At the end of September, Land Rover USA invited me to photograph one of their vehicles for a week. I finished shooting a 2012 Range Rover Sport a little more than a week ago.
My assignment: No restriction or guidance. "We don't want to see anything we've seen before."
Here is what did not make the cut.
Top 10 REJECTED Concepts for My Land Rover Shoot.
10. PROVOQUE - an homage to Helmut Newton, featuring the 2013 Evoque
9. "CURRY" - a straight rip-off of the 80s Grey Poupon from the 80s, except with hipsters and curry.
8. How bullet-proof is my Rover?
7. The magic of side-impact airbags.
6. "PETA" - photos of PETA executives enjoying the intoxicating smell of fine leather and the pleasure provided by seat warmers, "executives" can include super models.
5. 101 English Bulldogs
4. Pimp-My-Rover
3. 1994 Toyota Camry vs. 2012 Range Rover Sport
2.The Discerning Rover Guide to the Best Truck Stops in the Northwest.
1. "What happens in a Rover, stays in a Rover." Two women dancing in the headlights of a Range Rover that happens to be sporting diplomatic flags of a certain former colonial power and the personalized plate "HARRY."
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| Tonight's dinner. |
Before I became a photographer, I was, among many things, a line cook. I picked up this "recipe" while on a "follow shift" at Lark, a great restaurant in Seattle run by Johnathan Sundstrom (yes, it is spelled like that). This was prepared for "family meal," as the staff meal is otherwise known. This is a great recipe if you've ever found yourself with a bunch of small pieces of good cheese.
Preheat the oven to 400.
Ingredients: A good french baguette and a bunch of different good cheeses. If it's a hard cheese, grate it. If it's a soft cheese, spread it. Mix goat and cow. Put in some blue. Provolone is tasty. Some grated low-moisture mozzarella (only a little).
Split the baguette half, but don't cut all the way through. Pry the bread open so it lays fairly flat. Load cheese.
Bake until GBD*. Enjoy with a nice slice of apple and a glass red wine.
*Golden Brown and Delicious
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| Untitled |
I have, until very recently, taken the world as I found it in front of my lens. My work remains predominantly documentary style.
I'm now engaged in several new creative projects that depart from this otherwise straightforward approach. The above photograph is the first of a new series, Constructed American Dreams.
When I am confronted by an image that I find creepy, my first impulse, for the vast majority of my life, was to blame the creator of the image. The "creepy" photograph operates like a searchlight uncovering things that we would rather not have to reconcile or recognize within ourselves. Why? Because photographs are silent as to their meaning. If you find an image "creepy" that is as much about you as it is about the photographer.
