Bodega Bay
The second from my series that is a play on Hitchcock’s masterpiece – The Birds. The photograph places British models David Gandy and Bella di Lorenzo in a banged up 1961 Sunbeam Rapier with the Atlantic Ocean as the backdrop. I know the area well and the image was easy to preconceive, but damn hard to capture.
The topography of the coast here in Devon is not dissimilar to the film location of Bodega Bay in northern California and I found a road location that would work well with the morning light. I wanted a big sky and a layered narrative, so I knew long before we shot that I would be working with a wide-angle lens from the car bonnet, with limited depth of field. I rather liked the fencing behind as well – so reminiscent of the opening scene in Jaws – 2 iconic horror films rolled into one.
David is a total professional and Bella is an intelligent young star who can assume a role quickly, so the problem was always going to be the gull. They are not shy in this part of the world and regularly dive bomb our dog. But getting seagulls to dive bomb Bella – in the way they did with Tippi Hedren in the movie – was a challenge, especially in a limited time period.
The answer was to shoot twice and remove the models from the second shot and indeed the photographer. There was still much to do in terms of the gull’s trajectory and the placing of the remote-controlled camera positions. We learnt quickly, however, that seagulls can be very focused when a piece of bread is brought into the equation.
The eye to eye contact is bang on – better than we could have hoped for and I think everyone did a very solid job. It’s a wrap!
AVAILABLE SIZES:
LARGE
- 71 × 79 in (180.3 × 200.7 cm)
SMALL
- 52 × 57 in (132.1 × 144.8 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.
The "Mile High" Club
Montana, USA – 2020
This is a club that now has too many members, but if there was an annual meeting, I doubt that many attendees would create as much interest as these two. I think the image has a Hitchcockian mood and we are left a little in suspense.
As soon as I saw that headframe, I felt a visceral urge to incorporate it and of course use the name. It was all too good to be true,
No one else can now do this – we got there first. As always Kate Bock smashes it – she never gets a role play or an attitude wrong.
AVAILABLE SIZES:
LARGE - Edition Size: 12
- Image: 56" x 85" (143 x 216 cm)
- Framed: 67" x 96" (171 x 244 cm)
STANDARD - Edition Size: 12
- Image: 37" x 56" (94 x 143 cm)
- Framed: 48" x 67" (122 x 171 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.
Road Trip II
Utah, USA 2018
I have always been drawn to the John Ford scenery of Northern Arizona and Utah, the highlight of which has to be Monument Valley. I am clearly not alone in considering the view south from turnoff 13 on the way to Mexican Hat to be one of the most visually intoxicating sights in the US. It was, of course, used in Forrest Gump and then provided the front cover to Ridley Scott’s Thelma and Louise. The US have taken ownership of the term “road trip” as explained succinctly by this stretch of tarmac. It’s truly an iconic and timeless vista that shouts “The Wild West”.
Gladiator is probably Ridley Scott finest movie and I have watched it over and over again. Meanwhile, Thelma and Louise is rightly one of the most lauded road trip movies of all time. About a month ago, I picked up the DVD box and had a moment of inspiration. Their use of the convertible car and the head on angle offered a totally different perspective on Monument Valley.
Taking my pre-conception through to reality last Wednesday morning was no small task. I want to thank Brawler Productions in LA for collaborating with me and helping secure exclusive use of the road at the key time, around 7.40 am. It’s a busy road and the Utah State Police were fantastic. @JosieCanseco played her role brilliantly – it was not easy to look that glamorous and in charge with a wolf sitting In Thelma’s seat. It is no surprise that Victoria’s Secret has booked her for its latest show in NYC.
We arrived on site two days before the shoot as we wanted to be in control of everything within our control. I can’t remember ever pondering more over camera settings and lenses. I knew I would have a generous amount of light to play with at 7.40 and we had to use it well. The big variable was the wolf’s behaviour – the light gets too harsh from about 8am and therefore there was only a small window to get the job wrapped. It was tight, but we did it. All in all, it was a great team effort in a fairly remote part of the American West.
We showed this picture for the first time in Dallas last night and the reaction was huge. It is a very special image and I think we nailed it. Thank you, Josie, you were fabulous.
AVAILABLE SIZES:
LARGE - Edition Size: 12
- Image: 56" x 79" (143 x 201 cm)
- Framed: 67" x 90" (171 cm x 229 cm)
STANDARD - Edition Size: 12
- Image: 37" x 52" (94 x 133)
- 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.
Once Upon A Time...
Los Angeles, California 2019
My plan was to find a section of Sunset Boulevard emblematic of Hollywood – it needed to be familiar to all and have some depth. After a great deal of walking up and down, we chose a spot 200 yards east of the entrance to Chateau Marmont, because the billboards looking west were large and well positioned and the hotel and the hotel sign are so iconic. The bend in the road also helped give the frame a compositional balance that I could not find on other sections – such as Sunset Plaza. In my head it was always going to be a wide angle shot.
To shut the road down meant shooting first thing on a Sunday morning – which worked as we knew the best light would be sunrise if we were shooting towards the Pacific. Equally, I did not want the sun to rise too much as it would be tough on both the wolf and the model’s eyes. Of course, the model was not your run of the mill model – it was Alessandra Ambrosio – one of the world’s most photographed women. She has a very special look and is so easy to work with.
This photograph is as I wanted – very LA, very West Hollywood and jammed with reference points. It’s a little crazy, a little La La Land, but that was the goal. Most of all, to the best of my knowledge, it’s authentic. No one can try and copy it now.
“Once Upon a Time …”
AVAILABLE SIZES:
LARGE - Edition Size: 12
- Image: 56" x 76" (143 x 193 cm)
- Framed: 67" x 87" (171 cm x 221 cm)
STANDARD - Edition Size: 12
- Image: 37" x 50" (94 x 127 cm)
- Framed: 48" x 61" (122 cm x 155 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.
Coyote Ugly
Big Timber, Montana 2019
Any town with a name like Big Timber immediately grabs my attention. It just sounds like a place with an interesting past. As it is, this modest community of 1500 to the west of Livingston in Montana, is a little run down and sleepy. It is nestled between the Crazies mountain range to the north and Yellowstone to the south and most people simply pass it by.
However, in trawling the internet, we discovered a saloon bar in the high street with neon signage on the facade that caught my interest. We visited the location and there was certainly potential, but clearly the shot would have to take place at night.
There was then an immediate problem, as we discovered that the bar was the central congregation point for all the mountain men – not just from Big Timber, but from far and wide. To bring a wolf and a Victoria’s Secret model to the entrance and shoot when the bar was open, was simple asking for trouble.
The only viable option was immediately obvious – to shoot at 5 am, when hopefully most of the clientele had had enough, though in Montana, one can never be sure. Normal drinking hours don’t apply in this state.
As it was, we were okay and the bar owner agreed to keep the neon lights on for us. e next issue was simply that when we were in position, it was around -20 degrees – fine for the wolf, but a little chilly for California’s Josie Canseco.
She is, however, a trooper and we got the job done. My narrative was simply that the couple had hooked up inside the bar and were rushing home. e wolf certainly looks like he has a smile on his face – who can blame him.
AVAILABLE SIZES:
LARGE - Edition Size: 12
- Image: 56" x 61" (143 cm x 155 cm)
- Framed: 67" x 72" (171 cm x 183 cm)
STANDARD - Edition Size: 12
- Image: 37" x 41" (94 cm x 105 cm)
- Framed: 48" x 52" (122 cm x 132 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.
Cindy's Shotgun Wedding
Nevada City, Montana, 2019
You don’t get a second chance to work with Cindy Crawford, so there was obviously a little pressure. I took her to a place I know well – the ghost town of Nevada City, Montana as I hoped familiarity with the light and the angles would help me. I needed as many variables under my control as possible on an ambitious story line. The one thing we could not manage or predict was the weather and last week it was cold.
If Cindy was outside her comfort zone with the temperatures so low and a big wolf as a companion, she did not flinch. She is professional, stoic and game and it was an honour to work with a true American idol. She sets a high bar on so many levels.
It was a big effort for her to fly from LA to hang out with me and my team whom she had never met before and then work in freezing temperatures with some big wolves. She never complained and took no fee at all. Quite amazing.
Proceeds from the sales of this image – Cindy’s Shotgun Wedding – will go towards her notable charity work – focused on raising money for children with cancer. She nailed the image and I think everyone will agree she looks fantastic.
I am very fortunate that she trusted me to do this and I am humbled by her professionalism and grace.
AVAILABLE SIZES:
LARGE - Edition Size: 20
- Image: 56" x 88" (143 cm x 224 cm)
- Framed: 67" x 99" (171 cm x 252 cm)
STANDARD - Edition Size: 20
- Image: 37" x 58" (94 cm x 148 cm)
- Framed: 48" x 69" (122 cm x 176 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.
Chicago
Chicago, Illinois 2019
This is is a big photograph of a big street in a big city. La Salle in Chicago, looking towards the Chicago Board of Trade building, is an iconic American urban view. Sam Mendes used it in the mobster classic – The Road to Perdition – and it has been glorified in many Batman iterations.
Chicago is urban beauty at its best and the presence of such a big building at the end of a street offers opportunities that Manhattan simply does not give. The eye is grabbed and then led deep into the vortex of Gotham.
I wanted a story that was cinematic and visceral and my founding principal was that we had to shoot at night. We could then wet the road to enhance reflections and deliver mood and use smoke machines to give the scene a gangster throwback feel. I spent a few hours in daylight on several intersections of La Salle pondering my lens selection and the right position. is aspect of the job was under my control and I had to get it right.
There was a riddle in that the Chicago Police Department was wonderful, but understandably would only close down the street after midnight, by which time the Board of Trade has switched off the flood lights on its iconic building. This was a problem and we had to move one of these variables in our favour. With some charm and a few dollars, the Board of Trade agreed to help us and the lights went back on until 4am.
I deliberately played with verticals in the composition because I felt that the retro Northern Trust sign was a useful vertical twin to the Board of Trade. There was a consistent play on height – so why not supplement this with a tall gangster and then most implausibly a tall wolf?
Great photographs can be looked at for a long time. I will leave others to decide if this is a great image, but I do know that it can be looked at for a very long time.
AVAILABLE SIZES:
LARGE - Edition Size: 12
- Image: 56" x 79" (143 cm x 201 cm)
- Framed: 67" x 90" (171 cm x 229 cm)
STANDARD - Edition Size: 12
- Image: 37" x 52" (94 cm x 132 cm)
- Framed: 48" x 63" (122 cm x 160 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.
Chateau Marmont
Los Angeles, USA 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.
Alessandra Ambrosio is synonymous with the Victoria’s Secret brand. The Brazilian model has been pivotal to their shows and campaigns for years and I was delighted that she agreed to work with me. As always, I want to thank my dear friend Ed Razek – who helped make this possible. Alessandra is a stunning woman and very suited to the 1970’s look we styled her in.
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.
The end result is hopefully playful and sexy. What wolf wouldn’t want to arrive with Alessandra at the Chateau?
AVAILABLE SIZES:
LARGE - Edition Size: 12
- Image: 56" x 87" (143 cm x 221 cm)
- Framed: 67" x 98" (171 cm x 249 cm)
STANDARD - Edition Size: 12
- Image: 37" x 58" (94 cm x 148 cm)
- Framed: 48" x 69" (122 cm x 176 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.