SPOTLIGHT AWARDS 2022 Sep 2022

Title: Mother's Milk

"‘Mother’s Milk’ was created to highlight and raise awareness of Postnatal Depression, a very sad and lonely time for sufferers which I witnessed first hand through my wife after the birth of our first born 15 years ago.

This shot was inspired by the dreamlike delirium my wife suffered from the lack of sleep mixed with the overwhelming feelings of love that she was experiencing. She was engulfed with the constant fear for our baby's safety and her new found responsibility. At the tender aged of 24 the unplanned arrival was life changing, for a while she lost herself, physically, emotionally and mentally. She was so young and inexperienced that family and friends would bombard her with advice, some of which would fight against her motherly instinct. That time was a real marathon of emotions for her. We both felt overwhelmed at times but ecstatic with the arrival of our tiny son.

Recently we had some friends come to stay, one of them was Scarlet who features in this picture. For most of the day her baby Gabriel was on the boob, relentlessly feeding. Despite Scarlet’s carefree spirit she was exhausted, she looked at me through a weak smile and asked ‘when will it end’.

The very next day I woke up still connected to the feeling of what Scarlet was going through, she was ok, but not ok. She was battling love, exhaustion and loss of self. She’s a personal trainer and has the body of an athlete, so the change in appearance and lack of energy must have been so alienating for her.

I called Scarlet and asked if she would sit in a fridge full of milk whilst breast feeding her son. "Of course" was her emphatic response. I knew I had the perfect mother and child to help tell this story.

This picture has so many little details within, I hope that some of you can connect with it. It was a joy to make."

Title: Unfortunate: The Untold Story of Ursula the Sea Witch

"I shot this joyful campaign for We Are Fat Rascal's Edinburgh Festival production of hit parody musical 'Unfortunate: The Untold Story of Ursula the Sea Witch', in my London studio. Taking designer Rebecca Pitt’s concept and creating a lush gold-purple lighting state, I then worked with lead actress Elliotte Williams N’Dure to capture energy and abandon. Credit to Elliotte for remaining convincingly joyous for two hours! Then it was over to Rebecca to composite in the tentacles, and complete the illusion of this under-the-sea villainess made gleefully real.  The image appeared across the London Underground for the show's run in the capital, and apparently dominated the displays in Edinburgh, where standing out from hundreds of competing posters takes some doing."

Title: LIGHT WELL

"The light radiating through the brilliantly coloured staircases at the University of British Columbia's Skeena student residence brings an energy to your vertical movement as you rush to or from class."

Project: UBCO Skeena Residence / Public: Architecture + Communication.

Title: Headdress

"During this photoshoot I brought out this long piece of fabric without any special intention how to use it. The model immediately dressed her hair with it by her own initiative and I thought she did an amazing job. She just naturally made it look beautiful and I had to capture the moment. For me this picture and her natural idea and formation made me think of the importance of identity and roots. I don’t know if that was her intention but that's how I read this picture."

Title: Porsche 911 Sport Classic

Porsche is drawing attention to the new 911 Sport Classic with an unusual marketing campaign. This ‘icon of cool’ is opening a new chapter in the Porsche Heritage Design strategy, with the goal of bringing a past era back to life. “The wide-ranging marketing measures evoke the expressive attitudes of the 1960s and early 70s, targeting Porsche customers and fans,” says Robert Ader, Vice President of Marketing at Porsche AG. “As a collector’s item that offers great driving pleasure, the new limited-edition model is being presented on the Côte d’Azur and at other locations. At the center of the campaign are a large-format coffee table book of more than 100 pages and the reveal film ‘A Tale of Now and Then’.

The photos were taken in an editorial reportage style on the Côte d’Azur. The conscious interplay of sharp and hazy gives the images the appearance of random snapshots. It was conceptualised and produced by Keko Frankfurt. Frederic Schlosser was the photographer while Tim Michel Producer GmbH and UPFRONT Photo & Film GmbH were in charge of production.

Title: Portrait of a blacksmith

"Besides being a fabulous musician, Michael von Muecke works as a designer and blacksmith. Together with his partners he created the brand RUMMS, named after their first and most famous nutcracker. I had the chance to accompany Michael one full day in his workshop where he manufactured the nut cracker from a raw metal block. This portrait is the first image of a documentary series that can be found on my website."

Title: The Hiindarella

"To me, this photograph breathes elegance and beauty. The shape of her body and the lightning make the model look mysterious and sensual. It focuses on the jewellery and the jeans, and makes you want to long for more. The title celebrates the person in the picture and puts her on a pedestal."

Title: Greek Yogurt with Frozen Berries

"The shot was part of a social media campaign for Fage Greek Yogurt."

Food Stylist: Sunny Ricks / Prop Stylist: Verne Cordova.

Title: Untitled 2022

"The image was shot as part of a kids fashion editorial commissioned by Luna Magazine, looking to the classic British greasy spoon for inspiration. The story was a humorous portrait of a gang of kids messing around in their local cafe. We took a crew to the seaside for the day and let the models get to know each other. As the day progressed the kids relaxed into their roles and began messing around - even getting a little bored and silly at times! This image was taken towards the end of the afternoon, and probably sums up how they were feeling by that point! The result feels real and natural, which is exactly what I was looking for."

Title: Bobby Lujan, Taos, New Mexico

"'Bobby Lujan, Taos, New Mexico' is part of a series of photographs on the Native Americans who live in the Taos Pueblo. This photograph is featured in my book, 'One Of A Kind'."

Title: The Reason I Dive

"Competitive freedivers are often asked why they do what they do, to compete who can dive the deepest or the longest. Every freediver will have their own story to tell, but usually it is never about the idea of winning, or beating others. A successful dive is not determined by whether or not you surpassed others, it's determined by whether or not you were able to hit your announced depth and return back safe. Here is a shot of Erik Donathan of USA diving to a depth of 70 meters at the Caribbean Cup 2022 in Roatan, Honduras."

Title: Lipstick Macro - Purples

"This image is one from a series of macro studies using various cosmetic materials. Coming in very tight and using carefully shaped, focused light reveals an amazing amount of detail in the formulas. The photos speak to the color and finish of the products featured, but are also meant to be enjoyed in an abstract, purely visual way. The intended result is to take the tiny, familiar objects and transform them to new, anomalous landscapes."

Title: Ang Gyalzen Sherpa and his horse Karsang

"I photographed Ang Gyalzen, Sherpa, early one morning on the shores of the beautiful Gokyo Lake, at an altitude of 4,800m above sea level, while traveling in the Nepalese Himalayas. He was keen to be photographed on his horse Karsang (which means white). Life is tough in the Khumbu region of Nepal and the climbers and trekkers who come through on their way to Everest base camp provide a much needed source of extra income. Ang Gyalzen earns extra income from Karsang by offering weary trekkers a ride on horseback to the nearby Renjo La Pass.”