. Spring is the most inspirational season to me, the landscape coming back to life, the rain and the growth that follows. Mary Oliver's poetry, faerie-tale illustrations such as John Bauer's, music and film have a big impact on my work. What I listen to and watch constantly changes, but currently I am drawing ideas from a song called "The Universe" by Gregory Alan Isavov and the film “Ondine” .
I began creating fine art images by way of self-portraits at a tough transitional time in my life. I was diagnosed with PTSD and subsequently had to drop out of college to learn how to cope with this new obstacle. The majority of my fine artwork is done not for profit but for the love of creating. I had just taken a black and white film course and fell in love with the whole dark room process and the magic of having an image come to life. I got an entry level DSLR camera so I could continue creating without having a dark room handy. I would describe my creative style as emotive above all else. When I begin putting together a new photography series, it always starts with a feeling that I want to portray. I don't necessarily have the model or even the location in mind yet, just the emotion itself. Once I have that pinpointed, I can really paint the full picture by pulling together the models, the location, lighting and then the colour toning following after. These days I prefer to use models rather than myself as the subject, models who often are friends stepping in.
“Images that feel like a piece of a daydream with an ethereal, mysterious quality is my goal.”
- Michele Alena Magnoli
One of my favourite shoots this last year was a 1970's inspired session with a couple outfitted in vintage clothing that was entirely thrifted. I wanted to capture the feeling of warm nostalgia, so the clothing had to be just right. The models and I spent a day going to many thrift stores until we found the perfect looks and I sewed whatever didn't fit quite right so that they would photograph well. The makeup, accessories and flowers were all done by the three of us.
Each photography series I have done lately has pushed me more creatively a bit further than before, each time. I have an on-going series called "Don't Wake the Dreamer" that I am looking forward to expanding this next year with a costume I made during shelter-in-place. I am a big believer in not needing a lot of money to produce images you can be proud of and get your idea across.
It doesn't have to be glamorous behind the scenes to photograph well; what is not pictured is blue painter's tape holding up floral foam all along the inside of the VW beetle, editing out the crooked seams of the clothing that had to be changed last minute, and even editing out tire marks or bird droppings on the pavement.
Black Sand Ballet
Thrifting provides a less wasteful, more sustainable option than fast fashion, and it can influence the tone of the shoot in unpredictable and welcome ways. When creating a gown from scratch, it gives me more control over the aesthetic of the photoshoot. Rather than researching a particular type of dress and trying to simply will it into existence, I can go to the fabric store and make it up as I go. One recent gown began as an experiment in crocheting with leftover fabric scraps and turned into my favourite creation yet. I do not always have the budget to create as elaborately as I would like, but in the early days of quarantine I had more time to create than ever before and play around with different mediums.
It was a time full of uncertainty, so I threw myself into creative projects and tried not to focus on the heaviness of the pandemic in the world. I sewed the most ambitious costume yet and put together a few props to go along with it. Rather than many smaller ideas, I am now putting more effort into just two or three larger series per year. It can be hard to be patient, but the result is definitely worth it. The small details are sometimes what make the biggest impact in the end.
To find out more about Michelle visit http://www.michellealenamagnoli.com/ or follow @michelle_a_m_