I’m cheap at the best of times. And, because I’m not bringing in a lot of money right now, the ADCC’s $90 ticket price was something I was eager to avoid. Which means I snuck into the after party and begged a kind rep to give me her book. Which means I didn’t see the show. Which means I’ve just now gone through the book and discovered a lot of good work. Lots of it from Vancouver.
I’d like to highlight a few campaigns.
Pete Soos moved back to Vancouver a few years ago after slogging it out here in TO for a few years. Looks like the move has been good to him. I really like this series for D&M Publishing from Vancouver agency Rethink. The photography is simple and clean. Not overly stylized. It kinda makes me want to read a book.
© Pete Soos
© Pete Soos
© Pete Soos
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And these ads for the Professional Photographers Association of BC from DDB Vancouver are hi-fucking-larious. Talk about raw photography. And, as discussed in the Raw Photography post, this kind of “real” is hard to fake. Dina Goldstein does a great job with this campaign. The styling is pretty great but the talent- both casting and talent direction, is fantastic.
© Dina Goldstein
© Dina Goldstein
© Dina Goldstein
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And here’s someone I had never heard of. Martin Prihoda shot these lovlies for BC Hydro with DDB Vancouver:
© Martin Prihoda
© Martin Prihoda
© Martin Prihoda
But that’s not all, turns out Martin left Vancouver recently and relocated to India- I think partly because of his passion for Yoga. In our email correspondence this week, Martin offered this little recap:
I’ve been in bombay for a year now and its been amazing; lots of opportunity shooting for GQ, Vogue, Harpers and developing a nice ad base…India’s feel like a bit of an distant outpost, but I guess that’s where the adventure is.
I think there’s something interesting in that. Let’s read more, from Martin’s blog:
One year ago I made a decision. I decided i was going to leave my home town of Vancouver. Vancouver was familiar to me, my family was there, my friends were there, I had a client base there but inside me I felt i was being smothered somehow, as if some latent potential was aching to be brought to light.
Over the years I have become better at listening to that little voice in my head, the one that says “for god’s sake, you live once, do it…” So Tonia and I sat down, discussed our future and decided to hit the road.
I had had a dream one night, vivid as can be. I was in India again, practicing yoga, happy, fulfilled. I awoke and I remember thinking to myself; “Bombay, I have to go to Bombay…I don’t know why, I just have to.” I sold my lighting gear, gave up our apartments, bought a plane ticket to one of the world’s most over populated, smelly, dirty but alive cities. We arrived in Bombay knowing one person, a distant friend I hadn’t seen in years.
We took a risk, we jumped, but within the universe was listening and gave us wings.
Within six months I had shot some of the biggest Bollywood stars, shot the cover of GQ India, shot for Vogue and an unheard of 22 pages in Harper’s Bazaar. I’m working and networking more than I did back home and in an emerging market that’s 10 times the size of my sleepy home town.
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Zulu Alpha Kilo- one of my former Bell agencies, had a strong showing at the ADCC. I really liked this ad for NEDIC and had never heard of photographer Dwayne Morgan before:
© Dwayne Morgan
So it’s an interesting story- according to the print producer, this was a stock shot that the client found and mandated for use. I like it, apparently everyone at the agency liked it too- everyone wins!
Wow, the client finding a solid stock shot that really works for the campaign? A photographer successfully leaving the West for the East? Fantastic “Raw” photography? Great awards show everybody!
{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
Those D&M ads are great. So nice to see creative ideas that don’t have to get overly animated/illustrative/borderline cartoony for a change.
Just an observation, I cant help but laugh at the Dina Goldstein pieces, they are indeed great and very humorous. But, that being said, her work on those few ads reflects and places mockery on a set of bad photos, and that is used to convey the message of good vs bad photography and uses pretty bad examples to really send it home and make you laugh at the same time with the tag lines. The only thing that confuses me, is that those images look exactly like Terry Richardson’s style of work. So why is it that in this case, that type of image is poked fun at, yet Mr. Richardson is shooting MAJOR campaigns with the same type of look, and in his case, not only is he making serious bank Im sure, but people (major brands) think its great?
Id just like to add, I am not referring to shot for shot, its more the look, lighting and technical style of the image. I am not trying to put down anyones work either. Replace the tacky looking subjects in Dina’s shots with more recognized celebrities, and I think that they would appear strikingly similar.
In response to Christian’s comments…
I was asked to create photos that are considered unprofessional. At the art meeting I pushed for the series to go even further…finger in front of lens..flare etc…but was shot down, so we went with a more subtle approach. It took quite a lot of work to style these images (I did that because of the minuscule budget). Luckily I’m good at shopping and Value Village is just down the street. Your right it takes work to create this look..but only people in our industry can tell that. Most people don’t want the top of a building coming out of their head in a wedding photo…or a cheesy background in their family portraits, that was the point.
I don’t think Goldstein’s images look anything like Terry Richardson’s work. The most important thing with Richardson’s photos is the content and the feeling. They’re sexy, intimate and there’s an obvious connection with the subject and photographer. While the lighting may be similar, harsh and direct, the outcome is completely different.
I just want to make sure that you guys did not take my comment the wrong way. I wasnt putting anyone or any work down I was simply noticing that based upon context, and branding I guess for lack of a better word, that similar looks can be taken in totally different directions. I respect TR and his work, and certainly am not passing judgement nor am I trying to sway this to a discussion on the merits or lack thereof of his technique. I have looked at his work, and followed it as well, and in my opinion there are some intersting subjects, but I also think that its more the subject thats making the image interesting rather than the technique. Im not discrediting his approach, but you do have to admit, that they are more like point and shoot snapshots rather then well orchestrated images. Of course its more sexy when you have a woman with her boobs out or spreading her legs, or a guy holding his penis. And true its more intimate when youre catching someone puking amidst a scattering of whip it canisters. I truly am asking, if anyone else took identical images of some unknown person in the same context, would people revere it as much?
Back to this topic though, Dina, I totally understand the concept. I thought it was excecuted very well, it made me laugh, and I appreciate that you worked to achieve it, I didnt think that you were just a bad photograpaher ;-)
interesting discussion, but it begs the question: if you hired TR (a professional photographer) for your wedding, would he give you good or bad photos?
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