Beach Bums
Anguilla, Caribbean – 2022
Archival Pigment Print on 315gsm Hahnemühle Photo Rag Baryta Paper
In my deliberation over the Pirates in the Caribbean project, there were two overriding personal filters. The first was to avoid being formulaic and the second was my sense that it would be commercial suicide to be too earnest. Pirates are mythological figures and whilst what they did was very serious, I was only too aware of the dangers of us taking ourselves too seriously in any revisionist portrayal. We should have fun; just as Disney did with their blockbuster franchise.
The pirates we had assembled in Anguilla looked the part and our giant canvas of the pirate boat offered the best context in the background. The key building blocks were in place on this set, we just needed ‘the x factor’. I played with half a dozen ideas to complete the story in the foreground and there was one concept that seemed to stand out – the arriving pirates must have an encounter.
Encounters represent a dilemma for still photographers who can’t do “over the shoulder two takes”. We have the one chance and that tends to mean that we lose one face. But I saw how we could use that to our advantage in that anonymity might work if it told a story.
Daniela Braga, the Brazilian Victoria’s Secret model and a sweetheart, was on set with us. She is smart, fun loving and she fully embraced the idea I had in mind.
I think the photograph works well. As someone wryly said, those pirates who lost an eye must have been cursing themselves.
Available sizes
Large - Edition of 12
- Image Size: 56” x 97” in (142.24 cm x 246.38 cm)
- Framed Image: 71” x 112” in (180.34 cm x 284.48 cm)
Standard - Edition of 12
- Image Size: 37” x 64” in (93.98 cm x 162.56 cm)
- Framed Image: 52” x 79” in (132.08 cm x 200.66 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.
Indecent Proposal
Montana, USA 2020
AVAILABLE SIZES:
- Standard Framed size: 48 x 67 inches
- Large Framed size: 67 x 95 inches
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.
The Wolves Of Wall Street
Los Angeles, USA 2019
The concept of this photograph has been bouncing around in my head for over a year. We prepared for many months as it was clear to me that if we were to pay homage to The Wolf of Wall Street, we had to do it well. There was no point in doing it in a casual way – after all, Martin Scorsese is one of my heroes and his framing is so exceptional that we had to be at the top of our game not to materially underachieve in any recreation. It was the biggest production of my career.
The location of the abandoned office in Simi Valley outside Los Angeles was ideal for most of the cast – including Jordan Belfort – the real Wolf of Wall Street, but not so ideal for the wolves, as there was no working air conditioning inside. This meant importing huge AC units to keep the animals cool. The green room on the side of the dealing floor was transformed into a giant fridge for the day.
The final image is one of the most satisfying of my career. I wanted as many references to the film as possible – Cameron Dallas eating the goldfish, Jordan with his pen, the marching band, the dollar notes and the glitter. Both models – Kate Bock and Daniela Braga – smashed it in their roles, not easy with so much going on and a wolf charging down the table. Both Kate and Dany are at the top of their game and pivotal to this photograph.
Someone once said that the best pictures can be looked at for a very long time. On that level, this image wins. However, the key for me was to find out what the world’s most celebrated actor thought of this one snap shot in time. Without his approval, this photograph would lose some of its relevance. I was proud when he told me that it captured the very essence of Belfort.
We did it and I feel that we left nothing in the bucket in the conception and the execution. It is as good as I can do.
AVAILABLE SIZES:
MEDIUM (Signed by DiCaprio & Scorsese) - Edition Size: 12
- Image: 45" x 83" (115 cm x 211 cm)
- Framed: 56" x 94" (143 cm x 239 cm)
STANDARD - Edition Size: 12
- Image: 37" x 68" (94 cm x 173 cm)
- Framed: 48" x 79" (122 cm x 201 cm
We ship worldwide and use a multitude of providers to safely deliver your artwork. Domestic delivery and installation may also be available via Hilton Contemporary’s private art shuttle. Please inquire.
The Richest Hill in the World
Montana, USA 2018
I have wrestled with how I could convey the drama of a wolf encounter for some time. The problem, in my mind, was that I wanted the tension of proximity to be coupled with a palpable sense that the drama was yet to be played out – it could go either way. I wondered how Hitchcock would work this – it was not good enough to have distance between the two subjects as focus would then be an issue. The wolf and human needed to be equidistant from the camera to make them both sharp.
Then one day in Montana three years ago, high up in the mountains, I saw an abandoned farm truck not far from the main road. It had probably been there for over 60 years and was now just a rusty shell. It clearly offered potential to play out this concept but ideally I needed fresh snow on the bonnet and roof. The more virginal the snow cover the better.
This year I had my fresh snow and in Roxanna Redfoot, I had the perfect girl to cast in the role of the prey. The doors would not budge and she had to climb in through the broken window – but that was not a big deal for Roxanna even in tough temperatures. She is a rock star and I have no doubt that Hitchcock would have cast her at every opportunity.
It’s one of those images in which simply everything works.
AVAILABLE SIZES:
LARGE - Edition Size: 12
- Image: 56" x 78" (143 x 198 cm)
- Framed: 67" x 89" (171 x 226 cm)
STANDARD - Edition Size: 12
- Image: 37" x 52" (94 x 132 cm)
- Framed: 48" x 63" (122 x 160 cm)
We ship worldwide and use a multitude of providers to safely deliver your artwork. Domestic delivery and installation may also be available via Hilton Contemporary’s private art shuttle. Please inquire.
Roll The Dice
Butte, Montana, USA – 2020
The Silver Dollar Saloon in Butte has everything I would look for in a photo shoot bar – deep and thin, interesting wall decoration and good neon lighting. Furthermore, there are precious few signs of modernity anywhere in the premises.
Craps has been the dominant casino game in Las Vegas since the World War Two and I have always wanted to incorporate a table into one of my sets. As soon as I scouted the bar, I saw the potential – we just had to find an old Craps table somewhere in Butte. This was not hard as 100,000 people once lived here and the winter evenings were long.
Craps as a game lends itself to still photography more than roulette and poker because the players can crowd around the end of the table as one player throws the dice vaguely in the direction of the cameraman. It worked in the promo stills for Oceans 11 – so it may as well work in the Silver Dollar too. The key is that everyone at the end of the table must – for focusing purposes – be the same distance from the camera. There is no depth of field inside and a two inches disparity will mean that the focus on the transgressor is out.
Kate Bock is made for the Sharon Stone look from the film Casino and Daniella Braga does not take a bad picture. The girls had worked well with Jordan Belfort – The Wolf of Wall Street – in our retake of that iconic film last year and so I invited him to Montana for part two.
The frame just works – Elvis, the dice, the stare of the wolf and of course Kate. There is nothing I would change at all and that’s not common.
AVAILABLE SIZES:
LARGE - Edition Size: 12
- Image: 56" x 70" (143 x 178 cm)
- Framed: 67" x 81" (171 x 206 cm)
STANDARD - Edition Size: 12
- Image: 37" x 46" (94 x 117 cm)
- Framed: 48" x 57" (122 x 145 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.
Castle on Sunset
Los Angeles, CA 2019
It was always my intent to shoot somewhere on Sunset Boulevard as part of our American Road trip series. It is such an iconic stretch of road that has played host to Hollywood stars and their cars for generations. The stretch heading west from Chateau Marmont to the Sunset Plaza is a rich feast for filmmakers, framed on either side with enormous billboards. Sunset Boulevard takes people on their own American dream – it is difficult not to feel energised when driving on it.
But it is far from easy to photograph here – it is a busy highway and the only time it can be closed down for filming tends to be early on a Sunday morning. Furthermore, to be able to use wolves in the car – integral to the theme of the series – West Hollywood was out of bounds as they do not allow the use of exotic animals in outdoor filming. Hollywood, however, does and the boundary line is right by Chateau Marmont.
To an extent, this made our choice of location relatively straightforward. Including the Chateau billboards or the Chateau itself would locate the image emphatically. The Castle On Sunset, as it is now affectionately known, is notorious – conjuring up imagery of sex, drugs and general bad behaviour. This is not a place that lends itself to reserved or quiet weekends. I saw a narrative that played to this reputation – and this demanded a frame that was both suggestive and sexy.
The wolves were not easy to work with and we only had a limited opportunity between sunrise and 10 am when our permit expired. It was a morning of thinking fast and reacting to circumstances as we found them.
AVAILABLE SIZES:
LARGE - Edition Size: 12
- Image: 56" x 81" (143 x 206 cm)
- Framed: 67" x 92" (171 cm x 234 cm)
STANDARD - Edition Size: 12
- Image: 37" x 54" (94 x 138 cm)
- Framed: 48" x 65" (122 cm x 165 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.