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Dan Eldon Project Fall/Holiday 2011 Look Book Photo Shoot
By Alisa Damaso
Since some folks don't know what goes into a photo shoot, we decided to post a blog about Dan Eldon Project's Fall/Holiday 2011 catalog photo shoot back in February.
Jason Bleick, creative director of the Dan Eldon Project line, called me to help out with the garments for the shoot – although, my duties increased as the day went on.
Call time was 8am at the Eldon beach house. When I arrived, Kathy Eldon and Jeff Skene (DEP graphic designer) were out retrieving the unnamed Deziree look-alike Land Rover from the auto repair shop, and Jonathan Bernard, Executive VP at Creative Visions and and old friend of Dan's from the International School of Kenya, was out for a hike. Jason, the models, Peter and Danica, and the makeup artist, Dehx, were all there preparing for the shoot.
Jason ushered me into the dining room where, hanging on a collapsible clothing rack, folded in boxes and laid out on the table – were the new garments for the DEP Spring and Fall collections. I had seen digital images and swatches of fabrics at a previous meeting, but now they'd come to life, and I was gazing upon and touching the prototypes with my own hands. The designs, fabrics and colors for the new seasons are phenomenal – there's even a re-print of an original design that Dan had created, screen-printed, and sold himself back at ISK --
By Alisa Damaso
Since some folks don't know what goes into a photo shoot, we decided to post a blog about Dan Eldon Project's Fall/Holiday 2011 catalog photo shoot back in February.
Jason Bleick, creative director of the Dan Eldon Project line, called me to help out with the garments for the shoot – although, my duties increased as the day went on.
Call time was 8am at the Eldon beach house. When I arrived, Kathy Eldon and Jeff Skene (DEP graphic designer) were out retrieving the unnamed Deziree look-alike Land Rover from the auto repair shop, and Jonathan Bernard, Executive VP at Creative Visions and and old friend of Dan's from the International School of Kenya, was out for a hike. Jason, the models, Peter and Danica, and the makeup artist, Dehx, were all there preparing for the shoot.
Jason ushered me into the dining room where, hanging on a collapsible clothing rack, folded in boxes and laid out on the table – were the new garments for the DEP Spring and Fall collections. I had seen digital images and swatches of fabrics at a previous meeting, but now they'd come to life, and I was gazing upon and touching the prototypes with my own hands. The designs, fabrics and colors for the new seasons are phenomenal – there's even a re-print of an original design that Dan had created, screen-printed, and sold himself back at ISK --
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The new DEP line consists of mens and womens crew-necks, boat necks and v-necks, hooded long-sleeves, thermal sweaters and cozy hoodies. Jason completed outfits by styling them with jeans, trousers and accessories from his excellent clothing line, Ever.
Marc Weintraub, DEP co-founder (and my recruiter – he's the reason I'm now working with DEP), arrived a few minutes after the crew left to start shooting. Marc and I crossed the highway to the overgrown lot where a set of alluring, dilapidated small buildings were being used as a backdrop for the photo shoot. The paint was peeling off, brush and vines were overgrown and there was graffiti on the wall. It was very old and rustic; Dan would have loved it.
Marc and I stood back in observation. Danica posed with a wood carving of a star and moon image, called the "Eye of a Dhow", one of Dan's favorite icons, which he used in his Mkebe shirt design above. The dhow is an Arab sailing ship, and the eyes were placed on the front of the ship essentially to see through bad weather, for good luck.
Soon, Kathy pulled up in her Prius with a tank pulling in behind her -- the 1974 Land Rover which was being helmed by Jeff. All of us were in awe. [Check out Jeff's account of retrieving the behemoth here].
I climbed on top of the Old Steel Dinosaur, as Jeff dubbed it, and Kathy snapped a few photos.
I climbed on top of the Old Steel Dinosaur, as Jeff dubbed it, and Kathy snapped a few photos.
It was a beautiful, warm day – Kathy called it “Kenya weather”. How great!
The photo shoot was simple, practical and whimsical – as opposed to an expensive, huge, elaborate production. The crew kept with the spirit of Dan and focused on the journey before thinking about the destination.
I took some behind-the-scenes photos with my Minolta 35mm film manual SLR – photos from which I used in my journal entry about the shoot.
The photographer, Felipe Dupouy, used a Canon R2 1DS camera with Zeiss lenses and a sophisticated flash attachment. He took advantage of the natural light provided by the cloudless sky, which made for some amazing images. Felipe's assistant and good friend, Pat, held a reflector for the shots.
When the sun was past its highest point, I helped Kathy prepare some brunch for everyone – fresh spinach salad, chicken, and some delicious Thai food from the place across the street.
We heard the shoot was going great – until park rangers came and almost arrested the team for trespassing the un-gated lot, although there were no signs indicating the space was private property. Regardless, without letting anyone explain, the cops wrote out tickets. Kathy, Marc and I were back at the house when we got the news.
After getting kicked off the apparent “private government property”, the crew reorganized back at the house to recharge and eat, and to figure out what to do about a location. Jason's gal, a very-pregnant and lovely Selma Blair, came by to visit and have lunch with us. Her calming presence was a relief from the speed bump the crew had just experienced with the fuzz.
Kathy suggested the team shoot on her property, which actually worked out quite wonderfully. They moved the Land Rover by an overgrown area on the beach behind the house and got some really great shots from there, and also shot at various spots around the Eldon home.
Such a successful shoot yielding amazing results! The Look Book will be out soon, so check back for details!
Photography by Felipe Dupouy – http://www.felipedupouy.com/
Makeup by Dehx Starr – http://www.dehx.com/
Wardrobe by DEP and Ever – http://www.ever-us.com/
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