Randal Ford
Born
Dallas, Texas
Alma materTexas A&M University[1]
Occupation(s)Photographer and portraitist[2][3]
Websiterandalford.art
www.randalford.com

Randal Ford is an American photographer and portraitist notable for his work The Animal Kingdom, as well as his photography for Texas Monthly.[4][5][3] Based in Austin,[5] his work has been featured in TIME Magazine, Texas Monthly, and Communication Arts.[6][7] In contrast to other photographers and institutions that capture images of animals, Randal Ford's work seeks to photograph animals in studio to give the impression that "the animals are introducing themselves."[5][8]

Early life

Randal Ford grew up in Dallas, where he attended Highland Park High School. He graduated from Texas A&M University, where he studied business and dabbled in photography through shooting for the student newspaper.[1] While studying at the university, Ford was influenced by Richard Avedon's work, In the American West, "that captured the spirit of place through people Avedon encountered at slaughterhouses, ranches, and state fairs."[4]

Career

Randal Ford began his career as a wildlife photographer with a photoshoot in a rural area of Texas, near the city of Waco, that highlighted farm life.[4] This was featured in Dairy Today.[9] Inspired by Richard Avedon, Randal Ford uses the aesthetic promulgated In the American West, making "Head-on portraits with a no-frills sensibility", except centered on animals, rather than on persons.[10][5] Ford, in explaining his reasoning in photographing animals, stated:[11]

Over 40,000 years ago, we began to depict animals in cave drawings. Throughout history, mankind’s consistent portrayal of animals in art is a testament to the importance of our connection with the animal kingdom. As mankind evolved, so did our artwork. We began to not only depict, but personify animals. We began to see our human emotions in animals. This anthropomorphism or personification connected us to animals on a deeper and more emotional level. This collection is my perspective and portrayal of the animal kingdom. As a portrait photographer, my intention is for these animal portraits to speak to you. What they say depends on the conscious and subconscious feelings you embody. By photographing each subject in studio on a neutral background, I am creating a portrait that is focused on the animal only. This deconstructive approach to portraiture allows you to experience the creature in a way otherwise not possible. Through this language of simplistic portraiture, these photographs are aimed to elicit an emotion in you. Whether it’s beauty, power, or humor, I want to give animals the opportunity to tell their story and to connect with you.[11]

The Animal Kingdom took two years to complete, with Randal Ford spending time on both commercial and editorial photography.[12] The animals featured in the work were sometimes obtained from Hollywood Animals and Cat Haven; the photoshoots themselves were done using a professional-grade Nikon D850.[12] The one hundred and fifty animals that Ford captured for this project included a brown goat,[13] mountain lion, bull, duck, chimpanzee, skunk, peacock, cheetah, great horned owl, two-toed sloth, African elephant and American buffalo, among others.[14][5][15] The Animal Kingdom placed number one in the International Photo Awards competition in 2017.[16][14] The Animal Kingdom: A Collection of Portraits is published by Rizzoli and Funds collected from purchases of The Animal Kingdom are dispatched to Project Survival’s Cat Haven, a park engaged in the preservation of wild cats.[14][17][18]

Randal Ford has photographically recreated covers for L.L.Bean, including antique covers, as well as vintage illustrations, for modern use.[19][20]

The cover story of the August 2013 issue of TIME Magazine discussed "the growing trend of childless couples in America" and its illustrations were photographed by Randal Ford, who stated that his "goal for the cover was to show two people as a family unit".[1] He similarly recreated the 1961 cover for Field & Stream.[21] Ford has shot more than twenty covers for the Texas Monthly magazine.[5]

Randal Ford's portraits formed the basis for the book The Amazing Faith of Texas, a survey of the various faiths followed by the residents of the American state of Texas.[22] The book was published by the University of Texas Press.[23][5]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Wallace, Vaughn (1 August 2013). "Behind the Cover: The Childfree Life by Randal Ford". TIME Magazine.
  2. ↑ Yenisey, Zeynep (18 January 2019). "'The Animal Kingdom: A Collection of Portraits' is a Ferociously Cool Photo Book". Maxim. Calling all animal lovers looking for a ferociously cool photo book for their coffee table--look no further than The Animal Kingdom: A Collection of Portraits from wildlife photographer Randal Ford.
  3. 1 2 von Hoffmann, Emily (25 May 2017). "Wildlife Gets the Celebrity Photo Shoot Treatment". Medium. Randal Ford believes that simplicity is the ultimate sophistication. An accomplished portraitist with commissions from the largest agencies and brands, Ford has changed tack with his series Animal Kingdom.
  4. 1 2 3 Horne, Lydia (30 November 2018). "Glimpse Your Inner Self in These Evocative Animal Portraits". Wired. For many, it was their first job, the time they got their foot in the door. For Randal Ford, it was a commercial photoshoot with 10 cows on a dairy farm in rural Texas. The client was thrilled with Ford's conceptual series; the dairy community left rather confused. Ford was inspired, and his first foray into animal portraiture eventually lead to his magnum opus, The Animal Kingdom.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Locke, Charley (1 October 2018). "Randal Ford on Photographing 'The Animal Kingdom'". Texas Monthly. Austin-based photographer Randal Ford started the sessions for his latest portrait collection as he always does. ... The focus of Ford's most recent body of work, after all, wasn't on humans. For The Animal Kingdom: A Collection of Portraits (Rizzoli), the photographer—who has shot more than twenty covers for Texas Monthly—created portraits of over a hundred different beasts and critters, from horny toads to Longhorns. But these aren't typical National Geographic–style images. "I wanted to use my lighting in studio to create a certain polish and beautiful aesthetic that you can't do when photographing an animal in the wild," Ford says. The resulting likenesses are vivid and strikingly personal, as if the animals are introducing themselves.
  6. ↑ Winters, Dan (25 September 2018). "Animal Kingdom: A Collection of Portraits". Rizzoli New York. Randal Ford's works have appeared on the cover of Time, Texas Monthly, and Communication Arts, the advertising industry's most prestigious publication.
  7. ↑ Copelan, Christine (25 September 2018). "Photos: These Stunning Animal Portraits Will Touch Your Heart". Parade. Just like high school, nature is full of class clowns, punks, drama geeks and stoics—and acclaimed photographer Randal Ford, whose work has appeared on the cover of Time and Communication Arts, captures these distinct personalities in Animal Kingdom: A Collection of Portraits.
  8. ↑ McClurg, Jocelyn (5 December 2018). "10 gorgeous coffee-table books perfect for the book lover on your holiday gift list". USA Today. Randal Ford literally shoots "portraits" of lions and tigers and bears (and pigs and hens and sloths and horses and cows and chimps) in a studio setting against a white backdrop.
  9. ↑ Locke, Charley (1 October 2018). "Randal Ford on Photographing 'The Animal Kingdom'". Texas Monthly. A decade ago, Ford found himself taking photos of cows in studio for the magazine Dairy Today.
  10. ↑ Horne, Lydia (30 November 2018). "Glimpse Your Inner Self in These Evocative Animal Portraits". Wired. Ford is historically a portrait photographer of humans. In college, he was inspired by Richard Avedon's In the American West, the prolific 1978 series that captured the spirit of place through people Avedon encountered at slaughterhouses, ranches, and state fairs. Ford's work advances American West's aesthetic: Head-on portraits with a no-frills sensibility—just replace Avedon's brooding Midwestern teen with an upside down sloth.
  11. 1 2 Wong, Shavonne (12 December 2018). "How Photographer Randal Ford Shot the Animal Kingdom, a Book of Over 150 Animal Portraits". Fstoppers.
  12. 1 2 Horne, Lydia (30 November 2018). "Glimpse Your Inner Self in These Evocative Animal Portraits". Wired. The Animal Kingdom is the culmination of nearly two years of commercial and editorial photography. Before approaching a publisher, Ford set an intention: To gather photographs of 150 different animals against neutral backgrounds in a studio setting. For a few of his shoots, he used professionally trained animals available for rent through services such as Hollywood Animals or Cat Haven. ... When he's on set, Ford has one or two assistants in tow and his trusty Nikon D850 camera.
  13. ↑ "Meet the poser chimp and other supermodel animals". The Telegraph. 1 October 2018.
  14. 1 2 3 Murray, Billy (10 October 2018). "The Humanity Of Wildlife, In 150 Photos". Feature Shoot. In 2017, Randal Ford's animal photographs were awarded first place and best of show in the fine art category in the International Photo Awards competition. Nearly a year later, Rizzoli New York published his first monograph, The Animal Kingdom: A Collection Of Portraits. Over five years in the making, the book features 150 up close and personal animal portraits, from a pensive chimpanzee to a fierce spotted leopard. Proceeds from the sale of this book benefit Project Survival's Cat Haven, a park dedicated to the preservation of wild cats.
  15. ↑ Wynn, Christopher (19 November 2018). "Texas artist Randal Ford's 'Animal Kingdom' brings wild and wonderful things to your coffee table". The Dallas Morning News.
  16. ↑ "Randal Ford". Texas Book Festival. Retrieved 26 January 2019. Randal Ford's works have appeared on the cover of Time, Texas Monthly, and Communication Arts, the advertising industry's most prestigious publication. Among other accolades, his animal photographs were awarded first place and best of show in the fine art category in the prestigious International Photo Awards competition in 2017.
  17. ↑ Bakar, Faima (1 November 2018). "Photographer snaps pictures of 150 wild animals in a studio photoshoot". Metro. The Animal Kingdom: A Collections of Portraits by Randal Ford is published by Rizzoli and is available to buy for £29.95.
  18. ↑ "SHOOT NDS alum Randal Ford authors "The Animal Kingdom: A Collection of Portraits"". Shoot. 4 September 2018.
  19. ↑ Ramirez, Elva (19 January 2012). "Fishing for Nostalgia to Mark 100 Years of L.L. Bean". Wall Street Journal. When photographer Randal Ford set out to recreate a 79-year-old L.L. Bean catalog cover, he insisted on one crucial detail: The fish in the photo had to be real, and they had to be alive. Mr. Ford's photograph re-imagines a 1933 illustrated catalog cover in which a grandfatherly type slyly pays off a little boy for his freshly caught trout.
  20. ↑ Davis, Kathleen (3 February 2012). "L. L. Bean Meticulously Recreates Old Catalog Illustrations". Popular Photography. To celebrate its 100-year anniversary, L.L. Bean is using photographer Randal Ford to re-create some of their old catalog illustrations, including the first cover.
  21. ↑ Dool, Greg (13 June 2017). "Field & Stream Goes Vintage with June/July Cover". Folio.
  22. ↑ Shea, Mike (1 December 2006). "The Amazing Faith of Texas". Texas Monthly.
  23. ↑ Spence, Roy (5 June 2006). "The Amazing Faith of Texas Common Ground on Higher Ground By Roy M. Spence, with the People of Texas".
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