Last Updated on 12/04/2017 by Chris Gampat
Jaroslav Wieczorkiewicz’s SplashScreen is the latest project he’s been working on this year.
Chances are, if you’ve been following this blog for awhile, you’re most likely familiar with Jaroslav Weiczorkiewicz’s work. First he made the interwebs with Milky Pinups, then we found his Liquid Bamboo forest work, then Splash Heroes and then Fallen Angels. But now he’s finished a brand new series he’s calling SplashScreen. SplashScreen is an ode to cinematic starlets and he used milk, lighting and backgrounds to do it all. Jaroslav has done these traditionally using very precise milk throwing and very fast flash durations to capture the impact. Then it’s been a bit of Photoshop blending to create absolutely fantastic art. We had some time to speak to Jaroslav before SplashScreen’s release and he told us about the inspiration and how it was all done.
Phoblographer: Talk to us about the latest inspiration for the Milky Pinups series. They seem to be odes to famous female characters in cinema.
Jaroslav: After the Fallen Angels and Black calendar which were quite monochromatic I decided that I would like to bring back more colour and fun to the theme. And that is why I went back to my origins – The Milky Pinups. But this time mixed with a cinematic feel.
Phoblographer: How do you feel your style of doing this type of work has evolved since you first started it? Of course your ideas have become more and more complicated, but you’ve also just found ways to make it easier for you, no?
Jaroslav: I think all of my projects have the similar feel or style if you like to it. The scope and complexity varies from concept to concept, that is true. It is the experience what makes this whole process smooth and that counts the most. It is no longer a guessing-game for us. I said that when you threw the milk you don’t know what you will see on the photograph, and [you wonder] is it going to be useful frame. But when you did that as many times as we did, you can enter the studio with a certain level of confidence. The right amount of liquid, the force and angle of the throw, placement and the actual tool you are using – it all matters and gives me a good idea what shape I will get from every splash. There is always a timing factor involved. How well you are in sync with your camera assistant but that again comes back to experience and how well oiled machine your studio team is. And I am fortunate to work with the best people out there that makes this process easier!
Phoblographer: How did you go about coming up with the concepts for the images?
Jaroslav: This year was really nice and fast actually. I quickly locked down on the idea of bringing back the Milky PinUps and than wanted to push that initial concept further. I went with the movies theme and as avid cinemagoer I had more titles in my head than I could fit in the 12 page calendar…Some of the titles or characters are really popular and therefore quite obvious but others have just a hint of the title. This makes them more difficult to decipher. If don’t want to guess you can head to my blog and check the reference board.
Phoblographer: Talk to us about the gear that you’re using now. How do you feel it’s helping you make your images better?
Jaroslav: As for the gear it is the same set as usual. I shoot with my Nikon D800 and this time with 50mm lens. We had also shot with the newest PhaseOne XF system which is an excellent piece of machinery. Regarding the lights – I use bunch of my Einsteins E640 with a various modifiers and the Lastolite panels. You can see the whole setup on our animation below:
Pending video upload
Phoblographer: So what’s your plan with this new set? What are you going to do with it?
Jaroslav: Thanks to our loyal and happy clients the calendar will quickly sell out and will fund the next project. That is how it works every year. It makes us quite independent and I do this because it is so much good fun with great people. I am basically paid for making a mess professionally … that is every kids dream!
People can order their copy here >>> aurumlight.com/calendar2018
Credits:
Concept & Photography:
Jaroslav Wieczorkiewicz
The AurumLight team:
E.Wieczorkiewicz, A.Swirkowicz, A.Wozniakowski, A.Wieczorkiewicz, M.Ruksztello, A.Ciesielska, R.Ruksztello, L.lewandowski
Special thanks to:
Per Alver, Christian Askim, IkonStudio.no, Bartosz Modelski, Artur Dusinski, Studio57.eu
MUA:
Malgorzata Lewczyk
Models:
Monika Syntycz, Zuzanna Chyba, Klaudia Tolloczko, Dora Marble, Anisæ Shaken, Paulina Guzinska, Mariia Markova
BTSphoto:
A.Wieczorkiewicz, A.Swirkowicz, M.Modelski, A.Dusinski, A.Wozniakowski
Postproduction:
Jaroslav Wieczorkiewicz
Movie References:
Bridget Jones’s Diary (2001), The Addams Family (1991), Pulp Fiction (1994), Looney Tunes (1984), American Beauty (1999), Carmen Jones (1954), A Clockwork Orange (1971), Baywatch (1989), Teen Wolf (1985), Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988), Scream (1996), National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation (1989)
You can see even more at the original blog post.