Misc

Miscellaneous shots from a few months back. Hope you're all having a great week!

What's Going On...

Hey guys, a short recap of the goings on of the past week. Worked two days on a print job for an oil company and shot a print campaign for a furniture chain - 8 hours lounging around on a sofa and getting paid for it - not bad :) Had options (shortlisted by a client for a particular job) for a tv commercial in Taiwan and another in Italy but those didn't materialize. After doing this for a while though you're less and less phased when things don't work out.
Starting to get back into tennis again - played eight hours this weekend and my shoulders are definitely worse for wear. Nice to be doing something other than just camping out in the gym though so I'm gonna try to keep that up.
Picture is from a beach shoot in Hua Hin for a travel magazine. Female model: Anouk M. from JIM Model Management

Hope you all have a great week!

Circuit Party

Ever wonder why the same model sometimes shows up on a bunch of different agency websites? Well since clients often rely on local agencies to cast their jobs it's in a model's best interest to have a few different people working for him/her. By having representation in a couple different markets, models maximize exposure while simultaneously hedging risk, because if things get slow in New York, there's always Miami or Madrid.
In Bangkok I met a bunch of people for whom constant travelling is a way of life. They take contracts (airfare and accomodations advanced and deducted from subsequent paychecks) with agencies in different countries and check them off their list one after the other, generally staying in each location for two-three months at a time. Common stops among those I met were Hong Kong, Singapore, Capetown, Rio de Janeiro, and Tokyo. What astounded me was that many of these folks start doing this as early as age 15 and only go home once a year if at all. I guess they're capitalizing on the most viable years of a traditionally short-lived career but it seems like an awfully hard life to sustain. Still, there's always that excitement you get when one of your agencies calls with news that you're optioned for a job in Italy or booked for a shoot in Malaysia, all without stepping foot in a casting. Pretty sweet.

Transcendence

Was sorting through some old files today and came across a poem I wrote a few years back...


Transcendence

An undirected focus, an introspective stare
From eyes so richly blessed by a life so well-exploited
Framed with the texture of the ages
Illuminated by a flame fueled by persistence
The commencement of a journey, a flooding of the senses

Timeless moments etched so saliently
Roused with effortless recall
A late night melding with Dante and Rousseau
Charged debates with friends from 'round the world
A glimpse into a world independently sustained
Tremulous nights of voidish uncertainty
The embers flicker anew

Emerging from the bubble with direction unknown
Yearning for fulfillment, a prophecy of success
Momentous struggle and tearful frustration
Culminate in hard-earned victory
A gesture of faith, the bestowing of trust
The lights dance a rhythmic jig

A warm embrace so reassuring
Dormant passion pleading to be felt
So exigent, leaping to the surface
Frustration absolved and pacified
Light and warmth permeate a barren fortress
Sustaining it with love
The flames surge to the heavens

Shoes so quickly overcome
Footballs thrown with pride and heart
Curfews so deftly negotiated
Bedtime stories long outgrown
A father's job so well-performed

The golden years gleam with splendor
Back burner plans inhale new life
Tenderness magnified through the years
Happiness unparalleled

Forged from adversity, molded by triumph
Passion made his life extraordinary
Patches of time were his ever-present friends
On a road so well-travelled
And as the flames dwindle to a spark
With soothing care they lift him up
To a realm where time stands still, and memories last forever.

--Richie Kul

Good Sport

Here's a good example of the last post - pictures are from a two day job in Pattaya for Super Sports, a chain of sporting goods stores in Thailand. Drove out with two Brazilians from my agency and spent the following 48 hours warding off mosquitoes and 100F+ temperatures (we shot along the way to the end destination) while trying to decipher bits and pieces of Portuguese. Not one of most favorite jobs of all time but it was nice to spend some time on the beach.

The Commercial Side of Things

The runways of Paris and Milan and flashy editorial spreads in high fashion magazines are what usually generate buzz and turn heads in this industry. And understandably so - they exemplify what people have long associated with modelling: edgy, chiseled facial features, impossibly long legs, taut, toned physiques. Adjacent to the glitz and glamour of this world and sometimes overlapping with it though is the commercial side of the market - the catalogs, commercials, billboards and print ads where pouty lips and mesmerizing stares are replaced with toothy grins and cheesy wholesomeness. Decidedly more approachable and mainstream, it's the segment of the market that I've personally found the most success. Highlights have been commercials for Sony, K-Swiss, and Panasonic and print work for Shell and QuarkXPress.
Nice thing is that people generally aren't exclusively high fashion or commercial. Many models manage to book both types of work though proportions vary depending on the model and the agency. Some agencies have an inclination/client base that goes one way or the other but for the most part, boards are broken down quite simply by male and female. So don't be surprised to see or hear of a model who shoots a sporting goods catalog one day, does a Versace show the very next, and then turns around and hawks toothpaste. It's the nature of the business and what helps keep things interesting...

Cosmo

From the November 2005 issue of Cosmopolitan magazine - one of the last shoots I did before leaving NYC. Shot in Connecticut and accompanied a story entitled "Get the Affection You Desire". If I remember right it was a 6 am call time and they drove about 12 of us out there from Manhattan's Upper West side. Day consisted mainly of sitting around reading and talking as each pair waited their turn. Actual shooting didn't take more than 20 minutes but we didn't get back to the city 'til around 9 pm. Magazine jobs like these don't pay all that well but they're generally pretty relaxed and the exposure is usually good. I think the following Cosmo shoot was an overnighter in the Hamptons which would've been good fun. Photographer: Robert Delahanty

Swing

From the February edition of Swing Magazine. Not much of a golfer myself but my brother, a PGA star in the making, gave his seal of approval so that works for me.
Co-model is Pamela from Mode Model Management. Clothes: Puma and Mizuno