The cluster of offices on the main floor at Westside are inhabited by a ragtag gang of over the wall talkers that includes B Myers, King Reezy, Lady Lam, and myself. I end up being the elephant-eared meat in the sandwich of spaces which gives me unique opportunities to hear one side of a phone call from anyone of these three neighbours. Being the fly on a wall durring the problem solving phone calls of photographers tend to be entertaining.
One of these such times occurred way back on the 14th, when Lady Lam received a last minute phone call from The Grid. She’ll give you the whole story below, but first take a look at her latest cover story images!
Photographer: Vicky Lam
Client: The Grid
Creative Director: Vanessa Wyse
Photo Editor: May Truong
Paper Model Designer: Kyosuke Nishida
Assistant: Alex Beetham
I’m so excited to have shot the cover story for the Grid this week! Available on the streets of Toronto now!
When contributing Grid photo editor, May Truong, contacted me on the Friday afternoon, I was in a bit of a panic. They were looking for a miniature-sized model of a condo and it had to be shot over the weekend. Being a photographer isn’t just about knowing how to work with a camera or lighting, but the ability to solve problems creatively (which often makes my life very exciting!). The challenge was to find a miniature model in time (most shops are closed over the weekend) and to also find one simplified enough that could pass as a condo, but not represent an exact model of an existing condo.
Instead of searching across the city frantically, I decided to enlist the help of the talented Kyosuke Nishida, a graphic designer who has worked on extensive set-designs and environmental displays. We decided that building our own custom condo would be the best solution. After spending our Saturday in silence (designing and cutting paper), we ended up with this charming little condo:
From there, with the addition of miniature trees, and street lamps, the miniature condo was born. Many thanks to Kyosuke for making this happen on such short notice! And also to the team at the Grid for giving me such a fun concept to shoot, check out the whole story over on their site.
Special thanks to Alex Beetham for his assistance and great hand modelling job! While we on the search for the perfect pair of “condo” keys, we came across a large bag at the studio of miscellaneous keys to sort through. Has anyone left behind some keys at Westside over the years? Come claim them from manager Matt, the keeper of the keys.
Just to be clear, Vicky is the most polite person in the world both on the phone and in person. While I may have alluded to otherwise, the most entertaining part of her phone calls that day was her unbridled persistance in solving the miniature condo problem.
All Images © Vicky Lam