Bryan Regan‘s new annual project a few years back allowed him to start each day stretching his creative muscles. A self-proclaimed Clark Griswold when it comes to Christmas decorations, Bryan utilized his substantial collection of holiday trinkets to bring his concept to life. Bryan has further worked on many other handful stories for Walter.
I’ve been doing a series for a couple of years called Countdown to Christmas where I stop and take a photo on my way to work. Around Christmas time, I’ll take some decorations with me a drop them into the scene.
I tell people I was looking for a new project and all the fun ones were taken so I ended up with this one. I thought I need to be in a big city to produce fun creative work, so I decided to prove myself wrong and not take for granted what I have around me. It’s fun to start your day with a creative challenge and not have an art director standing over you telling you what and how to work.
I worked with Walter Magazine a lot and pitched my idea to them and they liked it. I also did a behind-the-scenes story on a production of A Christmas Carol.
Bryan has shot for Walter for a few years now, usually completing editorial work for the magazine. Countdown to Christmas was Bryan’s first pitch to Walter, which they happily accepted. During his short drive to work, Bryan passes by all sorts of buildings and roads covered in Christmas decorations. Many of these settings make for perfect locations to capture Raleigh’s Christmas spirit.
I drive to work and I have the best of both worlds: I live behind the North Carolina Museum of Art and my drive is about eight miles. My studio is downtown and I bought it 16 years ago; let’s just say the neighborhood still has some character to it.
The other big story Bryan shot for was about a group of actors who perform A Christmas Carol every year. Many of the actors are on the show for so long that their children are now involved, making it a true family affair. It’s difficult to find a pair of stories that better puts readers in the Holiday mood!
It was a one-time deal for a dress rehearsal. I arrived early and literally dragged people in costume out of dressing rooms to a little portrait set I’d set up. When the play started it didn’t stop so I just moved around during the performance.
I really like the set-up portraits. It’s hard to take a bad photo of someone in costume. It’s always nice meeting and talking with the actors. Interesting to hear the history of how long they’ve been doing the play. Some have been doing for 15 years and now they do it with their kids.
See more of Bryan’s work on his website.
Credits:
Creative Director: Laura Wall
Writer: Ayn-Monique Klahre