illustrations by Vita Yang

steamy window: an interview with photographer Josh Dalsimer

by theartistsofrue on March 1, 2011

Joshua Dalsimer is not only the photographer for [RueLaLa]'s  login campaign this year, but he’s been an integral part of [their] creative team and [their] conceptual process in conceiving the images themselves. And although at Rue [they] all think the work is pretty cool, [they] were also pretty pumped that Communication Arts agreed – they selected “Steamy Window” for the prestigous 2011 Communication Arts Photography Annual. [They] sat down with Josh to talk about where his inspiration comes from and how he’s brought the ideas to life.

When you first met with Rue’s creative team, there must have been chemistry because a significant (and amazing!) partnership has followed. How did it all evolve?
I am a photographer in New York, but also help advertising agencies concept and flesh out ideas. So when Rue La La came to me asking for help with their splash page, they saw that I could help with the concepting as well as shoot the images. Originally we were planning on doing a lifestyle shoot, but after seeing the roller coaster and lollipop splash pages, Amy (Rue Creative Director) and I thought it would be fun to continue to use the logo in real-life places. It seemed like a new approach to a familiar theme. After that initial meeting, Rue La La asked me to work with another art director/writer and come up with a list of places we could put the logo. I worked with my friend Justin Gignac, who is a fine artist and art director in New York. We turned in a list of around 50 ideas, and Rue selected a bunch and added their own into the mix. Because of my photography background, I have done a lot of work using the computer to create images as well as classic model building techniques – and I know what’s possible to pull off.

Let’s talk about the March shoot, “Steamy Window.” We’re sure you were thrilled to have it selected into the 52nd Communication Arts Photo Annual (the premier publication for the advertising industry). How did you take the initial concept and work it (so ingeniously) into your own vision?
My main goal was to make it look as real as possible. It sounds easy to shoot writing on a steamed-up window. But it was a hard thing to actually capture. We knew we wanted an upscale car but also wanted some mood and mystery. I tried to bring all those things into it.

Sophistication verses playfulness – tell us why this idea of balance is a common thread throughout all the login pages.
That is the theme that I find runs through Rue La La, and the creative team has a good feel for that theme and I follow that direction.

If you could describe this image in a single world, what would it be?
Steamy.

Who do you envision inside the car? Where are they going?
I leave that up to the viewer to decide.

Tell us about the key players of your crew who worked on this image.
Well, for this shot I had my producer Kyle Kramer and trusty assistant Winnie Au. The prop stylist was Gina Freedman – she was in the steamy car the whole shoot. I also worked with the London-based company Saddington Baynes to help with the retouching and the creation of the logo. They are an incredible team and I credit myself for being smart enough to hire them.

We all fantasize about the location. Tell us about the scene of the shoot.
We were in an empty lot in Williamsburg Brooklyn. We couldn’t shoot on a street because we needed to move the car around and set up lights and reflectors. It was a cloudy day in the morning, which helped it feel cold, but started to get sunny as the day went on and made it hard to create steam!

What goes into post-production and adding the logo?
We do a lot in post but try to make sure we have all the pieces we need actually shot. With “Steamy Window,” for example, we did a lot – from reshaping the car, to recreating reflections, making the writing feel hand-done but not too sloppy.

What do you hope people will feel and think when they land on a Rue La La login page?
That it looks cool and is a bit tongue-in-cheek.

You’re working on logins for the whole year – what are you most excited about going forward?
Just to have fun and change things up a bit. However, we have one involving sheep that should be a lot of fun! I would also love to hear some Members’ ideas for places to put the logo.

egg sandwich & grapefruit

2 fresh organic sunny-side-up eggs fried in olive oil
2 tbsp pesto
salt & peppa
toasted ezekiel 4:9 whole wheat bread

d e l i s h !