Cornel lucas biography

One of world’s most celebrated photographers, Cornel Lucas () enjoyed a career at the forefront of photography for over 70 years.

Cornel lucas biography Add to Collection Add new or search Public collection title. Follow vintageshowbiz. And he was: the result of the session was a seminal five-shot series of photographs which made Lucas the most sought-after portrait-maker of the stars. Suddenly a light came on in the entrance to the studio a hundred feet away, and she and her entourage proceeded across the stage.

Born in Highbury north London, his interest in photography was first nurtured by his mother, who bought him a Kodak Box Brownie camera for his 11th birthday. Blessed with six sisters, he was never short of young "in house" models and his ability as a portrait photographer soon become apparent. With the one bathroom in their home doubling as a darkroom, the whole family watched in wonder as young Cornel's pictures developed.

At age fifteen, Lucas was then introduced to the film industry by his brother who worked in a film-processing laboratory.

Working as a junior trainee, Lucas earned a small salary that enabled him to study photography part-time at Westminster University. At the start of the war he joined the Royal Air Force and was soon posted to the RAF school of photography, in Farnborough, Hampshire. Throughout his years in the RAF, Lucas was engaged in top-secret aerial reconnaissance assignments.

However, when peace was declared he turned his camera in an altogether more glamorous direction, beginning work at Denham Film Studios.

Cornel lucas photographer Facebook Twitter Instagram Pinterest Tumblr. Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in Please refresh your browser to be logged in. Paul Vitello 18 November A classic romance, full of passion, obsession and jealousy.

Here he became well known for his brilliant portraiture and as the master of a huge 12"x10" plate camera, capable of delivering unmatched image quality. When international superstars came to work on British productions, they were invariably photographed by Lucas to create their publicity stills.

During the s and s Lucas soon became the UK’s leading movie star photographer, capturing the great and the good of both the UK and US film industries.

During the making of 'No Highway' (), his skill and expertise as a portrait photographer lead to a special session with Marlene Dietrich. The success of these images, and the many others, lead to the Rank Organisation suggesting he leave Denham and set up a specially equipped studio at Pinewood to photograph the fifty plus major film stars they had under contract.

Cornel lucas biography wikipedia In , building on his success, Lucas turned freelance and opened his own studio in Flood Street, Chelsea, where he continued to specialise in portraiture, while also embracing wider aspects of photography, particularly high-fashion advertising and television commercials. I rushed into the studio and was given a set on a small corner of an enormous ft. However, Castellani wanted a natural beauty shot and asked me to tell her to remove all her makeup and to pull her hair back into a bun. A classic romance, full of passion, obsession and jealousy.

A specially created portrait studio was fitted out on the site of an old swimming pool to mirror what Hollywood photographers such as Clarence Sinclair Bull had created for MGM in the s. From here Lucas produced the exceptional images that have, in the words of Lord Puttnam, "become the photographic icons by which we come to know and remember the stars" of this golden age of cinema.

During these years Lucas worked on some of the most memorable films of our time, building up a strong association with Pinewood, Columbia and Universal Studios.

In Lucas left Pinewood and moved into the freelance world, opening his own studio in Chelsea's Flood Street where he made a second career embracing other aspects of photography such as advertising and fashion, whilst continuing as a portraitist.

Capturing the mood and personality of his sitters, his portraits possess a warmth and honesty, a life, rich in texture that immediately impact on the viewer, a timeless quality that will be appreciated and remembered for many years to come.

In the s Lord Puttnam paid tribute to Lucas' enduring talent and revived interest in his career by commissioning new work on films he was producing such as The Mission (), as well as writing the foreword to Lucas' first book of film portraits - Heads and Tales.

Cornel lucas biography death Suddenly she dropped the coat to reveal an extraordinary mink bikini. Contents move to sidebar hide. Thank you for registering Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in Please refresh your browser to be logged in. With a love for all things vintage and a passion for motherhood, Willow is always on the lookout for the next big find.

Then in Lucas became the only photographer ever to be awarded a BAFTA for his outstanding contribution to the British Film industry. In after international exhibitions in Brazil, Holland and America, a second limited edition publication – Shooting Stars, was produced to coincide with a lifetime retrospective held at the prestigious National Portrait Gallery in London.

Cornel Lucas' work can be seen on permanent display at some of Europe’s most famous photographic venues, London's Photographers Gallery, the Victoria & Albert Museum, Chris Beetle's Gallery and BAFTA.

His original 12"x10" camera and more examples of his fine work can also be seen in Bradford's National Media Museum. To commemorate his life and work, two short films and a limited edition of British postage stamps have also been produced.