Scanned from The Art of Photographing Women by Tom Grill and Mark Scanlon
You should all know by now that I am enormously fond of the art of hand-tinting in photographs. Of course James Wedge is the Emperor of such artistry, but this example (by Tom Grill, I think. This book is frustratingly vague about credits…) is utterly lovely in every way. Apparently he tinted it using home food-colouring – and it is definitely quite edible!
Hauntingly beautiful. I can never, ever resist a photoshoot inspired by clowns. (Indeed, Mr Wedge seems to have made them something of a trademark!) That make-up, that neck ruff…
Scanned from Painted Ladies: Art of Hand Colouring in Photography by James Wedge.
What is this mysterious alchemy that makes James Wedge’s version of the pin-up cliché somehow completely wonderful to my eyes? I think the hand-tinting is a nod to the fictitious nature of the pin-up, completely revelling in its own artifice and utilizing its superficiality to create something fresh – despite its inherently retrospective origins. Also, it doesn’t involve Photoshop. Modern photographers need to take serious note.
19 Magazine
, May 1974. Scanned by Miss Peelpants.
Scanned from Masterpieces of Erotic Photography. I assumed it was a James Wedge set when I first flicked through the book!
No, I’m not being rude, it’s the actual title of the article which accompanied this amazing photo by the endlessly fabulous James Wedge (19 Magazine, March 1974). I love his photos. I love his hats (remind me to photograph mine some day…). I love his look.
It’s quite like his hand-tinted photo which has always been one of my favourite images in the Marnie Fogg Boutique book. Amazing!
Liz Eggleston 
