Photographs by Landon Nordeman from his book Out of Fashion

A fashion show can be a whirl of madness — so much action, visual intrigue and sheer spectacle squeezed into an itty-bitty period of time and stage. For photographer Landon Nordeman, who’s documented countless runways both in New York and in Europe, however, that’s his comfort zone. While models, stylists, editors, bloggers and retailers scurry about, he manages to hit pause and capture the perfect snapshot and moment each time. “It may appear effortless but there is nothing arbitrary about his single-minded concentration and in-the-moment observation,” writes Elisabeth Biondi in the introduction to his book, Out of Fashion. “[His photographs] pose questions and seduce the viewer into looking carefully to figure out what is going on. It helps that Landon has a sense of humor, or more important perhaps, the talent to make witty pictures — a rare gift.” Here, Nordeman submits to a few questions of our own.

The photography bug first bit when…
I got hooked in the summer of 1994 while taking Introduction to Photography at UC Berkeley Summer School. Then I went to Nepal and India for six months backpacking around on trains and buses and took many bad pictures but learned a lot — and loved it! When I returned to college, I started photographing my friends and showing my contact sheets to a local photographer in Charlottesville, Virginia. She told me that the local newspaper was hiring a staff photographer. I applied for the job, showed them my portfolio and was thrilled to land my first photography job. For the next two years I was shooting assignments all over town, from news to sports to portraits — all for the daily newspaper. It was an extremely rewarding experience — one where I really learned on the job through the experience of completing multiple assignments each day as well as generating my own work.

First thing I ever photographed…
I can’t remember the first thing, but I have fallen in love with a several subjects over the years, such as the Staten Island Ferry, Elvis impersonators and the Westminster Dog show. In fact, an editor at New York Magazine saw my dog show pictures and decided to assign me to fashion week. (There are a lot of similarities.)

And my first fashion show…
I can’t remember my first show — but I knew right away that I loved it. The excitement, the anticipation, the color, the clothes, the celebration, the spectacle — these are all ingredients that make for interesting pictures to me.

My shooting style is…
Just the way I see the world — it’s purely instinctual to me. Other people have described it as fresh and lyrical, with strong color and a sense of humor. I think those descriptions are accurate — but, to me, it’s just what catches my eye.

Favorite photo from my book, Out of Fashion
That’s like asking me which child is my favorite. I can’t pick one. The tone of the book relies on the entire series of pictures and how they work together to convey my point of view. In other words, it’s not just one look, for example, from a collection that stands for it — it’s more about the sequence and rhythm that you experience when viewing the entire collection that makes the impact. Do you know what I mean? I feel the same way about these pictures: The sum is greater than the individual parts.

And the most challenging to photograph…
The one where I was standing on top of a 12-foot-tall ladder. See if you can figure out which one that was!

My camera of choice…
The one in my hand.

In the chaos of a runway show, I look for…
Out of chaos, I am looking for — what else, but — order.

One thing that always catches my eye…
I always have an idea of what I am looking for, but I never know exactly what it is until I see it.

The importance of the unimportant in my photography…
The unimportant item or gesture can be transformed by a photograph. The very act of photographing something in a certain way — of seeing the world — can reveal something intriguing or beautiful or funny or mysterious about life, and that to me is forever intoxicating. I like to call it searching for the eternal in the ephemeral. It’s not just the thing itself, it’s about how the thing looks when it is photographed. That, to me, will always be in fashion.

Follow Landon Nordeman on Instagram.

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