Adam Voorhes is 30 and craves criticism.
MOSSLESS: How did you go about shooting your Exploded series?
ADAM VOORHES: Carefully. Patiently. When it was possible the objects were stacked on acrylic blocks and plates of glass or hung from wires. Ideally the photo would be captured as one image, but that was only accomplished with the gun. The other images were shot in smaller groupings of objects. The parts were then assembled in photoshop. I spent days on each image (aside from the gun, that was the easy one) to make sure the seams and shadows were perfect. The goal was to be able to print these a meter tall and have no artifacting. They have to look completely real. I’m very passionate about execution.
ML: Who’s your favourite client?
AV: That sounds like a trick question that will get me in trouble, but… I have a lot of fun with Spirit Magazine; they let me play and experiment more than anyone else. I have a lot of great clients who treat me well and we have fun. However, aside from my wife (who motivates me in everything I do), Spirit has been the biggest catalysts in my work.
ML: What’s it like having your wife as studio producer? Does it help?
AV: Awesome and yes. Robin was an art director at a magazine when we met. We taught each other a lot, and learned together. After a year or so of working together I developed a huge crush and eventually convinced her to go out with me. A couple of years later she left her job to work with me.
Her background is design and art direction, and she has become an impeccable stylist and producer. I could never hire someone to do what she does. Her value is beyond measure.
Aside from that, we both have a lot of freedom. Our hours are flexible and we can pursue projects that interest us together or on our own. Or we can do what we did today and go have beers for a few hours in the middle of the day.
ML: Did you get to eat the ice cream taking those photographs? It must have been tempting.
AV: It was made of gross things that have nothing to do with ice cream. The vanilla had mustard and kitchen bouquet in it for coloring and black pepper for vanilla bean flakes. When you look at ice cream and it smells like mustard your appetite goes on strike.
