User:Michellemagdalena

Excerpt from The Weekly, by Walter Rice

For Magdalena, at the ripe old age of 24, the fundamentals are in place for a conjunction of elements that will announce her arrival as a significant artist. She thought that moment came with “Magnolia.”

“After I took that picture I wanted to retire,” she says, laughing at the conceit. “I was 20 years old. I had just been taking nudes for three years, learning how to interpret form, how to compose, work with the human body within my frame.”

It’s a gorgeous shot. The giant flower cradled by the sensually nude 6’ 2” woman (most of Magdalena’s subjects are women) was found behind Monterey High and summons Georgia O’Keeffe. The composition is a synthesis of Imogen Cunningham, Ansel Adams and Edward Weston, and it’s a worthy homage, informed by her own aesthetic philosophy.

“I shoot symmetrically,” she says, gesturing with her hands. “Meaning: balanced, centered, a strong composition that guides you to the subject. I’m really into divine symmetry. DaVinci used it in his drawings. If you look at a leaf, a human, they’re balanced. I like to create photos that make you feel at peace.”