Ford
Ford
Archival Pigment Print
No industrial company played a bigger role in the evolution of American culture than the Ford Motor Company. Founded in Detroit, Michigan by Henry Ford in 1903, the voting structure means that it has been in continuous family control for over 100 years, despite being a public company. Today it remains one of the largest family-controlled companies in the world. Henry Ford is rightly recognised as one of America’s great industrialists and the early car models, like the mass-produced Ford Model T, changed how Americans travelled and lived.
Two generations later, in the 1960s, Ford challenged Ferrari’s dominance in the racing car marketplace; an unlikely story that was well chronicled in the movie Ford v Ferrari. Some of the scenes from that film were shot at Willow Springs race circuit in California and we were excited to have access to this location to tell our own Ford racing division stories. The 1967 Ford GT40 MK111 sits strikingly low to the ground and I saw an opportunity to pair the car with Cindy Crawford’s long legs. Hopefully the visual mismatch would then serve to highlight and showcase the beauty of both subjects.
Cindy is one of the brightest of the lead supermodels since the 1980s and role playing is hardly a challenge for her. Meanwhile I suspect that Jimmie Johnson – one of the most successful NASCAR racers of all time – is also a performing artist in his spare time. The camera likes him and he likes the camera. The two American stars lives had not crossed until that day in Willow Springs, but they worked well together in this set and this photograph is certainly a keeper. Cindy is exceptional. I want to thank Sam Bryne and his team at CrossHarbor Capital Partners for trusting us with this project and the Petersen Automotive Museum in LA for transporting some very precious sports cars up to Willow Springs.
Available sizes
Large: Edition of 20 + 3 AP
- Image Size: 56” x 84” in (142.2 cm x 213.4 cm)
- Framed Image: 71” x 99” in (180.3 cm x 251.5 cm)
Standard: Edition of 20 + 3 AP
- Image Size: 37” x 56” in (93.98 cm x 142.2 cm)
- Framed Image: 52” x 71” in (132.1 cm x 180.3 cm)
We ship worldwide and use a multitude of providers to safely deliver your masterpiece. Domestic delivery and installation may also be available via Hilton Asmus Contemporary’s private art shuttle. Please inquire.
1966 (Colour)
Willow Springs, California
Archival Pigment Print
“One of the locations for the Oscar winning movie Ford v Ferrari was Willow Springs racetrack, an hour northeast of Hollywood. When we knew we might have the opportunity to film there, I watched the scenes at the racetrack several times and I recognised that for a single image story to be successful, there had to be a definitive sense of place. The mountainous backdrop to the circuit defines it as much the 1950s buildings scattered around the pit area. In the movie, Matt Damon plays Carroll Shelby enlisted by Ford to try and compete on the racetrack with Ferrari. The film reaches its climax at Le Mans in 1966 where Shelby’s car gets the better of Ferrari. It seemed appropriate therefore to bring a 1966 Ford Mustang Shelby GT 350 as our principal prop in this period tableau. But our ambitions were high and our large cast was led by Cindy Crawford who I knew would own her role as a triumphant racer. She always delivers and has such presence in this photograph.
It is always validating to work with her and our commitment to our craft is never higher than on these occasions. Two days before we shot, I found myself sitting near Christian Bale at a West Hollywood restaurant and I remembered how integral he was to the movie. I knew a Texan model who could play to that vibe and my instincts were to quickly drag him in at the last moment. He slipped in the space behind Cindy and I think he elevates the image. It’s the little things. Motor racing enthusiasts will also see “The King” Richard Petty behind the car on the right. Richard, who won the Daytona 500 seven times, was a joy to have on set and added to the freewheeling joy of the day. The title of this photograph is fitting as Cindy Crawford and I were both born in 1966. I show my age, but Cindy certainly does not, as this special picture fully showcases. I would like to thank the team at CrossHarbor Capital Partners, led by Sam Byrne, for facilitating and encouraging this project and for inviting Richard Perry and Jimmie Johnson. But most of all, thank you to Cindy Crawford for being outstanding in her role.
Available sizes
Large: Edition of 20 + 3 AP
- Image Size: 45” x 103” in (114.3 cm x 261.6 cm)
- Framed Image: 60” x 118” in (152.4 cm x 299.7 cm)
Standard: Edition of 20 + 3 AP
- Image Size: 34” x 77” in (86.36 cm x 195.6 cm)
- Framed Image: 49” x 92” in (124.5 cm x 233.7 cm)
We ship worldwide and use a multitude of providers to safely deliver your masterpiece. Domestic delivery and installation may also be available via Hilton Asmus Contemporary’s private art shuttle. Please inquire.
1966 (B&W)
Willow Springs, California
Archival Pigment Print
“One of the locations for the Oscar winning movie Ford v Ferrari was Willow Springs racetrack, an hour northeast of Hollywood. When we knew we might have the opportunity to film there, I watched the scenes at the racetrack several times and I recognised that for a single image story to be successful, there had to be a definitive sense of place. The mountainous backdrop to the circuit defines it as much the 1950s buildings scattered around the pit area. In the movie, Matt Damon plays Carroll Shelby enlisted by Ford to try and compete on the racetrack with Ferrari. The film reaches its climax at Le Mans in 1966 where Shelby’s car gets the better of Ferrari. It seemed appropriate therefore to bring a 1966 Ford Mustang Shelby GT 350 as our principal prop in this period tableau. But our ambitions were high and our large cast was led by Cindy Crawford who I knew would own her role as a triumphant racer. She always delivers and has such presence in this photograph.
It is always validating to work with her and our commitment to our craft is never higher than on these occasions. Two days before we shot, I found myself sitting near Christian Bale at a West Hollywood restaurant and I remembered how integral he was to the movie. I knew a Texan model who could play to that vibe and my instincts were to quickly drag him in at the last moment. He slipped in the space behind Cindy and I think he elevates the image. It’s the little things. Motor racing enthusiasts will also see “The King” Richard Petty behind the car on the right. Richard, who won the Daytona 500 seven times, was a joy to have on set and added to the freewheeling joy of the day. The title of this photograph is fitting as Cindy Crawford and I were both born in 1966. I show my age, but Cindy certainly does not, as this special picture fully showcases. I would like to thank the team at CrossHarbor Capital Partners, led by Sam Byrne, for facilitating and encouraging this project and for inviting Richard Perry and Jimmie Johnson. But most of all, thank you to Cindy Crawford for being outstanding in her role.
Available sizes
Large: Edition of 20 + 3 AP
- Image Size: 45” x 103” in (114.3 cm x 261.6 cm)
- Framed Image: 60” x 118” in (152.4 cm x 299.7 cm)
Standard: Edition of 20 + 3 AP
- Image Size: 34” x 77” in (86.36 cm x 195.6 cm)
- Framed Image: 49” x 92” in (124.5 cm x 233.7 cm)
We ship worldwide and use a multitude of providers to safely deliver your masterpiece. Domestic delivery and installation may also be available via Hilton Asmus Contemporary’s private art shuttle. Please inquire.
Sin City
Sin City
Joshua Tree, California – 2023
“Joshua Tree National Park, to the south east of Los Angeles, offers a unique visual canvas on which to tell stories. The rock formations and the trees make it a most distinctive playground for the filmmaker. An added bonus is that whilst the main roads through the park boast modern tarmac surfaces, there are some wonderfully timeless single lane dust tracks cutting through the scorched terrain.
In our early morning scouting trips to Joshua Tree, these dust roads were the focus of our attention, because a road often offers the lead component around which to build a story. I found a spot that, when looking west in the early morning light, offered so much, including the disconnect of snow on the distant mountain.
However, we were thrown a curve ball by the light. As many who have travelled to Joshua Tree will testify, the visuals are at their best within an hour of sunrise and an hour of sunset. This meant a 3.30 am start for Cindy Crawford and her team in order for her to be on set by 6 am and she is known for her punctuality.
My narrative was simply that a girl returning from Vegas, has either run out of money, run out of fuel, or both, but despite this misfortune, she cuts a figure of lackadaisical, carefree sexuality. It may, of course, have been those attributes that drew her to Sin City in the first place, but that is for the viewer to interpret. I can only show, not tell.
I like to shoot with an historic period in mind rather than in the modern day as it adds another layer to a still photograph. The abandoned Ford pick-up truck certainly takes us back in time and the Willie Nelson T-Shirt homes in on an 80s vibe.
Cindy Crawford is a remarkable woman and we both love this photograph.”
AVAILABLE SIZES:
LARGE - Edition of 20 + 3 AP:
- Framed: 56” x 84” in (142.2 cm x 213.4 cm)
- Framed: 71” x 99” in (180.3 cm x 251.5 cm)
STANDARD - Edition of 20 + 3 AP:
- Image Size: 37” x 56” in (93.98 cm x 142.2 cm)
- Framed Size: 52” x 71" in (132.1 cm x 180.3 cm)
STANDARD - Edition of 20 + 3 AP:
- Image Size: 37” x 45” in (93.98 cm x 114.3 cm)
- Framed Size: 52” x 60" in (132.1 cm x 152.4 cm)
We ship worldwide and use a multitude of providers to safely deliver your masterpiece. Domestic delivery and installation may also be available via Hilton Asmus Contemporary’s private art shuttle. Please inquire.
Roy's
Amboy, California – 2023
“This photograph of Cindy Crawford, walking on Route 66 in front of a landmark 1950s motel, smells of Americana and that, of course, was my intent. We were not able to close the road down and had to wing it slightly at the end of the day, but “stolen” images are often the best.
There are many constituent parts to this image and I am, as usual, reminded again, just how good our respective teams are when working under pressure. Not only is it 100 degrees outside; we are on a main road deep in the Californian desert and there are tourists swarming the area around Roy’s not quite believing their luck at seeing Cindy and yet we managed to pull this off. Just a fraction of a second, but that is all it takes.
It was a 20-hour day that day, but one of the best we have had together and a huge amount of the credit
goes to our production teams. It’s the small things like Cindy’s hair that make such a difference to this photograph and the forecourt of Roy’s is no studio, it’s a working gas station. I raise my glass to Cindy’s hair stylist – the legend that is Peter Savic. I know working in an arid and sometimes windy desert is not his preferred environment, but he is a total professional.
The perspective offered by a standard lens is pleasing to the human eye as that is what we are used to day in day out; the camera lens sees what we see. But there are challenges in this frame as I needed to include both her feet and the Roy’s sign and yet I could not afford for her face to be too far from the camera. Only a few angles were going to work and then we also had the props behind.
But she knows exactly what she is doing and how to help me with my job. That’s why she is who she is.”
Available sizes
LARGE: Edition of 20 + 3 AP
- Image size: 57” x 56" in (144.8 cm x 142.2 cm)
- Framed Image: 72” x 71" in (182.9 cm x 180.3 cm)
STANDARD: Edition of 20 + 3 AP
- Image size: 38” x 37" in (96.52 cm x 93.98 cm)
- Framed Image: 53” x 52" in (134.6 cm x 132.1 cm)
We ship worldwide and use a multitude of providers to safely deliver your masterpiece. Domestic delivery and installation may also be available via Hilton Asmus Contemporary’s private art shuttle. Please inquire.
Planes, Trains and Automobiles
Planes, Trains and Automobiles
Amboy, California – 2023
“I think visiting a potential film location for the first time is akin to a first date or a first experience at an acclaimed restaurant. It is all so unfamiliar and there is no guide as to where to start. The sensory overload can be intimidating and it takes time to distill and be oneself. Most second dates are better than the first and those who like a restaurant on their first visit will tend to enjoy it even more on the second and so it goes on. If this wasn’t the case, the brain is not the organ we give it credit for being. We are all incremental learners and we enjoy and leverage familiarity.
The first time I visited this railway track in the hot Californian desert, I knew it had visual potential, especially if I shot late in the afternoon and directly against the light, but I needed a month or so to let the cocktail of what I could do marinate in my own mind.
My predilection is to avoid the static or the mundane and planes, trains and cars in a still can look frozen. A plane defies gravity so that helps in a single image, but I knew the car and the train could not join it. I don’t envy Formula 1 photographers; it’s such a difficult sport to take stills of. My visual leaning was to have a sense of movement elsewhere and that’s where the idea of dust being kicked up from railway workers offered a solution. The light would be my partner.
Once the premise is there, it is about scalpel sharp precision in the detail. Let’s not have any car – let’s have a vintage 1953 Ferrari and let’s not have any girl holding the image together, let’s have Cindy Crawford – perhaps America’s most loved and celebrated model.
The styling in this shot was excellent and I thank Nicole Allowitz for being so good at her craft. This photograph is as much a testament to her as it is to me. The railway workers are so on point, as, of course, is Cindy. She is a given.
It is possible that some of my work over the last 10 years – particularly with wildlife – has been imitated and filmmakers have every right to do so. I celebrate a good picture like everyone else and there are some very able cameramen out there. But I don’t think this photograph is going to be imitated in a hurry and this gives me a little smile.”
AVAILABLE SIZES:
LARGE - Edition of 20:
- Framed: 56” x 69” in (142.2 cm x 175.3 cm)
- Framed: 71” x 84” in (180.3 cm x 213.4 cm)
LARGE - Edition of 20 + 3 AP:
- Image Size: 56” x 68” in (142.2 cm x 172.7 cm)
- Framed Size: 71” x 83" in (180.3 cm x 210.8 cm)
STANDARD - Edition of 20 + 3 AP:
- Image Size: 37” x 45” in (93.98 cm x 114.3 cm)
- Framed Size: 52” x 60" in (132.1 cm x 152.4 cm)
We ship worldwide and use a multitude of providers to safely deliver your masterpiece. Domestic delivery and installation may also be available via Hilton Asmus Contemporary’s private art shuttle. Please inquire.
South By Southwest (2023)
South By Southwest
Amboy, California – 2023
“Hitchcock’s acclaimed 1959 espionage thriller – North by Northwest – has long being a prompt for me; especially the sequence in which the fleeing Cary Grant is chased down by the crop spraying plane. It was cinema ahead of its time and I admit to watching that sequence more times than would be considered normal.
During COVID, we played on this storyline near my home in Devon, but in 2023 I drew up a more ambitious story that would be played out in the isolated desert community of Amboy, California. We had scouted the area intensely and knew our angles, our light and most of all the landowners.
The premise was to style the set as if we were indeed in the late 1950s and we recognised that we had a strong backdrop, as Roy’s Cafe is one of the treasure trove authentic landmarks of Route 66. From Roy’s looking east, the Mother Road stretches straight to the horizon in a way that plays to our preconceptions of Americana road trips. We then brought in a 1953 Ferrari 250 MM Vignale Spyder as the lead car and dressed the background with a Ford pick-up from the late 1940s.
But this was mere window dressing and my sense was that in order to transcend, this story required some heavyweight components. Flatteringly, Cindy Crawford agreed to be the main protagonist and I knew she would give Cary Grant a run for his money. Cindy is the best of the best and it is always a huge honour to work with her. Ascribe her a role and a look and she will nail it every time.
But we also needed a plane. Amboy has a tiny runway strip and towards the end of the day, when the traffic
is lighter, a good pilot can flirt with the tarmac of Route 66. I needed a pilot whom I could trust and I found him in Greg Caldwell, who slightly reminded me of the heroic crop spraying pilot from the movie Independence Day. We had worked with him before and there didn’t seem much to trouble Greg – not even his plane’s aerial proximity to a $10m Ferrari or, more importantly, one of the world’s most identifiable and revered women.
There is a film noir feel to the image and I think the relatively flat light helps the rather menacing mood. But the credit lies with both Greg and Cindy who did exactly what I asked them to do .
I guess we may have broken some new ground here as well as a few rules. The BTS video of this shot is worth seeing, it’s one of our better ones.”
AVAILABLE SIZES:
LARGE - Edition of 20:
- Framed: 56” x 69” in (142.2 cm x 175.3 cm)
- Framed: 71” x 84” in (180.3 cm x 213.4 cm)
LARGE - Edition of 20 + 3 AP:
- Image Size: 56” x 81” in (142.2 cm x 205.7 cm)
- Framed Size: 71” x 96" in (180.3 cm x 243.8 cm)
STANDARD - Edition of 20 + 3 AP:
- Image Size: 37” x 54” in (93.98 cm x 137.1 cm)
- Framed Size: 52” x 69" in (132.1 cm x 175.3 cm)
We ship worldwide and use a multitude of providers to safely deliver your masterpiece. Domestic delivery and installation may also be available via Hilton Asmus Contemporary’s private art shuttle. Please inquire.
Summer of '75 (Colour)
Los Angeles, California – 2022
Spielberg once said “a good idea almost always starts off as a bad idea, that’s why it takes so long”.
I am drawn to filming road stories as the road can direct the viewer and the implicit journey is an allegory of the journey of life; we are all on our own road trip.
Sunset Boulevard does not split landscapes with the majesty and grandeur of the deserts of the South West, but it is up there for me as one of the most exciting stretches of road in America. It is the heart of movie land and the massive billboards on the strip in West Hollywood leave the driver in no doubt that they are in the entertainment capital of the world.
My favourite filming location on the boulevard is looking west on the border of West Hollywood and Hollywood. In part because I can give a nod to one of the most famous hotels in the world without killing the compositional balance and in part because the famous vertical billboard, so often used by Marlboro in the old days, is in the heart of the image.
It is a special part of Americana and I am surprised that American icons have not been filmed more often in this location. I guess one reason is that it’s a very busy road and shutting it down for filming is not easy.
The idea of shooting here needed work and refinement. We needed a lead, we needed to close the road down and then we needed a creative idea around which to wrap everything. My choice of lead was easy; Cindy Crawford is made for this shot. The closure of the road restricted our window to a Sunday morning between sunrise and 8 am, which meant a 4.30 am wake up. But Cindy is the most punctual, professional and willing of all the stars with whom we work.
The creative processing was the key. I decided that we could go back in time to an era when Hollywood was free rolling, liberal and fun and all the props would emphatically play to that moment in time. It was the love and peace summer of 1975.
Cindy’s team of stylist Nicole Allowitz; hair stylist Pete Savic and make up star Sam Visser are one hell of a crew and she looked absolutely fantastic. My job is easy with her on board and as always, we had a blast. I wanted a mid 70s vibe and Cindy’s team and my production team delivered.
I am pleased that one of the greatest films of all time – Jaws – takes care of the Marlboro billboard. As its iconic director said “good ideas take time”.
AVAILABLE SIZES:
LARGE: Edition of 20 + 3 AP
- Image Size: 56” x 70” in (142.24 cm x 177.8 cm)
- Framed Image: 71” x 85” in (180.34 cm x 215.9 cm)
STANDARD: Edition of 20 + 3 AP
- Image Size: 37” x 46” in (93.98 cm x 116.84 cm)
- Framed Image: 52” x 61" in (132.08 cm x 154.94 cm)
We ship worldwide and use a multitude of providers to safely deliver your masterpiece. Domestic delivery and installation may also be available via Hilton Asmus Contemporary’s private art shuttle. Please inquire.
Summer of '75
Los Angeles, California – 2022
Spielberg once said “a good idea almost always starts off as a bad idea, that’s why it takes so long”.
I am drawn to filming road stories as the road can direct the viewer and the implicit journey is an allegory of the journey of life; we are all on our own road trip.
Sunset Boulevard does not split landscapes with the majesty and grandeur of the deserts of the South West, but it is up there for me as one of the most exciting stretches of road in America. It is the heart of movie land and the massive billboards on the strip in West Hollywood leave the driver in no doubt that they are in the entertainment capital of the world.
My favourite filming location on the boulevard is looking west on the border of West Hollywood and Hollywood. In part because I can give a nod to one of the most famous hotels in the world without killing the compositional balance and in part because the famous vertical billboard, so often used by Marlboro in the old days, is in the heart of the image.
It is a special part of Americana and I am surprised that American icons have not been filmed more often in this location. I guess one reason is that it’s a very busy road and shutting it down for filming is not easy.
The idea of shooting here needed work and refinement. We needed a lead, we needed to close the road down and then we needed a creative idea around which to wrap everything. My choice of lead was easy; Cindy Crawford is made for this shot. The closure of the road restricted our window to a Sunday morning between sunrise and 8 am, which meant a 4.30 am wake up. But Cindy is the most punctual, professional and willing of all the stars with whom we work.
The creative processing was the key. I decided that we could go back in time to an era when Hollywood was free rolling, liberal and fun and all the props would emphatically play to that moment in time. It was the love and peace summer of 1975.
Cindy’s team of stylist Nicole Allowitz; hair stylist Pete Savic and make up star Sam Visser are one hell of a crew and she looked absolutely fantastic. My job is easy with her on board and as always, we had a blast. I wanted a mid 70s vibe and Cindy’s team and my production team delivered.
I am pleased that one of the greatest films of all time – Jaws – takes care of the Marlboro billboard. As its iconic director said “good ideas take time”.
AVAILABLE SIZES:
LARGE: Edition of 20 + 3 AP
- Image Size: 56” x 70” in (142.24 cm x 177.8 cm)
- Framed Image: 71” x 85” in (180.34 cm x 215.9 cm)
STANDARD: Edition of 20 + 3 AP
- Image Size: 37” x 46” in (93.98 cm x 116.84 cm)
- Framed Image: 52” x 61" in (132.08 cm x 154.94 cm)
We ship worldwide and use a multitude of providers to safely deliver your masterpiece. Domestic delivery and installation may also be available via Hilton Asmus Contemporary’s private art shuttle. Please inquire.