Santa Monica based photographer David Walden started out working in computer animation, and had taken up photography as a hobby. But things quickly changed when he realized that many of the graphic skills he already had were directly applicable to photography, especially regarding things like composition, lighting and technically with retouching.
“So after a few years of pursuing photography as a side job, I decided to quit my day job and focus exclusively on shooting,” he says. Now he’s spending his days shooting fashion building up his wonderful portfolio, and a step on the way for David was to shoot something for Ben Trovato. Today you can all enjoy the result. His first story for us is entitled Girl, Interrupted and features the stunning Erica Little from M Model Management.
“The result is very simple really - I wanted to shoot a series of black and whites with interesting compositions and classic lighting,” David explains, and continues “Originally I had imagined it as a black and white campaign-style shoot, but as I was shooting it, it took on a more free-form feel that I actually preferred.”
“I had shot a test with Erica earlier in her black leather jacket, and one of the shots that we did at the time inspired me to do a full story in that same style.”
With only the two on the set, it was a relaxed vibe where they could take their time to experiment ideas: “- Erica’s fantastic. She had a lot of patience with me! It’s great to work with someone that’s willing to experiment with different ideas, while maintaining enthusiasm and positive energy for hours on end.”
She did her own makeup, and brought some of her own clothing to mix with some amazing pieces David had from before.
“Black. Leather. I could shoot this kind of styling every day.”
Generally speaking David is inspired by old movies, photography of past decades, surrealism and postmodernism, which explains the slight cinematic feel to Girl, Interrupted: “- Is is probably the result of me watching lots of movies from the 30′s and 40′s,” David claims.
His plans for 2012 includes getting professional representation, and shoot fashion campaigns.
Credits
Photography & styling by David Walden
Model - Erica Little @ M Model Management
