Georges Dambier: Parisian

В то время как съемки в стерильных студиях были неписанным этикетом, французский модный фотограф Жорж Дамбье (Georges Dambier) вывел своих моделей на солнечные улицы. Он добился признания в 50-х, снимая для журнала ELLE самых очаровательных женщин своего времени - Брижитт Бардо, Капучине,  Мари-Элен Арно, Айви Николсон, Беттину Грациани и сестер-моделей Дориан Ли и Сьюзи Паркер. Карьера Дамбье началась после случайного столкновения с кинодивой Ритой Хэйуорт в ночном клубе Le Jimmy’s в пост-военном Париже. Эксклюзивные фото голливудской сирены он обменял... на должность в газете France Dimanche Пьера Лазареффа. "Я сказал, что мне не нужны деньги, а вот позиция штатного фотографа будет как раз кстати," - вспоминает 86-летний Дамбье.


Capucine, Café de la Paix, 1952


Girl in Red at the Concorde Place, for ELLE Winter Collection, Paris 1957


Karen with Matadors, Palma de Majorque, Spain 1958


The Bikini Girl on the Boardwalk, pour Jour de France, Deauville




Жорж Дамбье (Georges Dambier)

When you started, which designers did you find particularly inspiring?
Initially I worked quite a bit with an old friend called Alwin Camble, but quite soon I started to shoot a lot of clothes by Jacques Fath. We became close friends and worked a lot together.

What are your fondest fashion shoot stories?
There are quite a few about Dorian Leigh, but none that are suitable to share!

What was your favorite location to work in?
Paris – it was my town. My friends were there so it was comfortable and easy. I loved going to Morocco, Italy and Spain too.

Is there anyone you regret never having photographed?
Audrey Hepburn. I had the opportunity once when she was in Paris, but I was away shooting at the time and missed out. It still makes me sad.

Which modern photographers do you admire?
They have very different styles, but Tim Walker and Ellen Von Unwerth.

Born in 1925, Georges Dambier first went to work for painter Paul Colin, where he learnt drawing and graphic design. Then he landed a job as assistant to Willy Rizzo, a famous portraitist photographer (Harcourt’s Studio, Paris Match). There, he discovered photography and was taught the fundamentals of this art, especially lighting.
Georges Dambier was 20 when the Second World War came to an end, a moment when the social scene in Paris suddenly took off. Nightlife, subdued during the Occupation, exploded. Le Bœuf sur le toit, Le Lido, la Rose Rouge, Le Lorientais, Le Tabou : he frequented cabarets and jazz clubs in Saint Germain des Prés, where famous artists and celebrities organised glittering parties and balls. One night, he managed to take pictures of Rita Hayworth who had come incognito to a famous night club, Le Jimmy’s. He sold the exclusive images to France Dimanche, a daily magazine recently created by Max Corre and Pierre Lazareff, and won himself a job on the magazine as a photo-reporter. In his new post, he was sent to all over the world to cover current events. However, with his predilection for graphic design and aesthetics, his liking for refined mise-en-scene, and at the urging of many friends, such as Capucine, Suzy Parker, Jacques Fath, Bettina, Brigitte Bardot, Jean Barthet, he was lead towards fashion photography.

As Georges Dambier built and perfected his craft, he was hired by Helene Lazareff, director of ELLE, the fashion magazine. She encouraged him and gave him his first assignment as a fashion photographer. Georges Dambier did not conform to the standard technique of taking fashion pictures, with models standing emotionless and seemingly indifferent to the camera. Instead, he showed models smiling, laughing and often in action. His models were surrounded by local people in a market place in Marrakech, or in a village in Corsica, or – and above all – in his beloved Paris.

Most of all, it was Georges Dambier’s ability to put his subjects at ease (many of them were friends) that helped him create true, intimate and lasting images. With his delicate style, and refined technique, his work revealed a reality of great elegance. As his career blossomed, he became widely known for his ability to capture the essence of feminine chic and glamour in his images.

In 1954, Robert Capa asked him to lead a fashion department at the Magnum Photo Agency. Unfortunately, Capa died a few weeks later, while covering the Indochinese war. Meanwhile, Georges Dambier set up his own studio in Paris, Rue de la Bienfaisance. As a freelance photographer, he continued to contribute to ELLE and other magazines: Vogue, Le Jardin des Modes, Marie France…He also collaborated with Françoise Giroud and Christine Collanges at L’Express. Big advertising campaigns (Synergie, Havas, Publicis), and contracts for many brands such as L’Oréal, Carita, Jacques Dessange followed.

In addition to his work in advertising, Georges Dambier did portraits for record covers and posters for his great friend, the producer Eddie Barclay and Jacques Canetti. As his reputation grew, so did opportunities to meet and photograph celebrities from different worlds.  He captured the faces of the most notable artists of the 60’s: Sacha Distel, Zizi Jeanmaire, Dalida, Jeanne Moreau... His impressive client list included celebrities (Cerdan, Cocteau…), singers (Johnny Hallyday, Sylvie Vartan, Charles Aznavour…), actors (Alain Delon, Françoise Dorléac, Catherine Deneuve…) and many others.

In 1964, Georges Dambier launched his own project: a magazine for young people, dedicated to culture and fashion: TWENTY. He hired young artists and photographers: Just Jaeckin, Jean Paul Goude, Philippe Labro, Copi, Bosc and many others who would later become famous in their own right. Twenty lasted two eventful years.

In 1976, he created the magazine VSD with his old friend Maurice Siegel. Georges Dambier led the artistic side of the magazine and headed the photographic section. VSD was an instant success.

In the late eighties, Georges Dambier retired to a quieter life in the countryside. He now lives in the Perigord, in a hotel which he converted from an old familial mansion. The design of the interiors reveals that his exquisite taste for design and decoration is unchanged.

 
Alwin Camble surrealist. This picture was made for Alwin Camble in 1950. It is one of the first fashion photo Georges has made.


Girl in Red at the Concorde Place, For ELLE Winter Collection, Paris 1957


Groupe Place de la Concord, pour Jour de France, 1960


Paris Bal, For Jour de France, Paris, 1960


Karen with Matadors, Advertising, Palma de Majorque, Spain 1958


La Librairie, Jacques Fath, Paris 1954


Lucinda in a Telephone Box, London, 1959


Lucinda in London, 1959




Simone D'Aillencourt




Dorian Leigh et Suzy Parker


Suzy Parker and the Old Man




Suzy Parker Daffodil, pour ELLE, Spring Collection, Paris


Suzy Parker Hydrangea, pour ELLE, Spring collection, Paris


Suzy Parker et les Momes


Suzy Parker Photographer with Posters


Suzy Parker Tour Eiffel, pour ELLE, Winter Givenchy, Paris


Suzy Parker with Tulips, pour ELLE, Spring Collection, Paris


Barbara and Marie Helene, pour ELLE, Cap d’ Antibes, Eden Roc


Barbara Mullen on the Boardwalk, St. Tropez


Bettina at the Miro Show, pour ELLE, Summer Collection Jacques Fath, Paris




Dorian Leigh at the Palace


Dorian Leigh au Normandie


Dorian Leigh Champs Elysees, For ELLE Winter Collection, Lanvin Castillo, Paris 1953


Dorian, Paris 1953


Fionna Campbell- Walter at the Bouquinistes, For ELLE Winter Collection, Paris 1953

 
Sophie Litvak 1952


Sophie Litvak - avenue de Messine, 1952




The Bikini Girl on the Boardwalk, pour Jour de France, Deauville


Catherine and Anka, pour ELLE, Saint Tropez


Catherine and her Surfboard, Biarritz, 1959


Catherine Hotel du Palais, Advertising, Biarritz 1960


 


The Elegant Passerby, pour Nouveau Femina, Paris 1953


Simone D'Aillencourt
 
Simone D'Aillencourt

  

 
Ivy Nicholson, 1954 for Elle

 
Ivy Nicholson, 1956
 

  
Capucine

Capucine - café de la Paix, 1952


Suzy Parker
 
Suzy Parker, Morocco, pour Elle, April 1953




Fiona Campbell Walter with the Hackney Horse, pour ELLE Winter Collection Marc Bohan, Paris

  


   
Bettina at the Gas Station, Paris


Lia and the Persavon bill.

 
Gigi, pour ELLE Magazine 1957

 
Bettina Graziani

 

 
 
Ivy Nicholson


Gigi, Ostia June 1952

 

 
Lucinda, 1958

 
Fiona Campbell Walter, Corsica 1954

 

 
Marie Helen Arnaud, French Riviera June 1957

 
Marie Helene Arnaud; Guilaine Arsac

 

 

 


Ghislaine Arsac, Spring Hat pour L'Express, Paris (1956)


Marie Helene Arnaud, Cap d'Antibes

 
Marie Helene et la Poisson Rouge, Paris 1957

 
Maria Reachi in the castle of Diocletian, Yugoslavia 1955


Jill Howard, 1956

 

 
Suzy Parker, Morocco, pour Elle, April 1953

 

 
Karen Blangueron, 1959 (left)
  
Dorian Leigh, 1953

 
 
Dorian Leigh

 

 


Maxime de la Falaise, Biarritz, 1950

 

 
Marie Helen Arnaud, 1957

 
Anna Carina, ELLE 1959






Maroc Loreal 1970




Ceylan 1969



Personalities




Alain Delon with Mireiile Darc


CAtherine Deneuve


Françoise Dorléac


Jeanne Moreau

 
Ives Montand; Jean Barthet


Marie Laforet; Zizi Jeanmaraire

 
Robert Hossein; Lucia Bose


Jacques Fath Dans son Atelier, Paris




Brigite Bardot



Dalida

 
Jean Cocteau, Biarritz 1949; Jean Cocteau with Jean-Pierre Melville

 
Sylvie Vartan; Gene Tierney

 
Geraldine Chaplin; Marie Hose Nath

 
Nadine de Rothschild - Nadine Tallier was at this time a Musical artist


Yves Robert and Dany Robin

Официальный сайт: Georges Dambier