Billy Cone
Billy Cone
From his hometown on the southern coast of North Carolina, Billy Cone has gravitated to the capitals of Europe to photograph, in color and black and white, the sublime to the banal, the locals to the “living” statuary. He has shot in almost every corner of France, almost every nook of Venice, much of old Rome, lots and lots of Paris, New York City, London, the art deco of South Beach, Miami and Wilmington, North Carolina. He has a unique signature style. Many have called his work “painterly.” A prerequisite to a successful image for Billy is spontaneity—those scenes that are not staged in any way. This candid approach captures his own personality as well as a moment in history of timeless destinations.
The subject is quickly recognizable for the viewers of a Billy Cone—a face. These priceless images are inspired by the soulful visages of ordinary and some not-so-ordinary people that Billy has passed on the streets of Europe and America or in history books. Calling the eyes “the essential seat of emotion,” Billy shares his new “friends” on fine paper. As a professional photographer for over two decades, the author of three books, and the Grand Nephew of the famous Cone Sisters of Baltimore, it seems quite befitting that Billy would eventually create his own original masterpieces.
This obsession began at a very early age and after photographing the Statuary of Paris, Billy began finding models wherever he traveled to pose for close up portraiture. So evolved the book Femme, his latest project.
For Billy, “There has to be a balance. It’s all about beauty and harmony, finding them when I release the shutter.” His pictures and portraits have “soul.” His portraits witness that pure emotion which he seeks in any work of art.
Billy has shot with film for 31 years and has added a digital Canon EOS 5D Mark II to his repertoire. He says, “I still prefer film over digital because of the subtleties which can be achieved in the dark room.”
His first three books were shot with Fujichrome and Fuji 1600 Neopan Black and White film for its delightful graininess and high contrast. Femme was shot just this way to once again accentuate the emotion present in the image. This fine art photography book will be available in November 2013. It is a book of unique closeup portraits of women from all around the world. With many poignant quotes by many famous world figures like Oscar Wilde and Albert Einstein, Femme is insightful as well as entertaining and humorous.
Billy has shown his photography at the Mark Hachem Gallery in Paris
at La Place Des Vosges among other galleries in the U.S. He has won
two Kodak Newspaper Awards. His work can be seen at www.BillyCone.com.
