Beauty and the Aston – Behind the Scenes
The “Cars and Caviar” team jumped at the opportunity to shoot an Aston Martin! This sleek, white machine, has a slightly understated elegance with it’s simple and clean lines. What lies underneath the gleaming exterior is a different matter altogether.
We had only a short time to work with this fine car, and so we decided to shoot editorial photos in lieu of a video. We contacted filmmaker, Logan O’Neil, and asked if he would appear in the photos on short notice. It took no wrangling, and he was eagerly onboard. We thought we would spice up the concept by having Logan appear opposite the sultry, Tatianna Bird, a “Cars and Caviar” team member, who does hair and makeup design for this site.
We fitted Logan with a retro looking smoking jacket by Hugo Boss, along with a sleek Versace shirt and Alexander McQueen shoes. Costa sunglasses completed the look. Tatianna wore a stunning iridescent dress, that would capture and then reflect the late afternoon sun. Our original shoot location was to be on a garage rooftop with the skyline at sunset, but this proved to be problematic as cranes and new high-rises under construction marred the view from locations we had scouted recently. At the last minute, we chose the Fountain shopping plaza, with it’s namesake water feature.
When the team arrived on-location, Leif Wombwell was waiting just outside the Aston Martin, taking in it’s form and obviously invigorated by driving the machine to the plaza. Our daylight was quickly fading, and we had to continually move the car to keep up with the retreating light. Tatianna, and her sequined dress, electrified the scene despite the fading light. She simply appeared resplendent and sharply contrasted with Logan’s black on black attire.
Logan and Tatianna got along famously. Placing Tatianna behind the wheel was a great idea, and changed the mechanics of the shoot a great deal. The owners of “Ryze-Up Magazine, Brian and Kae Ingram, kept us company on set and provided us with some nice behind the scenes photos. As the afternoon slipped into evening, the light was waning despite Tatianna’s dress! It was time to wrap.
Logan could not resist the urge to engage the Aston in a spirited drive around the parking area, to squeals of delight from Tatianna as this understated beauty of a machine revealed the power packed under it’s exterior!
