"Dali Atomicus" by Philippe Halsman - 1948

When i commented on someones photograph looking like Halsman's Atomicus I got asked what that was.

I was a bit amazed, Im surrounded by books about photography and assumed others loved them as well, it appears a lot of people havent seen them.

So here is Dali Atomicus by Philippe Halsman.

You can find out more about Halsman here : www.temple.edu/photo/photographers/halsman/phbio.html and i fully reccomend looking at some more of his work - his collaborations with Salvador Dali were some of the most innovative work around.

And something to note - you could do this in photoshop now easily but Halsman did not - this was shot live. It took 26 tries to get it over five hours - Halsman counted to four, Dali leapt, 3 assistants threw the cats, one threw the water from a bucket and Halsman's wife held the chair. Its all done in the camera.

Note that I in no way claim creation, copyright, ownership or control of this image in any way. It was taken from a public domain site where it is presented as a wallpaper image and will be taken down if requested.

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Comments

The Cydonian says:

:O

Man, and I thought I had patience!
Posted 47 months ago. ( permalink )

monkeyc.net says:

Halsman produces amazing work - Ive wanted a print of this for years, I have it in a large format in a book but its one of those images that deserves to be on a wall - Halsman did a lot of experimentation with Dali and its worth checking out his other work.

For me this is one of those "Wow" moments in photography - Its the first time I realised it could be more than just taking a picture of what was around me - think i was 14 or 15
Posted 47 months ago. ( permalink )

baraka meek says:

very very interesting photo , i hope to do some thing like that one day.
Posted 47 months ago. ( permalink )

Mr Magoo ICU says:

This is one of my favourite photo's without a doubt. I love Dali's work - he is a genius. I may very well chase down a reproduction of this to join my Dali prints which adorn my walls.
Posted 47 months ago. ( permalink )

wja_farrow says:

Anything that involves throwing cats I approve of ;)
Posted 47 months ago. ( permalink )

Figuromo says:

amazing... but i am bit skeptical about the whole picture is done in one take without post-process. Look at the canvas Dali was painting, the cat is too identical to the real ones. The tail similar to the cat on top, and the paw similar to the 2nd one.... bizarre...
Posted 46 months ago. ( permalink )

monkeyc.net says:

Nope 1 take - there were a lot of witnesses to the work - in 1948 there was no photoshop to do this in, and doing post processing and compositing in the darkroom would never achieve this - one look at the angles on the wall show its not been cut and pasted.

Halsman is in fact known for his work with Dali - see his book 'Dalis Moustache' for more examples of the wonderful work they achieved together.

If you look carefully you can even see the eyelets used to hang the easel off the ground :)

Dali and Halsman worked together for over 20 years, they knew each other inside out and the canvas is indeed a picture of a cat - thats the thing about Dali.
Posted 46 months ago. ( permalink )

Figuromo says:

yeah i know is all one take but the painting on the canvas itself can be added afterwards? perhaps they shot with a white canvas and dali painted the surrealism painting over on top of the photo???
Posted 46 months ago. ( permalink )

Tobymutz says:

this is just as surreal as Dalí's own masterpieces. it's a real inspiration to all aspirating artist photographers (which i do not claim to be one - just an admirer).
thanks for your personal perspective and thoughts about this picture that i've come across in a few photography books but have never seen it discussed in such detail or such passion.
i'll be taking another look at Halsmans' work.
Posted 46 months ago. ( permalink )

monkeyc.net says:

I have a 6ft x 3ft poster of this framed on my office wall at home - Halsman was one of my first inspirations in photography, along with HCB and Eugene Smith he made me want to take great photos !
Posted 46 months ago. ( permalink )

_ Krystian PHOTOSynthesis (wild-thriving) _ says:

No Matter how its done, it is a great Pikture by Halsman, nice you brought it to the Attention of fLICkr - wondered as well "didn´t Everybody know it?", since Halsman and Man Ray are well known, we kan see here why....
Posted 45 months ago. ( permalink )

Patrick Volts says:

that picture is just amazing,
i saw it 2 months ago and
i didn't know that it was for Halsman
i have a new hero:D
Posted 29 months ago. ( permalink )

aerojef says:

I agree with Billy - Look closely at the painting in the center of the background. How can you account for the accuracy of the 3 cats in the photo? It would be a billion (or more) shot to one to reproduce the randomness of throwing 3 cats in the air. Even the raised paw of the middle cat is represented.

I beg you purists out there - please explain how this was done in 26 or 28 shots to get it right.

I want so much to believe that this photo is PURELY genuine, but the chances of this coming out like the painting in the back of the photo are so remote as to be unrealistic.

Please explain!

Thanks!
Posted 28 months ago. ( permalink )

aerojef says:

OK, I found a thread with the actual, original photo and the easel in the background is blank. Also, you can see people off to the left managing the cables and what-not.

Here's the link...

rojonoir.livejournal.com/tag/art
Posted 28 months ago. ( permalink )

J. Oliveira says:

Magic!
Posted 25 months ago. ( permalink )

yaoishere [deleted] says:

classic!
Posted 25 months ago. ( permalink )

septdragons says:

Always nice to see this shot again.
Halsman is an amazing artist who could only wonders with a genius like Dali.
Posted 24 months ago. ( permalink )

scvfan says:

It's actually very easy to see the image has been altered post production (with regards to the easel only. the rest is indeed 1-take). The shadow of the easel shows that there is no canvas present when the photo was taken.
Regardless of photoshop or no the picture is one of my all time favorites and quite timeless.
Posted 24 months ago. ( permalink )

dark1ce says:

is anyone worried about the cats :P
Posted 24 months ago. ( permalink )

Everfalling - FREE GIRAFA! says:

did anyone notice the actual painting in the picture? the figures of the cats in the painting is a near perfect match to the body position of the cats in this photo. i wonder if getting the cats to be in that position was part of the many trials and errors, or was it fluke? i couldn't even begin to do anything like this, let alone do it enough times to replicate the body positions of the cats as they flail through the air.
Posted 24 months ago. ( permalink )

Beautiful Fairy says:

Yes, dark1ce, I instantly felt bad for the cats in this situation... I couldn't imagine being thrown around 26-28 times while water was thrown at me! That sounds simply horrible. Nonetheless, it is a very interesting piece of work and it is certainly art.

Anyone who has worked extensively in the dark room should know that alterations of photographs using old school film and paper is not very complicated. Thanks to aerojef for posting that link - that version looks much more realistic. I knew something wasn't right about the shadows, but couldn't put my finger on what.
Posted 24 months ago. ( permalink )

Beautiful Fairy says:

everfalling... read the comments and you will answer your question.
Posted 24 months ago. ( permalink )

WolfSnap.com says:

What is the current copyright status of this? Is it now in the public domain? Anyone know? I love this and would love to print it, but, wouldn't if it's still under copyright.
Posted 24 months ago. ( permalink )

rootneg2 says:

Figuromo:

Well I'll be damned. I've known (and loved) this picture for years and have never noticed that, good eye. You're absolutely right, if you hunt around for the uncropped version, before any additional dodging and burning (or at least some sort of contrast tweaking) was done to clean it up, you can see an empty easel; not to mention that the shadow in both versions is from an empty easel.
Posted 24 months ago. ( permalink )

BillyWarhol says:

Awesome Salvador Dali*

very c0ol in B+W too*
Posted 24 months ago. ( permalink )

stormlover2007 says:

This is incredible and Dali was a genius. I have never seen or heard of this before but i am in awe, however it was created!!
Posted 24 months ago. ( permalink )

WolfSnap.com says:

He also removed a hand that should have been in the crop (based on it's position from the original image)!
Posted 24 months ago. ( permalink )

buuh [deleted] says:

you say the photographer was patient? ask the cats!
Posted 24 months ago. ( permalink )

dj paine says:

i have this picture on my desk infront of me

--
[discovered in d.j. paine's photophlow room] (?)
Posted 24 months ago. ( permalink )

MikePerrault says:

They were initially going to use chicken and milk. I like the cats and water better.
Posted 23 months ago. ( permalink )

GoldCoins says:

Cool pic, I'm going to use it on my Salvador Dali Sculptures page.
Posted 23 months ago. ( permalink )

Shalaco says:

Hi, I'm an admin for a group called Analogue Photoshop, and we'd love to have your photo added to the group.
Posted 22 months ago. ( permalink )

pelechante says:

Note the picture in the back, its really goegous i lov eit!
Posted 21 months ago. ( permalink )

NightRPStar says:

Talk about a challenging shoot!
MAYOR props to them!
Talk about passion for art! Owweeee! ^_^
Posted 21 months ago. ( permalink )

iena's says:

ma che metafisica...great photo!!!
Posted 19 months ago. ( permalink )

dezzography says:

This is up there with my favourite Halsman photos, although there's one (Pregnant Woman and Cat) from the 1950s that doesn't get shown often enough... It's stunning.

Anyway, back to this masterpiece, the comment about the patience of the cats is hilarious. Mine tries to rip your arm off if you stroke her for too long. I can only imagine what damage she'd do if you tried to throw her 20-odd times!
Posted 18 months ago. ( permalink )

Johara says:

salvador dali :) great work
Posted 16 months ago. ( permalink )

thedrjazz says:

it's a masterpiece, but yes the painting was "painted" on the frame after the shot. You can easily find the "original" photo with wires, hand holding chair in the web
Posted 14 months ago. ( permalink )

behindthephoto.org says:

More information on this photo can be found at behindthephoto.org/dali-atomicus-photo-by-phi lippe-halsman
Posted 9 months ago. ( permalink )

takaraa says:

i really like dali, but i had no idea about his collaborations with halsman, or even halsman himself
this is amazing

thanks a lot!!!
Posted 8 months ago. ( permalink )

dezzography says:

This is the Halsman photo I mentioned previously: Untitled (Pregnant Woman & Cat)

It's one of my favourite photographs ever.
Posted 8 months ago. ( permalink )

philippe_kayembe says:

good
Posted 5 months ago. ( permalink )

6-3-2 says:

I just did some research on Halsman and the backstory behind this is hilarious. After seeing Dali's painting Leda Atomica, painting behind the cats, Halsman wanted to recreate it as a photo. Dali's suggestion was, "Let's put some dynamite in the derriere of ducks, and when they explode I'll jump and you take the picture." Halsman answered "You forget were in America, they'll arrest us if we start blowing up animals." To which Dali responded, "You're right. Let's splash some cats with water then." I'm paraphrasing, but still a great story. These two were a hilarious duo.
Posted 4 months ago. ( permalink )

Purity9dot0 says:

love this shot
Posted 3 months ago. ( permalink )

martinpettersson.com says:

I love this image! It's absolutely incredible and since it's done without photoshop it makes you realize just how spoiled we are today : )
Posted 3 months ago. ( permalink )

Der Bana Lini says:

Awesome Shot !
Congratulations !!
Posted 2 months ago. ( permalink )

Everfalling - FREE GIRAFA! says:

@ Morphogenetic

...congratulations? what?
Posted 2 months ago. ( permalink )

Raúl Villalón says:

Posted 4 weeks ago. ( permalink )

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"Dali Atomicus" by Philippe Halsman - 1948

Comments

The Cydonian says:

monkeyc.net says:

baraka meek says:

Mr Magoo ICU says:

wja_farrow says:

Figuromo says:

monkeyc.net says:

Figuromo says:

Tobymutz says:

monkeyc.net says:

_ Krystian PHOTOSynthesis (wild-thriving) _ says:

Patrick Volts says:

aerojef says:

aerojef says:

J. Oliveira says:

yaoishere [deleted] says:

septdragons says:

scvfan says:

dark1ce says:

Everfalling - FREE GIRAFA! says:

Beautiful Fairy says:

Beautiful Fairy says:

WolfSnap.com says:

rootneg2 says:

BillyWarhol says:

stormlover2007 says:

WolfSnap.com says:

buuh [deleted] says:

dj paine says:

MikePerrault says:

GoldCoins says:

Shalaco says:

pelechante says:

NightRPStar says:

iena's says:

dezzography says:

Johara says:

thedrjazz says:

behindthephoto.org says:

takaraa says:

dezzography says:

philippe_kayembe says:

6-3-2 says:

Purity9dot0 says:

martinpettersson.com says:

Der Bana Lini says:

Everfalling - FREE GIRAFA! says:

Raúl Villalón says:

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