Digital spring cleaning

Some good old spring cleaning never hurt anyone. I already did mine at home, surprisingly, so I thought I’d have a digital one at work.
I found some interesting footage I completely forgot about and it actually was really fun to come across some old images.

Luc and Marcin left for the Maldives to go do a photoshoot. So for the next couple of days I’m on my own, guarding the fort. And although some pity might be place, it’s giving me the opportunity to get some neglected jobs done. Like reorganising my computer, discovering some lost pictures in the process…

Our week has been packed with interesting bookings. Unfortunately I can only release the images once the shoots go public. We had some bookings for Nina magazine with some well known Belgian women, a workshop with Mike Van Cleven, A video commercial for PUMA and the campaign for women by CKS fashion.

The last few days we had our studio filled with “babes” for a huge production. Considering the paper I just signed it would be a very bad idea to start talking about what’s happening here. You’ll find out by the time the European Championship football starts…

So, the lost footage. Here it is.

We were proud to host Nike last summer for the presentation of the new Nike AIR royalty high. Here’s a clip of the event by the press and some pictures.

Admit it, isn’t this the most original catering you’ve ever seen? Macarons, cotton candy and baby blue cupcakes.

Spokesperson for Nike Élodie Ouédraogo.

Last summer I felt like making a stop-motion video of a shoot. When we received the offer to photograph a Porsche, I took the opportunity to make it. I sadly neglected it a bit after that and the pictures just sat there, lonely in a map on my computer. I dusted them of and poured them into a small video.
Take a look.

And to end this post, here’s the proof of how sneaky my colleague gets when holding a camera, I had no clue whatsoever when this picture was taken (compliments to him, I think that’s a very good quality to be able to photograph people unnoticed) . I had to find the picture in some long lost folder.

So to top everything off I wish all of you a blissful time in the sun and a happy spring everybody!

Batman found Robin

Whoever thought we were hibernating was seriously mistaken. Although we sought refuge indoors, we were quite the busy beavers these past few weeks. It’s been a while since the last post but I’ll make up for it with a richly filled one.
Not all of us had to conquer the cold, some got more lucky then others. Luc by example, travelled all the way to the Atacama desert in San Pedro, Chile to shoot new pictures for Dirk Bikkembergs’ new book.

A breathtaking sight and although the clouds appear somewhat menacing, it didn’t rain one drop during their stay. They had to work very quickly since the weather at times went from apocalyptically dark to jolly bright in a matter of seconds. They did make some local fans, gazing at the screen whenever they could.

Assistant Rodrigo Daza and Mr Llama

I’ve seen the results and it’s stunning. For now I can only soothe your curiosity with a small preview:

In the meantime I guarded the fort in Antwerp. But I didn’t do it alone. I got help from my dear intern Robin. Since I’m most of the time surrounded by male coworkers, having Robin around was a nice change of scenery. To make sure she experienced all the aspects of making a picture, I asked her to organise a photoshoot from moodboard to retouch in order to gain some experience. I called in my jaw-dropping sister and helped out with some pretty making.

We’re all quite happy with the result, despite of Marcin’s efforts of sabbotage…

Peekaboo!

Unfortunately all good things must come to an end and I had to say farewell to Robin. But not before I gave her the box of strawberries she was craving the entire time she worked here. It was also her last day as a seventeen year old, so again, happy birthday Robin! I’m sure we’ll see you again.

&

Ice Ice Baby

How about some fun, not work related, blogging today?
Because fun we had this weekend! Luc decided to take us all for dinner to celebrate the new year: teambuilding – style. (Okay so I guess it is kind of work related…)
We went to “Brasserie Van Loock” in my favourite neighbourhood in Antwerp: Zurenborg. I grew up there and it never ceased to amaze me. If you ever visit Antwerp, don’t skip this area, just don’t, you won’t regret it! I could devote an entire blog to it’s delights and joys. And I probably will once the summer sets in and the area starts to blossom again, leaving me no choice to set camp there almost every day after work.

So the four of us had dinner, enjoyed the food and giggled. The fourth being Erik, Luc’s husband. He’s quite the funny pants and in combination with jolly Marcin you’re bound to get tummy aches laughing at their silly (and at times dirty) remarks. But little did they know we had a surprise in store for them. That day at work I started talking about the lightfestival in Ghent. Luc thought it would be a good idea to go there after dinner and extend our colleague evening (I know, my boss is awesome). So without a clue they got into the car.

They didn’t mind though, they were having fun.

We arrived in Ghent and the festival was even prettier then I thought. Looking at the illuminated buildings and installations threw me back to being ten years old again. Jaw dropping at all the shiny bright colourful lights. One of the first things we saw was this tunnel of light, carefully constructed out of what seemed like a billion christmas lights.

Stunning…

After a few hours of walking, misreading the map and gazing at the beauty, our brains started freezing along with our toes and fingers. So we started acting a bit weird for the sake of heating up our bodies (okay, honestly it could’ve just been me pretending to be part of the ministry of funny walks in an attempt to feel my toes again). That’s when Erik was so kind to elevate my blood pressure scaring the heebie jeebies out of me. Standing at a light on the floor, instantly transforming into one of my all time favourite scary guys: Gary Oldman in Bram Stokers’ Dracula.

Booh!

Well it wasn’t that cold, come to think about it. A few days later it started snowing. That’s right. Snowing. I’m sure it’s happened before but I do not recall to ever have seen snow in (almost) February in my conscious life. So I guess we’ll just have to accept the fact that we’re up for a winter sequel. Wiping the snow of your bike in the morning isn’t the most pleasant prospect to start your day. But some things do make up for it. Like this cosy view I had when I enjoyed my morning coffee at work.

Oh and in case it didn’t get stuck in your head the first time: click here.