2x Japanophiles

If you have even a slight interest in Japan or Japanese culture, you and I will get on just fine. Those that know me know that I can talk about Japan endlessly for hours, and rejoice in re-living the noise the 7/11 ATM makes when it gives you cash, or the way the trains line up at EXACTLY (like, to the millimetre) where they are supposed to stop on at the platform. There are other people in this world that share the same fascination with Japan as I do, and apparently we are called “Japanophiles.”

So when GTR sent me a fellow Japanophile model to photograph, the stars aligned.

I actually didn’t know that Shaun Ripper was as obsessed with Japan as me until I met him on shoot day. I chose to photograph him in a local park in Prahran, because it offered lots of textures and different pockets of light to explore. But once we got talking and worked out that we were both Japan heads, there was no stopping us.

It was actually supposed to storm and pour with rain on this day, but the weather held out and we actually got some fantastic afternoon light. The dark storm clouds also coloured the sky and stopped everything from just being blown out white. Thanks meteorology.

After the shoot, and bonding over ramen stories and a fellow love of J-vloggers, Shaun and I parted ways. I knew that I was moving to Japan, so I suggested that if Shaun ever came over to visit, we should do a shoot together again. (Spoiler alert: I’m writing this literally 5 months after I shot it, and we did end up doing a test in Tokyo. Stay tuned for that post!)

シャウンくん、ありがとうございますね！

Shaun is represented by GTR International

One Of The Boys

It is now the end of winter (well, almost), but an editorial that I shot at the start of the season has just been released. I’m proud to announce that I’ve been published in The Model Magazine, from the US. My most recent editorial, One Of The Boys can be found in both the print and online magazine, and you can even buy it! (Check out the August 2017 edition.) Here is the online teaser featuring my work.

I was working with models from GTR Global, who were amazing as per usual. Keegan I had worked with before, but Lorenzo was a new face. It was really different working with two models at the same time, but I really enjoyed it. Having two people to pose opened up more possibilities for composition and variation. I think Keegan and Lorenzo looked really good together.

I wanted to shoot at an athletics track, as I’d recently stumbled across one by accident and liked the graphic lines and bold red colour of the track. With that in mind, I got a bunch of ‘sporty’ casual wear from Myer and H&M to dress the boys in.

It was, as per usual, a really cold day in the middle of winter, so I was glad that I wasn’t having to get changed every few minutes, and got to stay snug inside my coat (sorry boys.) I had hoped to catch some golden winter light, but the clouds had other ideas. But one of the skills of a photographer is being able to adapt and “make it work” in any scenario, so that’s what I tried to do.

One thing that I noticed whilst shooting was the change in the way that Keegan worked in front of the camera. Having shot with him before, I couldn’t help but compare his current on-camera presence with that of our last shoot. I noticed that he had improved a lot since the time before, and seemed a lot more comfortable in front of the lens. That was really nice to observe. It really like working with talent on multiple occasions, so see how they progress, but also because it’s just nice to work with good people again.

Thank you Keegan and Lorenzo for being great models.

MODELS: Keegan Venturato @ GTR and Scene // Lorenzo Sandy @ GTR and Chadwick

Finally Getting To Work With Jimmy

I’ve been meaning to work with James Ford for a while now, but our schedules have never aligned and he is often out of the country. But last week I had the pleasure of having him come into the studio for a test shoot. I’ve worked with Jimmy’s sister Peggy a few times, and we had spoken via social media, but it was great to finally be able to meet in the flesh.

I could tell right from the beginning that Jimmy was a seasoned professional. He knew his poses, had great expressions, and got straight into it without needing to warm up at all. The frame above on the right was literally the second frame I took all day.

I got all of my garments from H&M this time, so we had a few different outfits to work with. I find it hard to source quirky, interesting pieces for males, as there seems to be a lot less available (on the mainstream market) than for females. Luckily Jimmy’s strong expressions and great posing easily carried the frames. Because of this, the shoot was over really quickly. Thanks Jimmy for finally getting in front of my camera, and good luck in Asia!