Ordinarily, my job is to grease the wheels of commerce. Not a bad thing, but not quite like Mother Teresa. My studio neighbor is The Bottomless Toy Chest. They take toys to kids with cancer in hospitals. When Micky came by and asked me if I could take a picture of trolls, I was all in. When I found out that the designer / art director was Cindy Sikorski, I was truly excited. On the shoot day Micky and Cindy did the styling, it’s tough to get those tiny clothes to look good on those inflexible little bodies. They did the hair too! It was loads of fun, and profoundly worth while.
Detroit
Automotive Studio Photography
Finding the best angle for a particular car is an impossibility. Best angle for what? Best to display what the designer was thinking? Or best at telling the story that it’s a zoomy exciting car, or a practical safe family car? You get the Idea. Where you stand and where you point has a huge impact on what a photograph says. It’s one of the best lessons I learned from Walter Farynk when I was in school. As always, I’m interested in hearing your thoughts and comments.
1966 Mustang
I recently met Barry at a parking lot where a lot of, well, car nuts (enthusiasts, whatever, this is Detroit!) hang out with their hot, customized, modified, cars. Barry’s 1966 Mustang has 500 plus horsepower under the hood, a strengthened frame so it doesn't twist, because that's a lot of power. It has a new hood scoop, tires, wheels, awesome! He brought it to the studio so I could photograph it for a day. This is the first of a few shots that I did. Afterword, I showed it to my friend Jim Tocco from Designers & Partners. He added some art direction and text. You can see the original here. As always, I’m interested in what Emmeline or anyone else thinks.
Detroit Gears
They look kinda like gears, but I’m not really sure what they are. They do look like Detroit! My job is not to use them, it’s to make them look good. Loads of texture from the rust. The color of the rust also compliments the color of the gears. Ordinarily, rust is the enemy, but in this case it provides contrast in texture. As ever, I am interested in your thoughts and comments.
Racing Wheels
Shooting beautiful, shiny automotive parts is a perk of working and living in metro Detroit. Sure the area has it’s problems, a cyclical economy, the city is bankrupt... Still, if you like cars it’s the place to be. This wheel is formed in three parts to create a strong, light and attractive racing wheel, and it’s made right here in metro Detroit. As always, I am interested in you comments.