Classic Photography by François-Marie Banier

François-Marie Banier is a French novelist, playwright, artist, actor and photographer. He is particularly known for his photographs of celebrities and other public figures and for his friendships with members of high society.

Banier was born in Paris, France. He grew up in a middle-class family in the 16th arrondissement of Paris but became estranged from his parents as a teenager. In an interview with Paris Match, he said that he had been “completely incomprehensible to parents”. He also said that his father had beat him, and his mother had an unerring ability to avoid answering questions.

Despite his modest background, from an early age he was a precocious and hyperactive talent, who was able to develop friendships with some of Paris’ wealthiest arts patrons and artists. At the age of 16, he met Salvador Dalí, who would send his car to bring Mr Banier to his suite at the Hotel Meurice to discuss art.At the age of 19, he befriended the wealthy heiress and patron of the arts Marie-Laure de Noailles who was then 64.

François-Marie Banier published his first novel, Les Résidences secondaires ou la Vie distraite, at the age of 22. Around the same time, a well-known Parisian designer and antique dealer Madeleine Castaing helped him launch a career in photography by purchasing a dozen of his photographs for 70,000 francs.

Over the years, Mr Banier befriended many well-known public figures and celebrities, including Pablo Picasso, Yves Saint Laurent, Pierre Cardin, Françoise Sagan, Samuel Beckett, Vladimir Horowitz, Louis Aragon, François Mitterrand, Kate Moss, Mick Jagger and Princess Caroline of Monaco. He is also a good friend of Johnny Depp and his wife Vanessa Paradis, who met at his home in the south of France. Mr Banier is godfather of their daughter, Lily-Rose.

In the 1970s, Mr Banier shared a studio with designer Jacques Grange on rue Servandoni near Luxembourg Gardens. Over the years, he acquired his own studio on rue Servandoni and gradually combined it with adjacent apartments until he was able to open a second entrance on rue de Vaugirard. He now shares these quarters with actor Pascal Greggory and his nephew Martin d’Orgeval. Mr Banier also owns a home in Sommières, France.

Black and White Interior Photography by Lynne Cohen

Lynne Cohen is an American-Canadian photographer. Born in Racine, Wisconsin, Cohen was educated in printmaking and sculpture in Madison, Wisconsin, and in Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti, Michigan. Cohen has lived and worked in Canada since 1973, initially in Ottawa, and in Montreal since 2005. She has taught and provided workshops at several institutions, primarily Eastern Michigan University, Algonquin College, and the University of Ottawa.

Cohen has exhibited widely and held artist’s residencies across North America and Europe. In 2005, she was the recipient of the Governor General’s Award in Visual and Media Arts.

Cohen is known for her photographs of domestic and institutional interior spaces, which have included living rooms, public halls, retirement homes, laboratories, offices, showrooms, shooting ranges, factories, spas, and military installations. Despite this interest in living and working spaces, Cohen’s photographs are usually devoid of human presence. She photographs using an 8 x 10" view camera, allowing her to capture great detail, and create very large prints. Her work has been published in catalogues such as Occupied Territory and No Man’s Land.

Suzie Bird and Ophelie Rupp by Christopher Morris

The March edition of Amica highlights the spring 2011 collection from Louis Vuitton in a dramatic series set at the Musée de l’Air et de l’Espace in Paris’ Le Bourget Airport. Lensed by Christopher Morris, model duo Suzie Bird and Ophelie Rupp take to the skies in Louis Vuitton’s Eastern inspired creations styled by Michele Ciavarella.

Photography by Elena Chernyak

Elena Chernyak’s interest in photography began at St. Petersburg State University in 2008 when she was studying journalism. She graduated two years after from the Faculty of Photo Journalism of Russian Union of Journalists. Now, her main interest and inspiration come from her journeys to Siberia which are, according to her, a kind of a visual exploration of her native environment. Her works have been shown recently at Fotodepartament Gallery (St Petersbourg) and The Open Scene Space (Moscow) and published in magazines like Colors Magazine or F5 newspaper.