I recently took part in this years photo project for the Red Chair Project, a campaign designed to promote arts and cultural awareness in Orlando and throughout Orange county. The campaign uses a small red chair from Ikea as a means of creating a cohesive theme to tie together various things of artistic and cultural significance in the local area. This years photo project centered around promoting the various dance troupes and performances that occur in Orange County.
For my submission I wanted to create a purpose for the red chair in the photo, so I decided on going with the theme of a lion tamer. The group I chose to work with is a local burlesque troupe, varieTEASE, who perform at Stardust Lounge on a regular basis.
There was a lot of prep work involved in this shot. My lovely girlfriend Jenny Coyle worked on a variety of the styling elements, including creating the costumes and set back drops. She also did the make-up on the shot. I built the circus podium. The amazing Matthew Bengston from Altamoda salon really made the shot with his hair styling skills, which really brought the lion character to life.
The photo will be exhibited, along with about 30 other submissions, throughout the county at various locations over the next year. My photo will also be in a book that is to be given out to attendees of one of the Red Chair’s charity benefits. Check the Red Chair website for more information.
Special thanks on this photo go out to Blue and Tayeh from varieTease, Matthew Bengston from Altamoda, Terry Olson from the Red Chair Project, and Jenny Coyle.
