“Stick up for yourself! You are worth a

lot more than you think. You are

deserving of success just as

much as anyone.”

 

Rose Callahan is a New York based photographer and director focusing on character-driven portraits of cultural tastemakers. With curiosity and empathy she makes portraits that celebrate individuality and the transformative power of style. Two coffee table books of Rose’s portraits have been published: “I am Dandy” and “We are Dandy”. The books profile a diverse curation of men around the globe for whom dressing is elevated to an art. Both books are published by Gestatlen with co-author Nathaniel Adams.

​Rose works with commercial clients such as American Express, Levis, Mastercard, NBCUniversal, Random House, Rosewood Hotels, and her images have appeared in L’Uomo Vogue, Esquire, Cartier Art, London Sunday Times, GQ South Africa, Wall Street Journal, and The Rake. Most notably, Rose is the exclusive photographer for the Metropolitan Opera’s style blog “Last Night at the Met”, where she has documented the diverse personal style of the audience since 2013.

Rose Callahan’s photographs have been exhibited at RISD Museum in Providence,RI, and are featured in the ongoing traveling exhibit for the Museum of Contemporary Photography “Dandy Lion” in Chicago, San Francisco, Miami, and Brighton, United Kingdom. When not roving the world scouting for creative and eccentric subjects, Rose enjoys cultivating green things in her garden and is always up for trying a new absinthe. She secretly loves to give directions to tourists in NYC.

Hi Rose, How are you? Talk to me about your current mood/feelings…

Right now I am weary of the isolation and so ready to go off on a new adventure (or just go out with friends again!), but I’m also peaceful at home in my bubble with my husband Kelly. I suppose this dichotomy always exists, but it is very clear at this time. I wonder like everyone: how will the experience of the pandemic change us?

 

It’s evident that the current world pandemic is affecting the creative industries, both in positive and negative ways – how has it affected you directly?

The lockdown and extended social distancing has affected most of my clients, so it is a big blow. The Met Opera, who I’ve worked with since 2013, had to completely cancel the 2020/21 season, for instance. But I began shooting smaller productions again in August, so I feel like things are slowly returning. During the beginning of the lockdown I experimented with creating remote portraits of friends and strangers through zoom and facetime. I developed a technique where I would project their images into a surface in my space that looked like a portal into a magic realm. The series is called Faraway Nearby. It was wildly fun and challenging to do and made me slow way down, something I had felt the need to do even before the pandemic. Creating in this way felt like using and 8×10 antique film camera and I loved it. As I start shooting again I am trying to keep that slow, mindful approach, and savour every moment with my subject.

 

 

 

What are the positives surrounding what’s happening right now…

I’m someone who loves to go out and get glamorous and socialize, so without that as a distraction then the flow of daily life comes into focus. It can be mundane, but I have enjoyed daily life more. Part of my daily life has been tending to my backyard garden, and I have loved every moment of digging in the dirt and watching things grow. This has become a deep passion that I know will be with me from now on. I feel like this moment is a lot like what happened after 9/11 or 2008 financial crisis – it will birth a lot of ideas, creative projects, career pivots for many people, and this is very exciting to imagine. It’s also laid bare the injustices in our society.  Hopefully this can be the moment where we begin to dismantle white supremacy and begin healing.

 

How do you see the creative industry recovering?

The creative industry has always been exceptionally independent and innovative, generally speaking, so I think that they will recover by finding creative ways to pivot or offer new services or innovate with technology. We are pretty darn good at adapting, as our industry is essentially constantly changing! However, our businesses are nearly always attached to servicing larger companies that are not so nimble. I think there will be a big prolonged adjustment period while businesses restructure and find their footing. In the meantime, I hope that the government programs and mutual aid can help keep the creators afloat. It’s true that if you just survive this then that is enough!  Technology has and will play a huge roll in how we work and connect to our audience and clients as we recover from the pandemic. At the same time I think there will definitely be a continued move towards having analog, personal experiences, and crafted objects be super premium commodities.

 

Take me back to humble beginnings…

I was born in the middle of San Francisco, and when I was eight my family moved to a small town in the Sierra Nevada foothills called Grass Valley, CA. It is a Gold Rush era town with a lot of history and Victorian architecture which, looking back, influenced my aesthetics in a big way. Growing up there my friends and I had to get creative to have fun, since it was pretty sleepy. I think that spurred my creativity, although art was in my blood from my grandmother (a painter) and my mother (a photographer). When I was about ten my mother, Karen Callahan, started taking photography classes and she would bring me to the darkroom with her. I started taking photos, mostly of my self and my weird friends, with an old 35mm camera we shared. It felt very natural for me. I had always loved to draw from a very young age, but I never quite felt like I could capture what I wanted. Making photos was more immediate and satisfying, so I continued with it through school and college at California College of Arts in Oakland. When I graduated I stayed in the Bay Area and worked in a camera store, and a high-end photo print lab (also a bunch of vintage clothing stores along the way!). A few friends had moved to Williamsburg Brooklyn so when one of them was in need of a roommate in September 1999 I said I’d moved in with her for four months. I figured what better way to ring in the new millennium?! Well, once I saw the excitement and possibilities in New York…how could I ever return? I assisted photographers for a few years and began slowly shooting my own jobs. That was in 2003. In 2008 I started the “Dandy Portraits”, which was a personal portrait project on the dandies of today. The project was inspired by my husband Kelly’s search for tailor who could make him a custom suit. In his research he came across the world of well-dressed men, and the sky opened up for me. The project eventually became two coffee table books: “I am Dandy” and “We are Dandy”, both published by Gestatlen with co-author Nathaniel Adams. This ten-year body of work transformed everything. I no longer see the separation between my personal work and my commercial work; they are both woven together and fascinated with exploring how we express ourselves through style.

 

What does a typical day look like for Rose?

There are two typical days for me: when I am shooting, and when I’m doing all the rest.

A shoot day can vary wildly according to how long the shoot is, who the subject is, what location, etc. A tremendous amount of pre planning goes into shooting, and I always have to be completely packed the evening before. On the day of, I like to do a short meditation and stretching, and have a healthy bit to eat. Sometimes I am too nervous to eat, but I try! After the shoot I am usually the best kind of tired, and I love to take a catnap. I have a wonderful feeling of completion. In ideal times I would go out later with friends for dinner and drinks.

My other typical day is what I do 80% of the time: a mix of administrative, editing, planning, and daily tasks. I usually like to start with stretching and a meditation. Lately I’ve been trying to listen more closely to my body and energy levels to decide which tasks are best to do at a given moment. I like to take breaks from the computer to check out my plants and take a peek at the garden.

 

When was the moment you knew you wanted to be a photographer?

I can pin down the moment I knew a photo I had taken was good, because I kept wanting to look at it. It was a black and white 35mm portrait of my two punk friends hanging out in our town, shot on one of my first rolls of film in high school. It was mostly the way my friends were looking at me with this unsatisfied angst that transported them beyond our small town. But it was also an imperceptible thing that was so pleasing, beyond words, that kept me looking.  I knew I wanted to make portraits.  I felt photography had unlimited possibilities like the expressions on someone’s face, and I still do today.

 

 

 

 

Your style is so distinctive, to me, you aren’t a photographer, you are an artist.  How did you discover your photo style?

Wow, that is the ultimate compliment!  Honestly it’s hard for me to see “my style” because it’s such an intuitive part of me. But over the years of reflecting on how I work, and through the important process of editing, I have come to understand what is at the heart of my practice: I am searching for the unique and authentic beauty of the people I photograph. But there are many layers. I am also searching for the iconic moment of each person. I love things that are well crafted and classic, and I like to create images like this also. Inevitably my images will be evidence of a particular moment in time, but the intention behind them is for the timeless. Another part of my style is, well, style. I am searching for elegance in my own life so I’m searching for it in the world. The people I’m drawn to are people who are also crafting their identity through style. Aesthetically, my photographic style is a mix of my three original photo influences: Hollywood golden age portraiture, classic documentary (ala Bruce Davidson and Mary Ellen Mark), and Dada imagery. Another element of my style is how I actually conduct a shoot, and this is very intuitive. Above all I want the subject to feel accepted: that they don’t have to try to be anything but themselves. What I am seeing through the lens guides my body. I like to move a lot, and I am constantly fine tuning lights and my composition to find that moment when it all comes together with the mood of the subject, and then I yell or squeal or say something embarrassing, but I don’t care because it feels terrific!

 

Do clients ever ask you to shoot in a different photo style? And do you?

Short answer is no, I’m not asked to shoot in a different style, because if a client is hiring me for a job they have usually gone through a lengthy process of choosing me precisely for my style and how I will approach a shoot. However, working with a client is always collaborative, and there are always parameters. In general I enjoy working with direction from creative directors and editors. Certain limitations can genuinely spark creativity. There has to be trust and respect on both sides, so magic can happen.

 

 

“You belong. You did not miss out”

 

 

 

 

What message do you aim to convey within your work?

That you belong. You did not miss out, the best time is this moment, and you are invited to the party. The world is vast and beautiful and filled with fascinating people.

 

I’ve seen you’ve been with Ellen von Unwerth, tell me more about that relationship, are you collaborators?

I met Ellen through my good friend Syrie Moskowitz who has modelled for her many times. We’ve spent a few evenings together, and I love how she is just constantly on the look out for photos, and when you are in front of her camera suddenly you become one of her photos – it’s extraordinary. I’ve always adored her work, so it’s fun to get more of feel for her as a person. I hope to make her portrait one day – she has fantastic style.

 

We must discuss your style, were you born glamorous? 

Well, when I was little I was extremely picky about my clothes, but I can’t say I was glam lol. When I was a teenager I was into punk and goth and started wearing vintage clothes. That kinda opened up my world on elegance from the past. At the same time I was looking at photos by Man Ray and Brassai of life in Paris in 20s and 30s, and portraits of Louise Brooks and Marlene Dietrich. That’s the imagined glamorous life I romanticised.

 

“The world is vast and beautiful and filled

with fascinating people.”

 

When did you decide, ‘ok this is my style’?

It’s ever evolving, slowly and organically. I’m always on the lookout for clothes because the hunt is a big part of the fun. I love vintage so you never know what will pop up! I get inspiration from all around—Pre-Code movies, people I’m around, old photo books, what designers are doing—and it makes its way into my aesthetic choices. Also I see it reflected in the people I photograph. A lot of the time I’m inspired by their style so I’m curious to know more (and see their closet!). Recently I was showing a friend some images from a shoot I did of Beatrix Ost, a fabulously eccentric artist, and she said “Oh! She is so elegant and strange!” I thought yes, that is perfect. My inspiration is to be elegant and strange.

 

How has your style evolved over the years? Were there any fashion faux pas?

I feel like I have always been “me” but when I look back my style has changed through the years. In the 90s in art school there was a period I had orange hair, didn’t wear makeup, and only wore overalls (they were vintage, but still). When I first came to New York around 2000 I was in a period of rejecting vintage and wore a lot more new clothes…like t-shirts…that I would never be caught dead in today. Since I met my husband in 2007 my style has returned to vintage, and become more dandy with my work on the Dandy Portraits. My style evolution is a continual process of coming back to feeling more like myself. Now I feel like I am more conscious in this process. It makes me ask myself who am I, who do I want to become, and what do I feel like today?

 

Lets’ talk sustainability…

I’m glad sustainability is a buzzword! I have always had this sensibility that I want the most classic well built thing whatever it is. No logos, no embellishments, just good design and built to last. Much of this can be found in vintage clothing or items. Custom is like the epitome of this. My wardrobe is actually quite small. I wish it was bigger haha, but I have a hard time finding things I love that fit right that work into my look. But I’m ok with this! A few great pieces that you take good care of can go a long way. I never thought about it as sustainability, but of course it is. Between technology, nature, and our human brains there is no reason we can’t make things incredibly sustainable…just greed and instant gratification holds us back. Natural fabrics and materials are so far superior for the most part. For thousands of years humans have gotten by without plastic and extravagant waste. Nature shows us that waste can feed back and nourish if it’s part of the ecosystem. I just read that there is a new leather replacement being made out of mushroom mycelium. It’s a very exciting time!

 

Tell me about the Dandy books, and your work with Natty….

The books are “I am Dandy: The Return of the Elegant Gentleman” (2013) and “We are Dandy: The Elegant Gentleman Around the World” (2016), both with writer Nathaniel “Natty” Adams, and both published by Gestalten. They are beautifully printed coffee table books that I’m immensely proud of. As I mentioned, I started the “Dandy Portraits” as a personal project in 2008.  In late 2010 Natty introduced himself to me, because he was also working on a book about dandyism, and just back in New York from grant-funded research in Europe and the Congo. Unbeknownst to each other we had profiled quite a few of the same people. Thankfully his work was all writing, and mine all photography! Thus began our friendship, and when Gestalten reached out to me about doing a book, our official collaboration together. The books are the fruits of our work together. We got to travel the world—from London to Tokyo to Paris to Johannesburg and many places in between—to meet and photograph the torchbearers of dandyism today. I love how Natty weaves the journalistic with the experiential in his writing. The combination of his writing with my portraits creates a sum greater than its parts. Behind the scenes we were supported and travelled most of the time with our partners: Natty’s wife, Sara Harper, and my husband Kelly Desmond Bray. To see what can manifest from a labor of love is a big life lesson. Always work on those passion projects! You never know where it will lead.

 

 

What projects do you have coming up?

Before the pandemic Natty and I began working in earnest on another book with Gestalten with the working title “Rare Birds”. The project is as shift in focus from the masculine to the feminine: a celebration of a diverse group womxn empowered by fashion and aesthetics, who use style to create their identities in a myriad of magnificent ways. They are the spiritual heirs to icons of style such as the Marchesa Casati, Marlene Dietrich, Frida Kahlo, Josephine Baker, and Peggy Guggenheim. The project is on pause, but it’s something I’m excited to jump back into once things open up more.

 

Tell me about The Met…

The project I photograph for the Met Opera is called “Last Night at the Met”. It is their audience style blog, and I’ve been the exclusive photographer for it since 2013. The project started as a way to have fun with the question “What to wear the opera?” and I was brought in at the beginning through an ad agency the Met worked with. Along the way I began to work directly with the Met, and I now consider them family. It’s wildly fun to do! I get to “style stalk” in the iconic opera house, and make spontaneous portraits of those people that capture my curiosity. Sometimes it’s a flash of color that catches my eye, sometimes the way someone moves, and sometimes I see a sweet couple interacting. I try to look for the unexpected, and capture the excitement of a night at the opera.

 

 

If you could photograph anyone, who would it be?

Grace Jones! Also Orville Peck, David Lynch, Dita Von Teese, Janelle Monae, Daphne Guiness, and so many more of the ‘elegant and strange’.

 

Most enjoyable person to photograph was…

I loved photographing Hamish Bowles of Vogue Magazine. He arrived with fresh lilacs and now they always remind me of him. Simon Doonan was delightful, and up for anything, very collaborative. My favourite experiences are photographing people who can trust me enough to reveal something of their character. The best is to feel a reciprocal creative energy. Sometimes this can be with someone I just met, or built over time getting to know someone.

 

 

How important is collaborating to you?

Very important. I love seeing what comes about by cross-fertilization. I love seeing someone else’s eyes on my work. I love not feeling I have to “do it all”; that I can work with super creative people that are fabulous at things I am not!

 

Do you always work with the same team?

I value friendship and loyalty, so the relationships I have with my hair and makeup, stylists, etc are very meaningful and I like to have the “dream teams”. But I am always looking to expand and work with new people!

 

When do you consider was your ‘big break’?

It felt like a many small breaks haha. But early on when I started picking up my first magazine gigs I met an advertising creative director at a party and well, they gave me a chance! I photographed several big productions with them, and that gave me the confidence—and the financial security—to take things to the next level.

 

“That the best investment of time

and money is in making

the work you love.”

What’s been your career highlight?

My books! A dream come true—times two!

 

What’s been your biggest failure?

Sticking with mediocre clients for too long. Signing bad contracts. Putting energy towards work I wasn’t proud of.

 

 

What’s been your biggest learning to date?

That the best investment of time and money is in making the work you love.

 

What words of wisdom would you share with your younger self?

Stick up for yourself! You are worth a lot more than you think. You are deserving of success just as much as anyone.

“Conversations that help

generate ideas.”

 

You’ve made a success being a freelance photographer – what business tips can you share with others….

There is a lot of insecurity in this type of business, so do what you can to save and invest back in the business when you are busy. This will help you survive when things ebb and flow. Any commercial artist will inevitably have to do a certain amount of work to pay the bills that won’t make it into our portfolios, so my advice is to always be working on something that you have your whole heart in that feeds your soul.  Be persistent, surround yourself with people that support you, and do your marketing.

 

What does ‘being creative’ mean to you?

Having ideas and challenging myself to figure out how to do them. Conversations that help generate ideas. Flow state. Cultivating acts of creativity. Tapping into creative sources and inspiration. Always refining what I am looking for, visual desires. Seeing what legacy my art will have. Expressing my true being.

 

Who inspires you?

The people I photograph and work with, my husband, my friends (like you Heather!), artists, craftspeople, and random stylish people I follow on Instagram are endlessly inspiring. Anyone who carves out their own little world of wonder and aesthetics inspires me to keep going. Kiki de Montpanasse, Casati, Dietrich. The elegant and the strange!

 

 

What do you do to feel inspired?

Be with friends, be in nature, meditate, walk the city at night with Kelly, write in my journal, listen to music, look at books, go to the flea market, find new artists on instagram, watch movies.

 

What motivates you?

Big goals, friends, play, perfectionism, trying to understand people, faces, human connection, curiosity.

 

What’s your philosophy of life?

“Those who seek beauty will find it.” – Bill Cunningham

 

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