Photographer News
May 21st, 2013
by Maria Luci
There isn’t a show that gets the Wonderful Machine office buzzing more than AMC’s The Walking Dead. So when I came across some recent Dead images on Harold Daniels’s website, I was beyond excited. I immediately contacted Harold to get the scoop on this zombie-filled shoot.
It turns out, the job wasn’t for an entertainment magazine spread or promotional items for the show. Instead, Harold was assigned this shoot by the Georgia Department of Economic Development, for their Georgia Travel Guide. This may seem odd, but the show is actually filmed on location in Georgia, and the Travel Guide is distributed nationwide as a way to promote the state as a destination for travel and film production.
“It was all about the cover,” Harold says of the shoot, adding, “There really wasn’t a lot of advance direction.” But he was excited for the shoot, mostly due to the “cool factor of being on the working set of such a popular show.”
As a veteran celebrity photographer, shooting someone like Walking Dead star Andrew Lincoln isn’t atypical for Harold—but capturing zombies? That was completely different—and fun. Harold met up with Andrew and the zombies shortly after arriving on set and says, “it was very cool to meet the zombies before they went into hair and makeup, and then seeing the transformation in progress.”
After the actors had been zombie-fied, the shoot officially began. Luckily, everyone, from the crew to the star of the show turned out to be easy to work with. Harold elaborates,
Andrew was everything you hope a celebrity subject would be. He was a total professional—patient and gracious. He told me that he is an “amateur” photographer himself and was really curious about what I was doing, and about my camera, etc. Just a down to earth, friendly guy who loves living in the Highlands in Atlanta with his family.
The zombies were also pretty amazing at how they would transform their entire character when the camera was on. One minute they are chatting with you about the beautiful day and they next they want to eat your face off.
One of the only challenges on the shoot was portraying face-eating zombies in a way that wasn’t too grotesque for the cover of a state travel guide. But Harold pulled it off and the clients loved the images. “There was some trepidation about the cover of a travel guide being a tough looking guy with a big gun and a group of zombies saying, ‘Hey ya’ll come visit Georgia.’ But they got over it and the cover got a lot of press and online discussion.” And thus, Harold can now add “zombie shooter” to his resume.
View more at harolddaniels.com.
May 20th, 2013
by Maria Luci
Kazakhstan-based photographer Ikuru Kuwajima is known for his sprawling landscape images and vintagesque photos of Eastern Europe and Asia. His “Cossacks” series documents, in this same style, the resurgence of the Crimean Cossack community. What’s most interesting about the photos is that they’re captured in a manner that intimately draws the viewer in, while simultaneously leaving an air of mystery around the subjects.
Since the Soviet Union’s collapse, Cossacks have been reviving their traditions mainly in Ukraine and Russia. In Crimea, a number of active Cossack communities have sprung up in the decade. Some of them are also tied to pro-Russian movements, as ethnic Russians still dominate the demography in Crimea. Before the Soviet Union, Cossacks formed independent military communities, with a large degree of autonomy. They were known as brave soldiers with skillful horsemanship, having fought many wars for hundreds of years. However, Cossacks’ activities and tradition were suppressed during the Soviet era. After the Soviet collapse, Cossacks have been active in restoring their traditions, often working as security guards in each community and organizing events to commemorate Cossacks’ historic events to reaffirm their identity.
I was inspired to photograph this project because, to me, it seems that the rise of the Cossack movement is a search for lost identity. Also, they were quite friendly and open—and their close ties with horses, military training, orthodox Christianity and their complex historical background interested me greatly.
View more at ikurukuwajima.com.
May 16th, 2013
by Maria Luci
Italy-based photographer Escapista recently traveled to Syria, a country in the midst of a gruesome Civil War. He made the risky trip to help out a humanitarian group and to document the situation. There, he braved explosions, aggressive guards and more in the hopes of bringing added attention to the plight of the Syrian people.
In April, I had the chance to travel to Syria with a humanitarian organization called “Syrian Children Relief”. From the Turkish city of Reyhanli, we crossed the border to Syria, looking for the best place where we could pass the barbed wire fences with our sack full of children’s games.
We passed through dozens of militia checkpoints, and had the chance to meet a lot of wonderful children and to bring them a few smiles. We saw a country in ruins, with a population that’s become accustomed to the daily bombings. We talked to militia and to teenagers who held AK47′s in their arms as they would hold the hands of their beloved.
We prayed, we ate, and we had our share of bombs go over our heads. We saw a country in pieces. We crossed the border again, but with smugglers; Lord knows what they where smuggling.
These photos are from a country prostrated by a horrific civil war, practically forgotten by western countries until the moment that someone brings their war to our homes.
View more at escapista.net.
May 16th, 2013
by Maria Luci
After knocking on the University of South Carolina’s door for almost three years (his knuckles must hurt!), James Quantz Jr finally got his first SC gig last year. Since then, he’s opened the university’s eyes to new and exciting styles of photography, by bringing the culture of commercial productions to their marketing. He adds that the school had “been making do with bare bones photo shoots and action photos cut from game files prior to working with me. With my style of capture and post-production, I’ve shown them that we can recreate big game moments and have complete control over the process.” James has now become their go-to shooter for SC’s more creative assignments.
Recently, SC asked James to shoot a campaign for their upcoming 2013 football season. He had shot last year’s campaign, and the images were so well liked that the university was hoping he could bring the magic again. James was more than happy to do so, especially since he’s a big fan of the team. He also remarked that it was a thrill to shoot for a team with such an enthusiastic fan base. “I normally put a lot of pressure on myself to deliver the best images possible,” he says, “but trying to impress a fan base takes it to a new level!”
After the creative direction for the shoot was determined, James found himself on set with a gaggle of SC football players. He enthusiastically explains that the shoot was “rockin’!” adding that “this being the second year doing the images for the football campaign the players were much more motivated. They now know I’m not there to just take the same boring photos they’ve seen for years. It was a lot of fun to see them show up fully taped, pads on, eye black, etc.”
One of the more entertaining aspects of the shoot was seeing the players’ reactions to their photos on screen. “One of my favorites was Bruce Ellington,” James elaborates, “who’s featured jumping at the end of the video. After one of his jumps, we really had some cool images on the computer and I brought him over to view them. I pointed at the screen and said, ‘Bruce are you ready to see this on billboards all over town?’ And he replied with a big smile, ‘Let’s do it again!’”
Behind the scenes of the shoot:
The photos have now been released and James has heard a lot of great feedback, especially from fans. He concludes that “it’s really about the fan base—if they don’t like something you’ll definitely hear it! Thankfully, I’ve only had positive experiences with them so far.”
View more at quantzphoto.com.
May 15th, 2013
by Maria Luci
Santa Fe-based photographer Julien McRoberts‘s new photo series, TIME at Navajo Nation, documents the early phases of the creation of outdoor installation art in New Mexico.
She describes the project:
TIME stands for Temporary Installations Made for the Environment, and is unique to the Navajo Nation, in conjunction with New Mexico Arts. It’s been a project that I’ve been shooting for the last few summers, with each land-based art installation more interesting than the last. The newest installation of TIME is being held at Coyote Canyon, and is the brainchild of conceptual Navajo artist, Manny Wheeler. I was hired by curator Eileen Braziel and the State of NM to document the beginning stages of this very unique installation which will premier in 2014. The project is a collaboration between German audio/visual artist Robert Henke, Navajo sound/installation artists Raven Chacon and Bert Bennally, and conceptual artist Manuelito Wheeler.
The following images depict the very beginnings of their project, along with a special meal I shared with the artists and the crew. The Wheeler family was kind enough to share a feast with us, which everyone in the family had a role in preparing. This meal allowed for a rare glimpse into the very private and unique world of the Navajo.
See more at julienmcroberts.com.
