This was the beginning of the story, and the start of my concept:
“In designer Max Gunawan's madcap vision of the world, nothing is as it appears. An ordinary grapefruit is a toy car. A notebook is a lamp; the pages within it are lightbulbs. And houses? Well, they fold and fit neatly in the trunk of an SUV.”

Product Designer Max Gunawan became known for making extraordinary works our of ordinary objects, and we were running a feature story about his latest creation: a book that opened and turned into a rechargeable lamp. His products inspired a sense of awe and amazement, so I decided to position Max as a magician. I knew his “trick” had to be big, bold, and translate clearly and immediately into a print feature. It also needed to have an impressive impact–like something that you might see at a Penn & Teller show.

I knew I wanted photographer Dean Bradshaw on board–he has a style all his own, and consistently created magic behind the lens. Once he was on board, it was time to begin! The production of this shoot was a giant undertaking. First I had to track down then hire a lion and lion tamer, find a trained kitten (who also had a handler), find a studio in a specific part of LA (because of animal rights laws) that allowed lions to be brought in, build a set that looked believable, and bring in a wardrobe stylist that could help transform Max into a magician. The entire shoot had to be done in one eight-hour day because of budget restrictions. It was a mad-dash day! We were hauling in loads of props from the set designer’s truck, while the lion tamer calmed the gigantic lion in another truck. As soon as the set was built, the trainer created a walkway from his transport truck to the stage. The only thing separating the crew and this gigantic, beautiful creature was a pathway made of thin wire. The moment the lion stepped into the studio, a hush hit the room. I’ve never experienced another moment quite like it before or since. After using pieces of raw steak to get some different chaws and positions from the lion, the tamer walked him back down the pathway and into his crate. I think each one of us were holding our breath just a little bit the entire time. The story was a huge hit with our Cadillac clients, and the images turned out to be even more full of magic than I dreamed.

This was a project for Cadillac Magazine, so I had more than a typical editorial budget to work with. However I’ve got more experience working with and concepting stories for pure editorial, and would love the chance to talk to your team about the position and more of my work.

Hoping for the chance to chat with you soon!