1910
An improvised, unscripted time-period project with Michael Tomisch
The estate was available immediately. Not having enough time to develop a story or write a polished script, we decided to focus on a general theme of nostalgia and use our setting as a base character. I picked and matched a few wardrobe options for Michael, drafted a vague shot list, got in the car and set out to produce a no-budget project with an unnerving lack of preparation. And the rest was history we improvised.
I remember seeing Michael for the first time on my friend’s work online and just thinking “wow.” Refined in his appearance, expressive in his poses and elegant in his style, he looked like a jewel model every photographer would want to work with.
When we finally got on the phone and started brainstorming creative ideas, I mentioned wanting to do a time period piece with a Postwar England flare. The only problem was to find a location that would fit the historic theme. By a very happy coincidence, Michael happened to have free access to the perfect place - a 19th century private racehorse estate in upstate New York.
Believe it or not, it was only later that Michael told me he wasn’t a professional actor or a model, but a full-time construction worker with an avid ambition to get into creative field.
But watching him work on the other side of the lens, I never had a slightest doubt he was a master of his craft. It is still much to my surprise to think how someone with such magnetic on-camera presence and a natural talent fueled by burning passion didn’t do this their whole life.
