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I shot these “txt speak” roadside vigils for hypothetical car accident victims in collaboration with ad agency Team One to illustrate the dangers of texting-while-driving. It feels good to see these ads out in the world (in April 2013’s Esquire and Seventeen and the 2013 Communication Arts Photography Annual) spreading the important message.
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Mouthfuls of delicious food are no barrier when we want to express approval and appreciation for the goodies we’re enjoying.
No matter what our native tongue is, we all speak the language of “Yum.”
When TBWA/Chiat/Day art director Lindsey Montague showed me her concept for this ad, I was immediately interested. Bold portriats and clever copy? Two of my favorite things! We immediately started creative discussions and in the course of a month put this shoot together.
We worked with a team of talented stylists styists and actors, one of whom is my dad! Can you guess which one? A huge, public, scream it from the mountaintops THANK YOU to creative team Sami Sarmiento; Michelle Smith-Aiken; Elise Hannaford; Alexis Ellen; Chris Whittaker; Elizabeth Normoyle; Jason Arnot; and Tamar Kasparian. Also to talented actors Jimmy Comen; Elena Aaron; Akira Isaac; David Vega; Satbhajan Khalsa; Juno; Otis and Ollie W; Danny Dolan; Madeline Wager; Simone Serrail; Kevin Ignatius; and Nicole Steinwedell. And to Sarah Platt; Michael Beland; Dwayne Isaac; Declan Whitebloom; Carol Scott; Madeline Wager and Lynn Slade for their invaluable support.
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Today’s photos are all from Ipanema and Leblon, two of the most well-heeled and beautiful parts of the city. As I walked along the beach and through the verdant streets I couldn’t help but constantly play “The Girl From Ipanema” in my head. The slowed samba beat of the Bossa Nova classic make the perfect rhythm for a stroll with my camera.
That’s it from Rio! As always, thanks for looking!
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Today brings my second-to-last post of photos from Rio! I shot all but the last frame as I walked the neighborhoods of Gloria and Catete in November 2012. I felt more of an outsider in these areas than in any other part of the city. Maybe it was the feeling of being surrounded by unrelenting urban landscape just out of view of the bay. I don’t know - I was simply passing through. If you live (or have lived) in Gloria or Catete, let me know what you think!
I made the last photo, the apartment building immediately above, leaning (precariously far) out of the bedroom window of the Airbnb apartment I stayed in in Botafogo. It was worth the risk!
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Rio’s historic center, or centro, doesn’t have the immediate charm of Santa Teresa or the beachy appeal of Ipanema or Leblon, but I loved photographing there nonetheless. Everywhere I looked there seemed to me a striking confluence of old and new with a veneer of just enough grime to make it all perfectly visually appealing. The first shot above, of the girls in uniform in the pantheon of Greek gods in the Museu Nacional de Belas Artes, is one of my favorite photos of my trip.
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I shot all of the images in the Rio de Janeiro neighborhood that proved to be my favorite of the entire city: Santa Teresa. To those that know me and know the area, it’s likely not a surprise. The winding hillside roads, cliffhanging colonial homes in various states of repair, plentiful cafes, bars, murals, public art installations, artists’ studios, and boutique hotels immediately charmed me.
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Welcome to my third day of posting from my trip to Rio de Janeiro for Airbnb!
The first three photos were made in Vidigal: in the second photo you can see the spectacular view looking north from the top of the favela to the beaches of Leblon, Ipanema, and the rest of the city beyond. Vidigal was “pacified” by the state police one year prior in November 2011 — I felt safe on my visit, but the cops I spoke with never took their hands off their guns.
The fourth photo is from Barra de Tijuca, south of the city center, past Vidigal, still part of Rio but with the distinct feel of a wealthy suburb.
The last photo is from Rocinha, the largest favela in the city with a population of 80-100K, also pacified in late 2011. What struck me about Rocinha is the sophistication of its development: there are major paved roads, thriving shops, shared vans and moto-taxis constantly tearing down the streets, with water and electricity to at least the part of the area I visited.
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Added on Feb 1: Just came across a solid photo series of the “pacification” of Vidigal and Sao Carlos. Worth checking out on Time Magazine’s LightBox blog.
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As you can likely tell, I made all four of these photos on the same street in Horto during the same half-hour on late on a Saturday afternoon. (Horto is a small, tree-filled, mostly residential area tucked up along Rio’s botanical garden.) I was lucky to come upon a ruckus game of cricket in the street, and both the kids playing and parents looking on welcomed me to shoot. When the sun started falling I walked on.
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Starting today I’ll be posting an extended selection of photos from my November 2012 trip to Rio de Janeiro for Airbnb. Each post will focus on a particular part of the city that I was so fortunate to explore.
The photos above were all made in Copacabana. The first three I took out on the beach, just another tall American with a camera in hand. The last frame was made from the Moro do Leme, looking south along Copa beach at sunset. If you look at the righthand side of the photo you’ll see Christ the Redeemer looking out over the scene.
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Unfortunate news today from Rio de Janiero: beloved outsider artist Jorge Selarón, who adorned a set of 250 stairs in the central Lapa neighborhood with bright tiles over the course of 20 years was found dead on his stairs.
I met Selarón when I was shooting in Rio in October and November for Airbnb. He was a character — holding court while painting out on the steps, BSing with anyone who engaged him, sticking his tongue out in photos his admirers snapped. The stairs are a Rio landmark, and Selaron a treasure, and he will me missed.
What a monument to life and passion and commitment, to leave behind, though. Keep an eye on this blog for more from Rio in the days to come.
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Unfortunate news today from Rio de Janiero: beloved outsider artist Jorge Selarón, who adorned a set of 250 stairs in the central Lapa neighborhood with bright tiles over the course of 20 years was found dead on his stairs.
I met Selarón when I was shooting in Rio in October and November for Airbnb. He was a character — holding court while painting out on the steps, BSing with anyone who engaged him, sticking his tongue out in photos his admirers snapped. The stairs are a Rio landmark, and Selaron a treasure, and he will me missed.
What a monument to life and passion and commitment, to leave behind, though.
Keep an eye on this blog for more from Rio in the days to come…
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Portrait of the artist as a young man: Mathieu Young at 31-years-old at 31at31.com
See his portfolio of photographs here.
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