Watch David LaChapelle in action!

We go behind the scenes on the production of "Refineries", the second part of David LaChapelle's project, titled "LAND SCAPE." In this video we visit David's studio and see his still life oil refinery models being constructed and then photographed on location.

"My goal is to get people's attention! It's very difficult to get people's attention long enough to look at an image and then understand what it means." - David LaChapelle

"My goal is to get people's attention. It is very difficult to get people's attention long enough to look at an image and then understand what it means.

What we are doing here is... You'll be seeing what we're doing here soon but they are the best model builders in the world who worked on all kinds of gigantic blockbuster movies throughout the years and we are fortunate enough to have  them working on this project.

We are taking found materials. Normally these guys make super realistic models, and you can't tell, they are artists at work, that build models that look authentic and real such as Titanic.

In this project I want found objects and things that we normally recognize, so we are taking plastic bottles, this is the thing
you cook turkey in at Christmas time, tin cans, bendy straws, so I have limited the resources because I didn't want them to look like architectural models. It is completely different from our normal shoots which are figurative, I'm always using people in photographs but I love the still life.

The series started with the gas stations and now we have moved in to refineries. These are some of our inspirations, our references to what these will look like in the end. We are going to take a day to shoot each one. We shoot them at night, at dusk, in location, so we have a lot of work to do.

We have scouted the location. I have been out there before, we know which direction to shoot in. We are playing around 
with twilight which is very quick to get that perfect balance between 
the sky and the LED lights. We use thousands of them in these models.

The goal is first of all to make stunning pictures, then play with scale, but not only that, then you are playing with the idea that this is all garbage.

When we came out at the scout, the sky was full of clouds and looked pretty amazing but I think the sky looks better today that way. You just never know, you work with variables but a great thing about having a still life is that it is not someone who is going to leave, 
like a model or a celebrity or something. We will do it again until it is perfect.

There is about, literally, 5 minutes where you get the perfect balance between sky and these lights, where the sky is glowing in really rich blue. I like the conditional occasion where you have that finite moment and that's it. You have a built-in time limit. Using that adrenaline to get the shoot done, use it to our advantage.

In any of my photographs I want to express something, say something, communicate. For me the picture is not finished until a viewer connects with it. That's the magic of art in general,  communicating something to someone else.

Of course, like a lot of people I'm thinking about what is going on in the world and the sort of auspicious time that we live in in terms of environment, we're on the precipice in so many areas. A very scary time if you are aware of our impact on the environment. For me it all stems from the beginning of the industrial age  and the discovery of fossil fuels. It only happened in the last hundred years. 
It has been this really dramatic shift in the atmosphere caused by humans' use of fossil fuels. What represents them for me are these gas stations. Are they inherently evil? No. They are neither good nor bad. We are all using it. It is giving us our quality of life. Everything from medicine to transportation allow us as human beings to populate the planet.

I don't want to tell people what to think. I want people to figure things out for themselves and I want to be clear in what I'm thinking but I don't want to preach."

Try Phase One: http://www.phaseone.com/demosignup
Download Capture One: http://www.phaseone.com/download

Watch part 2:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BQ1FpGbhoIE

It's very difficult to get people's attention long enough to look at an image and then understand what it means.

You What we're doing here is, well you'll be seeing what we're doing here soon, but this is Tim, this is Ahmed, and we are the best model builders in the world who've worked on all kinds of gigantic blockbuster movies throughout the years and we are fortunate enough to have them working on this project.

Which we're taking found materials, normally these guys make stuff super realistic and you can't tell, you know, it's, it's, they're, they're artists that work cinema that build models that look absolutely authentic and real, such as Titanic.

This project in particular, I want more found objects and things that we don't normally recognize.

So we're taking plastic bottles, this is the thing that you cook turkey in at Christmas time, tin cans, bendy straws.

So I've limited the resources because I didn't want them to look like architectural models.

It's completely different from our normal shoots, which are figurative, and always using people in photographs, but I love the still life.

This series started with the gas stations, and now we've moved into refineries.

These are some of our inspirations, some of our references to what these will look like in the end.

We're gonna shoot, it's gonna take a day to shoot each 1.

We shoot them at night, at dusk, in location, So we have a lot of work to do.

We've scouted the locations that have been out there before.

We know which direction we're going to be shooting in and we're playing around with the twilight moment which is very quick.

Getting that perfect balance between the sky and the LED lights that are you know we've used thousands of them in these models.

It's pretty cool with those mountains back there.

They're even better than I imagined, so it's just sort of given us the excitement.

We just want to get them all finished now.

I would put more things facing the camera.

There's lights I would face them this way.

So we'll move them up and turn them around.

The goal is to make first of all the stunning picture that then you're playing with scale, but then not only that Then you're playing with this idea that this is all Garbage.

When we came out of the scout, the sky was full of clouds and it looked pretty amazing.

But the great thing about having a still life is it's not someone that's going to go away, like a model or celebrity or something.

Let the sky get darker and let the longer further, stop it down a little bit.

There's about literally 5 minutes where you just get the perfect balance between sky and these lights where the sky is glowing in really rich blue.

You have that finite moment, you know, and that's it.

So you sort of have a built-in time limit.

It gives you that adrenaline to get the shoot done.

In any of my photographs, I want to express something or say something, communicate.

For me, the picture's not finished until a viewer connects with it.

That's the sort of magic of art in general, just communicating something to someone else.

Of course I'm thinking like a lot of people about what's going on in the world and the sort of auspicious time that we live in in terms of the environment, in terms of we're sort of on the precipice in so many areas.

A very kind of scary time if you're aware of what's our impact on the environment.

For me it all stems from the beginning of the Industrial Age and the discovery of fossil fuels.

So that's only happened in the last, really, the last hundred years.

There's been this really dramatic shift in the atmosphere caused by humanity's use of fossil fuels.

So what represents them for me are these gas stations.

It's in everything from medicines to transportation, travel, to allow us as human beings to populate the planet.

I don't want to tell people what to think.

I want people to figure things out for themselves.

And I want to be clear in what I'm thinking, but I don't want to sort of preach to anyone.

You get this beautiful gradation from the dark, dark navy blues to the royal blue to the cyan and then you get this yellow right at the horizon and then this strong contrast black against yellow so really makes this beautiful palette.


Speaker 0: My goal is to get people's attention. It's very difficult to get people's attention long enough to look at an image and then understand what it means. You What we're doing here is, well you'll be seeing what we're doing here soon, but this is Tim, this is Ahmed, and we are the best model builders in the world who've worked on all kinds of gigantic blockbuster movies throughout the years and we are fortunate enough to have them working on this project. Which we're taking found materials, normally these guys make stuff super realistic and you can't tell, you know, it's, it's, they're, they're artists that work cinema that build models that look absolutely authentic and real, such as Titanic. This project in particular, I want more found objects and things that we don't normally recognize.

So we're taking plastic bottles, this is the thing that you cook turkey in at Christmas time, tin cans, bendy straws. So I've limited the resources because I didn't want them to look like architectural models. It's completely different from our normal shoots, which are figurative, and always using people in photographs, but I love the still life. This series started with the gas stations, and now we've moved into refineries. These are some of our inspirations, some of our references to what these will look like in the end.

We're gonna shoot, it's gonna take a day to shoot each 1. We shoot them at night, at dusk, in location, So we have a lot of work to do. We've scouted the locations that have been out there before. We know which direction we're going to be shooting in and we're playing around with the twilight moment which is very quick. Getting that perfect balance between the sky and the LED lights that are you know we've used thousands of them in these models.

It's pretty cool with those mountains back there. They're even better than I imagined, so it's just sort of given us the excitement. We just want to get them all finished now. These should be connected. Those blue colors are weird.

Don't you think they need to be more? Connect them more? OK. I would put more things facing the camera. There's lights I would face them this way.

I think that's going to be cooler. Like this. I like that, but we're not getting that. So we'll move them up and turn them around. Go to this side or something.

The goal is to make first of all the stunning picture that then you're playing with scale, but then not only that Then you're playing with this idea that this is all Garbage. Guys, we should be that way. When we came out of the scout, the sky was full of clouds and it looked pretty amazing. But I think the sky looks better today. You just never know.

You're working with variables. But the great thing about having a still life is it's not someone that's going to go away, like a model or celebrity or something. So I say, okay, we'll do it again. So it's perfect. Let the sky get darker and let the longer further, stop it down a little bit.

Okay. So we have more glow. Oh yeah, there you go. That's cool. Let's go to a second.

Wow. That's dope. Ready? Yep. There's about literally 5 minutes where you just get the perfect balance between sky and these lights where the sky is glowing in really rich blue.

Well, the sky is insane right now. Now we got to go. I like the idea of shooting location. You have that finite moment, you know, and that's it. So you sort of have a built-in time limit.

It gives you that adrenaline to get the shoot done. So I use it to our advantage. Oh, that's beautiful. In any of my photographs, I want to express something or say something, communicate. For me, the picture's not finished until a viewer connects with it.

That's the sort of magic of art in general, just communicating something to someone else. Of course I'm thinking like a lot of people about what's going on in the world and the sort of auspicious time that we live in in terms of the environment, in terms of we're sort of on the precipice in so many areas. A very kind of scary time if you're aware of what's our impact on the environment. For me it all stems from the beginning of the Industrial Age and the discovery of fossil fuels. So that's only happened in the last, really, the last hundred years.

There's been this really dramatic shift in the atmosphere caused by humanity's use of fossil fuels. So what represents them for me are these gas stations. Are they inherently evil? No, they're neither good nor bad. You know, we are all using it.

It's giving us our quality of life. It's in everything from medicines to transportation, travel, to allow us as human beings to populate the planet. That is perfect. I don't want to tell people what to think. I want people to figure things out for themselves.

And I want to be clear in what I'm thinking, but I don't want to sort of preach to anyone. We're good. That's beautiful, John. You get this beautiful gradation from the dark, dark navy blues to the royal blue to the cyan and then you get this yellow right at the horizon and then this strong contrast black against yellow so really makes this beautiful palette. You're going back?

I'm going to fall off the campus.

See all Phase One transcripts on Youtube

LAND SCAPE by David LaChapelle (1/2) | Phase One