Minneapolis-based photographer and director Jonathan Chapman recently completed a still & motion spec project for Adidas, shooting two tennis players going head to head in a dark warehouse, perfectly exemplifying that “raw minimalism” that can be so impactful in a series:
Stories inspire connection. That’s the narrative of our work: Not just to capture the subject, scene or action, but to tell a story that is memorable, even familiar. There’s an innate challenge in capturing the intangibles of that story in a photograph—the unspoken dialog, the tension of the setting, the nuance of little shifts and changes in the scene. The more minimal the scene, the greater the challenge in capturing those nuances.
This spec project for Adidas exemplified that raw minimalism. There’s no fancy backdrop, no audience. We see two players and a table, and between the three exists a tension—like a binding glue—that tells the underlying story. The players’ hands grasping the paddles. The stare of a competitor hunting for an edge. The snap of the wrist as they hit the ball for the first time. These are the unplanned elements that breathe life into a photo (and moving visuals too), the little pieces we don’t expect but patiently allow them to be revealed.
Every day, we challenge ourselves to push the boundaries of our experiences, our equipment and our comfort zones to deliver both the expected—and the unexpected.