#creative council

Recently I asked Briana to sit for me for some of my last Creative Council posts for Ugg Australia. I wanted to see how I could make one shoot come out with two different results. This is part one. In effect it is an attempt at making my subject look like a Mario Testino subject. While this is clearly not a Testino shoot, I wanted to highlight some aspects his work I find intriguing and that serve as constants in his shoots: glamour, sexiness, bold colors, and an attitude of over all fun.

It's pretty simple really. The three things I want to keep me cozy for round two of the Polar Vortex are babes, boots and bed. Does that sound weird? 

Hah. Ok yeah kinda. But it's true. It's really frickin cold out there and that beautiful white blanket of snow is turning into a nasty mush. 

So when you have to leave that beautiful babe in your bed, may I suggest Ugg Australia's Butte Boot to keep your wheels toasty, roasty, and dry.

Who thought me rhyming was a good idea? haha

Morning routines with Dillon Burke go something like this: yawn, roll out of bed, make tea, check weather, get dressed, leave. Simple. Efficient. No messing around. 

Except in between you can almost hear him thinking, yawn, "whoa, ok daylight." Roll out of bed, look at self, "who the hell is that guy?! Rough." Make tea, "mmmmm." Check weather, "wow its warm! Amazing." Get dressed, "lets do this." Leave, "I better not forget anything or I'll flip out."

Dillon is one hellova guy, always willing to lend a hand and kick it while enjoying his passion for delicious food of the best quality. 

James and Ben. Brothers from different mothers. Silly dudes. One moment they love each other and can't stop complimenting one another and the next they're at each other's throats and insults back and fourth like a baseball. It's a little intense sometimes watching them duke it out verbally but in the end it always ends up with them hugging it out. 

Once again, back when it was still warm, the three of us went galavanting through Williamsburg and then naturally a fight broke out, as it does with boys.

I asked my friend Camilla to come in the other day to a make shift studio set up I had constructed with sheet metal and several lights for sitting while I tested a lighting set up and well these are the results. I think going through it all color wise I was trying to reach a sense of saturation and plushness, call it my attempt at a Mario Testino look.

I met Elie while on that road trip with Evan and the boys not too long ago, but long enough ago that it was still quasi warm out, and she impressed me with her spunk. I love it when people do that. The right attitude at the right time. 

Elie goes to RISD and studies graphic design and radio broadcasting. 

As part of my Creative Council project, Elie was kind enough to sit for me while I tried to work out some of my favorite elements one of my favorite photographers Peter Lindbergh's work always embodies: a grand sense of space, a natural but forgiving light at some sort of magic or tragic hour, and a beautiful girl having fun.  

Evan Tetreault. Tet-re-aulttlak. Um what? Yeah, I have trouble too. But then Evan will just say it real quick and totally drop off the last part of the name and it sounds so good. I'm still practicing how to pronounce it. 

Anyway, Evan is a photographer who's strength in his images is matched only by his knowledge of cameras and film photography, a dying practice in today's camera phone driven world. Evan and I have had many a conversation over Facebook chat about the merits of film over digital, what it takes to shoot medium format, the beauty of the image and the power of the photo-narrative. (A little ironic maybe haha). 

This is just a quick phone snap of the man who's got one hell of an eye and a very cool style while on a road trip with two other cool cats I'll tell you about later as part of my collaboration with the Creative Council and Ugg Australia. Evan is rocking Dries Van Noten, Baldwin denim and Ugg Stevensons. 

I nominated Evan for the Ugg Men of Character contest because of his passion for analog, film photography and basically his stern belief in the revival of shooting medium format. It is quite a powerful ability to be able to know one's craft as well as Evan knows about photography. I hope I can catch up!