Christian Mushenko: Tom Walton and The Bucket List

Tom Walton is one of Australia’s biggest rising star chefs, and he recently reached out to photographer and videographer Christian Mushenko for a project. A U.S. production company was interested in Tom for a TV series in the U.S., so he asked Christian to create a short promo video for him. Tom, Christian, and Christian’s studio manager and photo assistant, Danielle Chloe, had all met on a previous project, so they were ready to hit the waves swimming with this one. They wanted to create a video that would have production companies vying for Tom as a personality in U.S. television.

Here’s Danielle diving into video prep:

For the video, Christian wanted to show Tom as the passionate chef he is, show off the Aussie lifestyle, and show off Tom as someone to cast on a show—good-looking, cheeky, and personable. “This project was all about real life,” says Christian, so everything was shot simply and with authenticity as the driving force. Christian says he loved shooting the full story of lifestyle and food. He incorporated the beach-loving side of Tom, as well as his persona as chef and co-owner of Sydney’s famous Bondi Beach restaurant, The Bucket List.

Take a look at the video Christian and Danielle created!

After spending some time at The Bucket List, Christian says he’s definitely ready to go back for seconds.

The restaurant feels like the sort of place you imagine a party on a Rio beach would be. Very relaxed, great food, hip, and a perfect place to have a drink and a paella while watching the sunset on the terrace. It was nice seeing Tom in the kitchen and hearing his passion and ethos behind what he does.

Christian says he has the same philosophy with his food videography as with his food photography: natural is better. “I want it to look amazing but also real,” he says, feeling that the most mouth-watering and inspiring visuals are the ones that look real. From the food to the waves, the team kept it real with this project.

Be sure to check out more work from Christian at christianmushenko.com!

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