Unless you live under a rock (and no, not one of those über fashionable pet rocks that resembles a Basquiat painting and has probably thumbed through a lifetime of Italian Vogues), you’ve most likely seen model Abbey Lee Kershaw’s recent ’70s occult-influenced campaign. You know, the Rêve by ManiaMania one: strong black background, subtle motion blur, and multiple images of the platinum blonde model whose lips are painted a scarlet red superimposed on top of each other.
The campaign blew the F up on fashion blogs worldwide – partly because Abbey Lee’s quite the hot shit of the moment, but also because photographer Barnaby Roper perfectly executed the shots with a slight splash of psychedelic undertones and dimension. Needless to say, the photos would’ve been fitting on the cover of any early ’70s psych record (which is pretty fucking rad to see when juxtaposed with the endless supply of stale, uninspired Terry Richardson clones out there nowadays).
But besides having a really cool, artsy name, what makes any good artist really good is versatility, something the UK-based photog has got dialed in spades. Anything from super-sharp, commercial high fashion, to conceptual fine art, to goddamn, really anything he wants, Roper’s got it—which is just one of the reasons he’s shot major campaigns for high profile clients like Esquire, French GQ, NY Times, and Nike.
Just to reinforce that he’s not one of those lame one trick ponies, Mr. Roper – or the guy who can seemingly do everything really ridiculously well—has simultaneously applied all his technical know-how regarding lighting, compositions, and all that other jazz into filmmaking as well, directing rad music videos for bands like OK Go. Some dudes just have it like that.
More at
barnabyroper.com.