In February of 2020 I shot portraits and a short film about @ryanbingham_official for @easyriders magazine. Then the pandemic hit and the issue was placed on an indefinite hold. For a long time I didn’t expect that the story would ever see get to see the light of day, but the day has finally come.
I’d a big fan of Ryan’s music ever since I saw the film, Crazy Heart, and I really wanted to be prepared for the shoot, so I immersed myself in his latest album, American Love Song, to glean inspiration. The song “Wolves” particularly stuck out to me, with this part in particular:
I was just a child
I knew I was afraid
There was nothin' to gain, I found
By runnin' the other way
I had to stand my ground
And keep the wolves at bay
The creative direction I was given all centered around light, which is my first love. As the shoot began to play out I found myself noticing the beautiful parallel of the moment: I am someone that for years kept my own wolves at bay by immersing myself into my craft which had led me to the present moment of creating art with (and literally shining light on) a man whose music has helped led me out of much darkness. Thank you to everyone at Easyriders for this incredible opportunity. I will forever cherish it.
If you haven’t yet seen the short film I made you can watch it here.
Creative Advisor- @vanessapfoster
Editor-in-chief- @cactusandfog
Visuals & production director- @nalani.hernandez
Assistant camera- @travis_shinn
Wardrobe stylist- @nschneiderstyle
Prop stylist- @larkdove
Motorcycle- @ericdean
Studio- @xixstudios