By Peter Clark
Last month, Wonderful Machine was featured in the fourth issue of Hungry Eye, a UK-based photography publication. We’ve been in Hungry Eye before (their second issue included one of our pricing and negotiating articles) but this time we took out a full page an ad using a photo by New York-based Mimi Ko. We were excited for the opportunity to make an appearance in a magazine that combines the worlds of filmmaking with still photography. Their editorial director, Grant Scott, explains the vision behind Hungry Eye:
We believe that there is now a new established community of image makers. They are passionate, male, female, young, old, mothers, fathers, students, they are international, they love photography, capturing moments, recording their lives, what they see and what they experience. They want to share their passions and experiences and they want to be involved in the world of image making with stills and the moving image. They all have hungry eyes.
Now for the first time they have a magazine which understands them and that has been created for them. A magazine which brings the world of quality professional image making to the professional, the advanced, the inquisitive and the passionate. Image making is now part of our lives it is not just a hobby or career. It is a lifestyle choice. Hungry Eye understands this and embraces it. We’re a new type of magazine for a new and existing global image making community. It breaks the mould. In a world that is constantly changing, it would be a mistake to get left behind.
For the ad, we knew we needed to create something that would appeal equally to both prospective clients and photographers. So when I came across this image by Mimi Ko, I knew I’d found what we were looking for. Mimi’s image had the allure of fine art and the commercial appeal of a print ad while also being intriguing and fun. In short, it was the full package.
I asked Mimi if she could give me some details from the shoot and the concept behind it:
I was looking for inspiration to do a shoot that had a cinematic and narrative feel when I remembered the Nancy Drew detective novel series that I read growing up. Nancy Drew was all the rage in my elementary school class and we were hooked on her adventures with her friends Bess and George—cracking case after case that stumped even the best and brightest of police investigators. At age ten, it was enough to make me look seriously into whether being a girl detective was a viable career option.
While the Nancy I read was a more modern one—driving a blue convertible and all—visually I’m in love with the illustrated book covers from the forties and fifties. The scenes are always evocative with a wonderful sense of mystery, and the lighting in the illustrations are beautifully atmospheric. The shoot itself was a lot of fun, everybody was really into the concept (quite a few people grew up reading the series too!). It was definitely one of the most enjoyable shoots I’ve had the pleasure to be on.
View more of Mimi’s work on her website, mimikophotography.com and be sure to check us out in Hungry Eye today!
If you’re ready to take your marketing to the next level with print or email promos, reach out!