Documenting stupidity.
A group of us headed to Boston, New York, last evening to take part in a photo shoot for the latest installment of the Praxis Risk Files campaign. This time, we weren’t in the comfort of a classic bathroom witnessing a woman bathe with a TV dangling mere inches from the water. Oh no. This time, we were capturing a 300 lb-plus bear being taunted by a frat boy wielding a big, bloody T-bone steak. Risky for him, risky for us.
Okay, to be fair, there was little risk involved in the actual production of this photo. The stars of the shoot, the bears (yes, there was a stand-in), were more akin to big puppies than to grizzlies. But while these big puppies could have easily mauled any one of us had they had the inclination, we were fortunate enough to have Mr. Jarod Miller on hand to keep the bears in check and keep us calm.
We spent close to three hours on Jarod’s land, with the braver-than-brave Rhea Anna behind the camera, snapping pics of a young imbecile attempting to feed the bears steaks, sandwiches, donuts, peanut butter, and even Swedish Fish. It was surreal to say the least. And the talent’s courage (he had never worked with a bear before – go figure) was unrivaled by anyone, save the bears’ owner.
In the end, photographing a bear proved to be more like photographing a tornado – she went where she went and we merely followed with the camera. The chaos factor was large, but we’re certain the reward will be as well. And, hey, we got to spend a lovely spring afternoon in the woods shooting a bear. Yeah, you bet it was a good day.
Tagged with advertising, Bear, Blog, Buffalo, Crowley Webb, Photo Shoot, Praxis Risk Files