Jim Wright has been busy this year. If you’ve walked by a newsstand, you’ve probably seen his work on multiple magazine covers. Wright shot Bruce Willis, Gerard Butler, and Brett Favre for three issues of Men’s Journal, Maggie Gyllenhaal and Emma Thompson for Good Housekeeping, Claire Danes for Access, Hugh Grant, Chris Noth, and Sylvester Stallone for three issues of Cigar Aficionado, and Rachel Ray for multiple issues of Every Day with Rachel Ray.
It comes as no surprise that Wright is one of the winners of PDN Faces contest. His physically grueling shoot with Bruce Willis for Men’s Journal is one of the judge’s top picks. We asked Wright to comment on some of his memorable covers after the jump.
Cole Haan returns this fall with a continuation of “The Inspired Life” campaign. Six individuals “driven by their passion, vision, and curiosity” take center stage in images shot by The Selby as he captures them about their daily lives. DJ and musician Lindsey Caldwell, proprietor Jonathan Roquemaure, photographer and model Oona Hart, vintage store owner and singer Adazoe, farmer Nolan Calisch, and painter Jenna Gribbon (pictured above) star in the campaign. Visit “The Inspired Life” at Cole Haan’s website to read interviews and view photos of each person conducted by The Selby.
Republic, a retail brand based in the United Kingdom, debuts its first above-the-line campaign for fall/winter 2010. The chain currently has 100 stores across the United Kingdom and Ireland with plans to more than double its stores in the next five years. Ad agency Propaganda drives Republic into the forefront of its audience, the free-spirited 16-24 year olds, with a print and digital campaign that uses various social media channels. The “YOUR RULES YOUR REPUBLIC” campaign features lithe, young party-goers with shiny hair and glowing skin shimmying through the night.
Who better to capture the campaign’s carefree attitude than Kareem Black? His New York nightlife chronicles can be seen on his website /life. For the Republic campaign, he turned his attention to the London scene. Says Black, “I wanted the Republic campaign to look like the characters were having the time of their lives.” Models clad in the latest Republic looks danced all day and night to music picks by Black, listening to music by Girl Talk and Lord Easy and mixes by DJs Valissa Yoe, Atrak, and The Rub.
The O’Hare International Airport in Chicago is one of the busiest airports in the world, serving tens of thousands of passengers a day with flights to over 60 international destinations. Nearly half of the traffic in O’Hare International is operated by United Airlines, whose hub is stationed at O’Hare. For the fall fashion issue of Chicago magazine, photographer Brian Doben and Fashion Director Stacey Jones took advantage of O’Hare’s expansive architectural features to shoot the video and fashion story “Arrivals and Departures,” spending a full 12 hour day exploring the United Airlines terminal.
The story came to Jones as she was attending fashion shows in New York and Paris. Says Jones, “The concept was that the model embodied different characters – one being the harder, minimalistic bad girl and the opposite, more feminine, retro softer version. I wanted to shoot at O’Hare because of its clean lines, open spaces and tons of light and glass that would become an integral part of the story.”
Poor vision continues to plague undeveloped areas of the world where finding an optician is costly and time-consuming. Danish optometry chain Nyt Syn, or “New Vision,” strives to make a difference with their “Glasses for Africa” program. Nyt Syn collected eyeglasses from more than 70,000 people in Denmark. Six opticians and a nurse then traveled to low-income areas of Gambia and Senegal to administer eye exams and fit them with the collected glasses. Joachim Ladefoged accompanied them on their journey to villages around Africa, shooting video and reportage-style images to document the trip.
As people finished their exam and were given a pair of donated glasses, Ladefoged was there to take each person’s picture. The portraits are featured on Nyt Syn’s website, in store displays, and the corporate magazine. The print campaign has been shortlisted for a Creative Circle Award. While the portraits show people sitting still and refined, their visible reactions of the joy and awe of being able to see clearly are captured in Ladefoged’s video footage.
Stuart Hall photographs the unmistakable look of Amsterdam for Amstel, drawing on the brewery’s Dutch heritage. The new Amstel campaign can be seen all over cities in out of home ads and in publications. Even though the advertisements hit the streets in the summer, Hall shot on location in Amsterdam during a snowstorm. Remembers Hall, “The canals were frozen over and all the trees were in a winter state. We composed the images to show little or no trees, shot additional water, and used additional lighting for the warm sun look.”
With creative lighting solutions and careful scouting, the Amstel advertisements retain the warm, glowing feel of Amsterdam.
J. Crew’s sister brand Madewell 1937 debuted its online store this spring to eager shoppers. Justin Hollar captures the latest styles for the retailer in its new online look book. Soft layered tees, lightweight cardigans, and effortless blazers are among the new arrivals to pique excitement for fall. Hollar has worked with Madewell on multiple projects, shooting in various locations such as a factory in the Bronx, in studio, and on Coney Island. No matter the place, Hollar’s photographs continue to bring out the essence of Madewell.
The Selby has spent years looking inside the quirky homes of people around the planet and interviewing them for his website, theselby.com. Subjects range from the virtually unknown to high profile figures such as designer Karl Lagerfeld and model Helena Christensen. The New York Times visited The Selby’s studio in New York for a feature in the Sunday Styles section. William Van Meter reports that “theselby.com is a window into the private realms of those Mr. Selby deems ‘cool.’”
The article follows The Selby’s ascent from a photographer working on a personal project to a bona fide phenomena. Commercial success followed his cult status as an ethnographer of the homes of unique individuals, shooting campaigns for Cole Haan and Nike and working on a special project with Louis Vuitton. The Selby talks about his unusual path to success that is becoming the norm: “When I started in 2001, it was very clear. You start working for magazines, work your way up to the best magazines, the art buyers and art directors see those great magazines and hire you to shoot an ad campaign. Now it’s a totally different game. People who are making decisions about ad campaigns aren’t looking at magazines for inspiration. They’re looking at the Internet.”
The 51st Communication Arts Photography Annual looks at the best photography of the year, choosing 147 winning projects from the 6,075 entries. Among those to catch the jurors’ eyes are Jamie Chung, Michael Schnabel, and Stephen Wilkes. Says juror Jane Perovich of Getty Images, “Original, authentically inspiring images that are emotionally accessible will continue to be the foundation for what informs us, makes us think and ultimately captivates us.”
Pictured above: Michael Schnabel’s advertising campaign for O2, one of the largest leading mobile telecommunications provider.
The Deepwater Horizon oil drilling unit exploded on April 20th, spilling millions of gallons of crude oil into the Gulf of Mexico and resulting in the deaths of 11 platform workers. Operated by BP, the company continues its efforts to halt the spill, drilling a relief well to intersect the original well. The relief well must strike a specific target that is more than 3 miles beneath the surface of the ocean; sensors and magnetometers direct the path of its construction. Once the relief well is finished, mud, cement, and other materials will be pumped into the original well to restrict the flow of oil.
The relief well is meant to be the final solution after several short-term attempts such as the containment dome and top kill failed. Stephen Wilkes embarked on an oil rig for Time magazine, capturing the latest events surrounding the aftermath of the explosion. Arriving via helicopter, Wilkes took aerial shots of the operation. Once on board, Wilkes chronicled the workers trying to stanch the spill, attending to the drill of the relief well and monitoring activity from the rig control room.
Alan Cresto reunites with Grammy-nominated R&B singer/songwriter Ne-Yo to direct a promotional video for Macy’s. Ne-Yo shows off his sleek and tailored style in clothing by Macy’s private label Alfani Red while performing “Nobody” off of the Year of the Gentleman album. Cresto shot the video over two days around New York City, filming a helicopter entrance, riding around the city in a vintage car, and Ne-Yo performing on a floating barge in the East River with the iconic skyline in the background.
Ne-Yo will release his fourth studio album Libra Scale in September. Comments Cresto, “Ne-Yo is a dynamic performer who gives 150%, and as we’d worked together before, there was a mutual trust and respect which enabled the project to go that much further.” Cresto previously collaborated with Macy’s and Ne-Yo for another Alfani Red promotional video that was shown nationwide. Both videos were shot with the RED camera system.
Armed with summer’s best and freshest offerings, Real Simple offers delicious and effortless 3-ingredient recipes in their August issue. Christopher Baker continues his collaboration with the magazine, shooting the cover, feature story, and a new section called “Secretly Simple.” The feature story “3 Ingredient Summer Recipes” opens with elegantly plated raw ingredients. Prop stylist Jeffrey Miller set the plates on backgrounds of varying shades of white, off-white, and blue-grey, making a clean grid.
Each plate’s contents gives the reader a clue as to what’s in store on the following pages where the finished dishes are revealed. Comments Baker on the raw ingredient grid concept, “It gives the reader something to think about – it’s a little bit of a puzzle for them, to figure out what’s what. Visually, I thought it’d be more striking than continually shooting close-ups.”
For the past few months Kareem Black has been documenting his nightlife escapades with a special section on his website entitled /LIFE. Whereas his commercial work is what he shoots during the day, /LIFE is Kareem Black uncut and unbridled in the evening – dirty Chinatown toilets, flowing Champagne in dingy dive bars, and girls riding inflatable fish balloons.
When New York Magazine approached Black to photograph a story on the hotel nightlife scene in New York, the extension of his /LIFE project in a new environment was only natural. Jackie Ladner of New York Magazine explains, “I could see from the free style of Kareem’s ‘Life’ section on his site that he had a positive spirit and a strength. Though this shoot was a slight challenge (July 4th weekend and the hottest day), his way with people made him perfect for an assignment that required him to step into a room, capture people unguarded having a great time as if they all knew each other, and with an amazing eye for details, found moments that were so familiar yet still alluring.”
Coca-Cola introduces it’s Coca-Cola Zero “Wild health” campaign to China. Coca-Cola Zero boasts its zero calorie and zero sugar features, made with artificial sweeteners Aspartame and Acesulfame Potassium (Ace K). Coca-Cola Zero gives calorie and sugar conscious consumers an alternative choice to the traditional Coca-Cola recipe.
Ruud Baan caught models Carlos Koo and Miranda Louey in high-energy motion, their intense action is amplified with red energy lines and icy graphics. Says Baan, “We shot every moment meticulously until we had the right pose and attitude. We wanted the models to jump and box but still look relaxed and not forced.” The eye-catching red and black campaign can be seen in print, on billboards, and over the web all over China.
Apple opened its newest location in Shanghai on Saturday, July 10th. Inspired by the glass cube of the Fifth Avenue store in New York, Apple uses some of the largest pieces of glass in the world to construct its first cylindrical store.The surrounding plaza echoes the shape of the store. The glass cylinder represents a pebble dropped into a pond, and the concentric circles stand for ripples of water and the energy that radiates throughout China.
A spiral staircase in the cylinder winds its way down to the retail shop below the surface. Roy Zipstein captures the signature clean lines of the Apple store in his photos, continuing his collaboration with Apple. He was present at the opening to document the interior and exterior of the store, as well as the natural pandemonium that accompanies the anticipation of every new Apple store.
