On an extremely hot Thursday afternoon in early June, Jonathan Kaz of f8 Photo Studios was surprised to hear a British voice on the other end of the line asking him if f8 Photo Studios would like to do a piece for a 4-page spread in an international gaming magazine on EPIC games’ "CliffyB".
That British voice belonged to Darrin Phillips of Future-Net Publishing LTD. in the U.K.
Future-Net Publishing has a magazine distribution which includes: Xbox 360: The Official Magazine, Official PlayStation Magazine, Official Nintendo Magazine, Nintendo Power, PC Gamer, Edge and Games Master not to mention various sports publications and websites that include: gamesradar.com, computerandvideogames.com, next-gen.biz, pcgamer,com, oxm.co.uk, fileradar.net
"Our ears where ringing with excitement" stated Jonathan Kaz, "Not only is CliffyB, or his given name Cliff Bleszinski as he likes to be called now, an icon in the International gaming world but a local Raleigh favorite for gamers alike". Cliff Bleszinski is the design director for the game development company Epic Games in Cary, North Carolina. He is most noted for the development of the “Unreal” and “Gears of War” franchise.
The shoot was a follow-up to an interview for the same publication that was to be released in the August print edition of EDGE Magazine. "The Publishers gave us a 24-hour turn around and to have that kind of shoot outside with temperatures hovering around an abnormal 102 degrees Fahrenheit, We knew we had to come up with something different", said Kaz . Cara also added, "Even though technically it would have been easier to shoot outdoors, we knew the heat would add tension and make Cliff uncomfortable. That’s when we looked at a funky, hip indoor solution to the challenge, something that represented our client". Cara and Jonathan explain it as a mystery as they looked at each other at the same time and decided “The Mosquito” in downtown Raleigh would be the place to shoot. Jonathan and Cara talk about the solution with an almost "fateful" remembrance (pun intended) "We contacted the club and a gentleman answered the phone. They explained the situation to him and were surprised to hear that “The Mosquito” was one of Cliff's regular for hang outs and even more surprised to hear a response with, "What time will you be here?"
Due to the 24-hour deadline given by the publisher, f8 recruited some top talent to help with the shoot. Kevin Milz, of Kevin Milz Photography, offered up his talents to help with the setup and the technical coordination for the shoot. "Setup was great and it helped that the club was so open to our ideas for the shoot." Jonathan adds, "By the time Cliff arrived we had a cool drink ready for him and an atmosphere that was probably more laid back than he was used to.” The photo shoot that f8 Photo Studios produced received an e-mail from Cliff himself that stated "One of the most pleasant shoots I've done" This blew us away since Cliff has been photographed for Playboy, Maxxam and various other great photographers in the industry”, said Cara Galati.
Cara and Jonathan have enjoyed pushing their talents for various publications over the last few years and as they put it, “We look forward to hearing from Epic again.”
f8 Photo Studios is available for travel internationally and are also enjoying their new adventure; the f8 Photo booth.
*Spread image courtesy of Edge Magazine.
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