Creating a whiskey colored landscape for that special Johnnie Walker moment

Earlier this year I was asked to photograph an ad for Johnnie Walker’s red label.

The idea was to create exceptional experiences where a special whiskey would savor and seal that moment at the end of the day. This done in a setting as golden as the liquid itself…

The process starts with finding that golden hued landscape.

As we did our research we looked at places as far away as Namibia and locations like Sedona and Valley of Fire in the US.

We ended up with a combination of locations photographing the landscapes in Nevada at the Red Rock Canyon National Park and the tent and its people in London.

My own Johnnie Walker moment however was not in the evening…

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Waking to the day while it’s still dark outside, heading out to location in anticipation of what the sun will bring when rising is always a thrill. After 20 years as a photographer the sensation of a sunrise has yet to wear off.

I often think about Homer’s Odyssey when I stand in the quiet moments of morning. He over and over refers to “dawn with her rose-red fingers” painting the landscape. Dawn represents the start of Odysseus’ journey and throughout the story the metaphor of dawn, and how it’s described, symbolizes his transformation/odyssey from immaturity to maturity and then fulfillment.

Dawns Rose-red fingers could not have been more apparent than when adding a pure red glow to those mountains at Red Rock. For me, it  was a couple of exeptional mornings in Nevada, and if I didn’t have to drive back home, I would have savored that moment and, with a big sense of fulfillment, poured my whiskey …

 

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Cheers,

 

E.

 

One response to “Creating a whiskey colored landscape for that special Johnnie Walker moment”

  1. Erik,

    What a beautiful final image and great story of the making of it! It’s simply magical and well-done. . . Cindy

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