Douglas Hopkins
Encyclopedia
Douglas Hopkins is a photographer whose fashion and beauty images have appeared in Vogue
, W, Women's Wear Daily, Rolling Stone, Cosmopolitan, Elle, and The New York Times
, among others. Among his creative endeavors, he has done volcanic research and photography, has co-directed a science documentary film, founded a fine fragrance company, and has authored a book on photography, scheduled to be released in 2008.
and Boston
. As a young man, Hopkins worked as a ranch hand in Montana
. In high school he spent a year in Europe studying German. He attended the University of California, San Diego
where he majored in physics and German literature. He later attended MIT
, where he became a senior staff member of the MIT Department of Earth & Planetary Sciences.
At MIT he designed and deployed a system for measuring the ballistics of volcano
eruptions. From 1971 to 1973 he worked at several volcanic sites, including the Italian islands of Sicily
and Stromboli
, as well as Guatemala
and Chile
. Hopkins' interest in commercial photography began to emerge while taking personal close-hand photographs of volcanic eruptions.
In 1972 Hopkins completed an intensive program in teaching visual awareness with the reclusive Massachusetts Institute of Technology photography professor, Minor White, author of The Zone System Manual and colleague of Ansel Adams. With Dr. Kathleen Crane, Hopkins co-directed the science documentary film "Heat". The film, funded by the Charles Lindbergh Foundation, was about geothermal phenomena.
Hopkins pursued a twenty-year career in commercial photography that has included staff, freelance, and consulting work. He has worked for numerous fashion, beauty, travel, and general publications, and his photographs have appeared in posters, books, and on national television. During his early years, Hopkins was innovative in the use of computers for photography-related business purposes.
In the mid-1980s, at the beginning of the period known as perestroika, Hopkins travelled to Eastern Europe. At this time Hopkins became interested in fine fragrances and purchased the rights to the leading Soviet men’s cologne, Prastara. In 1989, Hopkins founded his own fragrance company.
In January 1999, while on the Internet, Hopkins met a Russian woman, Oksana Katsuro, and began conversing with her via email. At the time, Ms. Katsuro was living and working as a nuclear engineer in Obninsk
, Russia
. In August 1999, Ms. Katsuro moved to New York and on November 6 of that year, she and Hopkins were married. She obtained her PhD in fusion physics from Columbia University
. They have one daughter.
Most recently, Hopkins has written a book, "Real Views", for amateur photographers that is scheduled to be released in 2011. Hopkins currently lives in New York City
and continues to direct his fragrance company.
Some of Hopkins' early photographs of volcano eruptions appeared in popular and technical publications and textbooks. Working in this environment could be dangerous; regarding one of these photographs, Hopkins made the notation: "About 100 feet away. Almost ate it." During this period, his first photographic cover was published by “Harvard”, the university alumni magazine.
After assisting several commercial and portrait photographers, Hopkins' first job in commercial photography was as a staff photographer for the Metropolitan Museum of Art
. By the early 1980s, Hopkins had free-lanced for Women's Wear Daily
, Vogue, Mademoiselle, and Self.
At that time, Hopkins was already using computers in his work to keep track of business contacts and to record photo shoot details, photo credits, and expenses. Having a technical background, he build a computer (a CPM-based Heathkit machine) and to write early business programs. His early computer work is described in a 1985 article which includes a picture of Hopkins with a young model in the background. He commented that this was the model's first shooting and she was so excited by the event that she fainted to the floor shortly after the photo was taken.
During his photography career, Hopkins free-lanced for W, WWD, Vogue, Connoisseur, Harvard Magazine, Rolling Stone, Mademoiselle, Elle, Barrons, Cosmopolitan, New York Times, Revlon, Clairol, and L'Oreal. Some interesting comments on his work:
Among the personalities Hopkins has photographed are Phoebe and Valerie Cates, Sharon Stone, Alexandra Paul, Mia farrow, and Andy Warhol.
Hopkins has remained active in the photography field through commissioned portraits, exhibits, design awards, articles, lecturing, and teaching at The New School in New York City. He has also served as a consultant to clients such as Polaroid
and Fuji
.
Regarding his new book, Hopkins calls it "a guide to creative vision for amateur digital photographers, a manual of creative visual awareness. I would like to enhance the amateur photographer’s ability to endow lasting images of ambience and emotion."
Hopkins' company states that his products are based on centuries-old formulas and are packaged like perfumes in a Parisian apothecary. His products have been sold at Bergdorf Goodman
in New York City, the Versaille museum, Galeries Lafayette in Paris, and others.
Hopkins' original mentor in perfume production was George Diamond, who holds many patents in perfume production. Hopkins and Diamond had initially intended to create a "Valentina" fragrance, named for the ballerina Valentina Kozlova, whom Hopkins had photographed. Hopkins determined that higher-quality Russian cosmetics were mostly made in Eastern Europe.
After the Berlin wall went down, Hopkins and Diamond went to Eastern Europe looking for investments. They were invited to cosmetic factories where production was still done in a primitive manner, using mostly manual labor and horse-drawn carts. Although Diamond had returned to the United States, on the last day of his trip Hopkins stumbled upon a tiny remote fragrance plant. The factory was a Communist-run coop that made one fragrance called Prastara. Hopkins acquired the Prostara trademark, which allowed him to market the fragrance worldwide, except in Russia.
Hopkins questioned the previous owners and determined that the fragrance probably originated with the chemist of Louis XV of France
, because the king's mistress (and later his wife) Marie Leczinska was of Polish royalty.
As a result of his portrait work, Douglas became friends with a young German engineer and his wife who were from old European families. On one occasion when Hopkins was visiting the family at a castle in Austria, he was able to do some research on Prostara in their library. There he discovered a rare 18th century perfuming manual, which helped define the future direction of the company.
Douglas Hopkins' women's fragrances include Åse, Zazou, and Prastara. Men's fragrances include Prastara Royal and Prastara Blue. Hopkins describes Zazou as "the California scent with a hint of sanity."
Hopkins has an interesting perspective on the fragrance industry:
The company also sells Geothermology, a personal treatment line, launched in 2005 with 35 products. This line "offers the volcanic and natural mineral substances derived from multiple, active, naturally occurring geothermal healing sources around the world".
Vogue (magazine)
Vogue is a fashion and lifestyle magazine that is published monthly in 18 national and one regional edition by Condé Nast.-History:In 1892 Arthur Turnure founded Vogue as a weekly publication in the United States. When he died in 1909, Condé Montrose Nast picked up the magazine and slowly began...
, W, Women's Wear Daily, Rolling Stone, Cosmopolitan, Elle, and The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
, among others. Among his creative endeavors, he has done volcanic research and photography, has co-directed a science documentary film, founded a fine fragrance company, and has authored a book on photography, scheduled to be released in 2008.
Biography
The son of Cleveland and Lillian Hopkins, Douglas Hopkins grew up in AlaskaAlaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
and Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
. As a young man, Hopkins worked as a ranch hand in Montana
Montana
Montana is a state in the Western United States. The western third of Montana contains numerous mountain ranges. Smaller, "island ranges" are found in the central third of the state, for a total of 77 named ranges of the Rocky Mountains. This geographical fact is reflected in the state's name,...
. In high school he spent a year in Europe studying German. He attended the University of California, San Diego
University of California, San Diego
The University of California, San Diego, commonly known as UCSD or UC San Diego, is a public research university located in the La Jolla neighborhood of San Diego, California, United States...
where he majored in physics and German literature. He later attended MIT
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT has five schools and one college, containing a total of 32 academic departments, with a strong emphasis on scientific and technological education and research.Founded in 1861 in...
, where he became a senior staff member of the MIT Department of Earth & Planetary Sciences.
Volcano
2. Bedrock3. Conduit 4. Base5. Sill6. Dike7. Layers of ash emitted by the volcano8. Flank| 9. Layers of lava emitted by the volcano10. Throat11. Parasitic cone12. Lava flow13. Vent14. Crater15...
eruptions. From 1971 to 1973 he worked at several volcanic sites, including the Italian islands of Sicily
Sicily
Sicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...
and Stromboli
Stromboli
Stromboli is a small island in the Tyrrhenian Sea, off the north coast of Sicily, containing one of the three active volcanoes in Italy. It is one of the eight Aeolian Islands, a volcanic arc north of Sicily. This name is a corruption of the Ancient Greek name Strongulē which was given to it...
, as well as Guatemala
Guatemala
Guatemala is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, Belize to the northeast, the Caribbean to the east, and Honduras and El Salvador to the southeast...
and Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
. Hopkins' interest in commercial photography began to emerge while taking personal close-hand photographs of volcanic eruptions.
In 1972 Hopkins completed an intensive program in teaching visual awareness with the reclusive Massachusetts Institute of Technology photography professor, Minor White, author of The Zone System Manual and colleague of Ansel Adams. With Dr. Kathleen Crane, Hopkins co-directed the science documentary film "Heat". The film, funded by the Charles Lindbergh Foundation, was about geothermal phenomena.
Hopkins pursued a twenty-year career in commercial photography that has included staff, freelance, and consulting work. He has worked for numerous fashion, beauty, travel, and general publications, and his photographs have appeared in posters, books, and on national television. During his early years, Hopkins was innovative in the use of computers for photography-related business purposes.
In the mid-1980s, at the beginning of the period known as perestroika, Hopkins travelled to Eastern Europe. At this time Hopkins became interested in fine fragrances and purchased the rights to the leading Soviet men’s cologne, Prastara. In 1989, Hopkins founded his own fragrance company.
In January 1999, while on the Internet, Hopkins met a Russian woman, Oksana Katsuro, and began conversing with her via email. At the time, Ms. Katsuro was living and working as a nuclear engineer in Obninsk
Obninsk
Obninsk is a city in Kaluga Oblast, Russia, located southwest of Moscow. Population: Obninsk is one of the major Russian science cities. The first nuclear power plant in the world for the large-scale production of electricity opened here on June 27, 1954, and it also doubled as a training...
, Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
. In August 1999, Ms. Katsuro moved to New York and on November 6 of that year, she and Hopkins were married. She obtained her PhD in fusion physics from Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
. They have one daughter.
Most recently, Hopkins has written a book, "Real Views", for amateur photographers that is scheduled to be released in 2011. Hopkins currently lives in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
and continues to direct his fragrance company.
Photography
Hopkins' approach to photography was influenced by the intensive visual awareness program he took with MIT professor Minor White.Some of Hopkins' early photographs of volcano eruptions appeared in popular and technical publications and textbooks. Working in this environment could be dangerous; regarding one of these photographs, Hopkins made the notation: "About 100 feet away. Almost ate it." During this period, his first photographic cover was published by “Harvard”, the university alumni magazine.
Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Metropolitan Museum of Art is a renowned art museum in New York City. Its permanent collection contains more than two million works, divided into nineteen curatorial departments. The main building, located on the eastern edge of Central Park along Manhattan's Museum Mile, is one of the...
. By the early 1980s, Hopkins had free-lanced for Women's Wear Daily
Women's Wear Daily
Women's Wear Daily is a fashion-industry trade journal sometimes called "the bible of fashion." WWD delivers information and intelligence on changing trends and breaking news in the fashion, beauty and retail industries with a readership composed largely of retailers, designers, manufacturers,...
, Vogue, Mademoiselle, and Self.
At that time, Hopkins was already using computers in his work to keep track of business contacts and to record photo shoot details, photo credits, and expenses. Having a technical background, he build a computer (a CPM-based Heathkit machine) and to write early business programs. His early computer work is described in a 1985 article which includes a picture of Hopkins with a young model in the background. He commented that this was the model's first shooting and she was so excited by the event that she fainted to the floor shortly after the photo was taken.
During his photography career, Hopkins free-lanced for W, WWD, Vogue, Connoisseur, Harvard Magazine, Rolling Stone, Mademoiselle, Elle, Barrons, Cosmopolitan, New York Times, Revlon, Clairol, and L'Oreal. Some interesting comments on his work:
- Hopkins photographed a cover shot for W magazine that featured supermodel Janice Dickenson in a busy Times Square street. The cover was important because of the clothes worn by Ms Dickenson and was said by the publisher of W, John Fairchild, to be the best ever cover of W magazine.
- In the early 1980s, Hopkins photographed an aerial view of a SteinwaySteinway & SonsSteinway & Sons, also known as Steinway , is an American and German manufacturer of handmade pianos, founded 1853 in Manhattan in New York City by German immigrant Heinrich Engelhard Steinweg...
Concert Grand piano, and the image became available as an art poster. Henry Z. Steinway would say that this photograph was “The best photo of a Steinway ever made.”
- Hopkins photographed a book cover portrait for MIT professor and author Dr. Sherry Turkle. Wired magazine published a story on Dr. Turkle and noted that the photo was a turning point in her life.
Among the personalities Hopkins has photographed are Phoebe and Valerie Cates, Sharon Stone, Alexandra Paul, Mia farrow, and Andy Warhol.
Hopkins has remained active in the photography field through commissioned portraits, exhibits, design awards, articles, lecturing, and teaching at The New School in New York City. He has also served as a consultant to clients such as Polaroid
Polaroid Corporation
Polaroid Corporation is an American-based international consumer electronics and eyewear company, originally founded in 1937 by Edwin H. Land. It is most famous for its instant film cameras, which reached the market in 1948, and continued to be the company's flagship product line until the February...
and Fuji
Fujifilm
is a multinational photography and imaging company headquartered in Tokyo, Japan.Fujifilm's principal activities are the development, production, sale and servicing of color photographic film, digital cameras, photofinishing equipment, color paper, photofinishing chemicals, medical imaging...
.
Regarding his new book, Hopkins calls it "a guide to creative vision for amateur digital photographers, a manual of creative visual awareness. I would like to enhance the amateur photographer’s ability to endow lasting images of ambience and emotion."
Media coverage
Hopkins has received professional coverage in publications such as Graphis, The New York Times (op-ed, article co-author and photography), Popular Photography (cover), American Photographer (cover), and Photo District News. He has appeared on numerous television shows, sometimes with his wife Oksana. Some of these shows include The Montel Show, Star Search, and Inside Edition. He has also appeared on Internet shows such as Rocketboom.Perfume development
In 1989, Hopkins started the fragrance company Douglas Hopkins and Company, at first based in his duplex on the Upper East Side in New York City. In industry terms, the company is referred to as an international atelier perfumer.Hopkins' company states that his products are based on centuries-old formulas and are packaged like perfumes in a Parisian apothecary. His products have been sold at Bergdorf Goodman
Bergdorf Goodman
Bergdorf Goodman is a luxury goods department store based on Fifth Avenue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. The company was founded in 1899 by Herman Bergdorf and was later owned and managed by Edwin Goodman, and later his son Andrew Goodman....
in New York City, the Versaille museum, Galeries Lafayette in Paris, and others.
After the Berlin wall went down, Hopkins and Diamond went to Eastern Europe looking for investments. They were invited to cosmetic factories where production was still done in a primitive manner, using mostly manual labor and horse-drawn carts. Although Diamond had returned to the United States, on the last day of his trip Hopkins stumbled upon a tiny remote fragrance plant. The factory was a Communist-run coop that made one fragrance called Prastara. Hopkins acquired the Prostara trademark, which allowed him to market the fragrance worldwide, except in Russia.
Hopkins questioned the previous owners and determined that the fragrance probably originated with the chemist of Louis XV of France
Louis XV of France
Louis XV was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and of Navarre from 1 September 1715 until his death. He succeeded his great-grandfather at the age of five, his first cousin Philippe II, Duke of Orléans, served as Regent of the kingdom until Louis's majority in 1723...
, because the king's mistress (and later his wife) Marie Leczinska was of Polish royalty.
As a result of his portrait work, Douglas became friends with a young German engineer and his wife who were from old European families. On one occasion when Hopkins was visiting the family at a castle in Austria, he was able to do some research on Prostara in their library. There he discovered a rare 18th century perfuming manual, which helped define the future direction of the company.
Douglas Hopkins' women's fragrances include Åse, Zazou, and Prastara. Men's fragrances include Prastara Royal and Prastara Blue. Hopkins describes Zazou as "the California scent with a hint of sanity."
Hopkins has an interesting perspective on the fragrance industry:
The company also sells Geothermology, a personal treatment line, launched in 2005 with 35 products. This line "offers the volcanic and natural mineral substances derived from multiple, active, naturally occurring geothermal healing sources around the world".
External links
- www.PerfumeFactory.org
- www.DouglasHopkins.com
- www.picasaweb.google.com/DouglasHopkins
- www.flickr.com/photos/DoHop.