Every child has dreamed of being a superhero
It’s a fantasy we’ve all had at some point. We imagine ourselves standing on the edge of a building, overlooking the city, hair blowing in the wind.
As we get older, we stop dreaming. We stop believing that anything is possible because we’ve seen too much of what isn’t. And that is why I wanted to photograph ordinary people as superheroes — so that they could see themselves as they had once dreamed.
I wanted to capture the fearlessness of superheroes – without a green screen or cheap special effects.
The simplest way to make that happen was to place them on the edge of certain death.
This is the ledge they would be standing on:
Overlooking this drop.
Overlooking Market Street in San Francisco
I chose a group of everyday people— SmugMug employees — for this photo shoot. These weren’t professional stuntmen. Just dads, engineers and customer service people.
To do this shoot, they would have to face their fear of heights — a primal fear built into people.
To be up on that ledge is absolutely terrifying. The wind is blowing so hard you think it’s going to knock you over. Every cell in your body is screaming at you to go back to safety.
My job was to convince them to inch closer and closer to the opposite direction of safety — straight towards the edge of a 1000 foot drop. In the photo, it makes all the difference.
Seeing them challenge themselves and finding courage where they thought there was none was absolutely inspiring.
It is not the lack of fear that makes a superhero a hero, but what they do in the face of fear that makes all the difference.
The amateur believes he must first overcome his fear; then he can do his work. The professional knows that fear can never be overcome.
— War of Art
To get the vertigo-inducing angle we were looking for, we rigged a heavy-duty triple riser steel boom stand with a Nikon D800E equipped with a 14-24mm and controlled the camera wirelessly from the laptop using a nifty little device called the CamRanger.
Whilst models wore costumes they made themselves.
Watch the full behind-the-scenes video to see how we pulled this off:
*Warning: Do not attempt on your own. The photographer is a trained stunt person. All models wore safety equipment.”
When do you actually get to see the everyday person get to be a superhero? It’s a reminder that all of us, you and I, have it within ourselves to be whoever we want to be.
– Benjamin Von Wong
See the full photo series here
Media Requests
- Feel free to quote and publish the photos on your web publication (please credit & link back to the original). High-rez press images, BTS and more can be found in this dropbox link
- Prints can be purchased here
- See the 1:30 teaser here
- Commercial requests and rights: suzy@suzyjohnston.com
- Interview requests: ben@vonwong.com
About
- This is part 2 of my Ordinary People Transformed series, which I did as part of SmugMug’s Artist in Residence program.
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See Part 1: Ordinary People, Hollywood Budgets
- See the rest of the SmugMug Film Series
- Huge shoutout to SmugMug who not only host my beautiful website but encourage, support and inspire the entire photography industry with their creative projects.
Credits
- Photographer & Creative Director: Benjamin Von Wong
- Producer: SmugMug
- Cinematography: Chris MacAskill, Michael Bonocore
- Editing: Anton Lorimer
- Makeup Artist: Sandra Leathley
- Superheroes: Don MacAskill, Kerry Ellis, Stephanie Drazic, Kaydin Carlson, Vilen Rodeski, Alex Zielinski
- Digital Tech: Jessika Chiasson
- Special thanks to Tamara DeJong for finding us the rooftop and to John Hancock Real Estate for location assistance
- Editorial Advisor: Karen X. Cheng
Announcements:
I’ll be joining the Fstoplounge for a workshop in Fiji in October! Learn more here.- I just built a brand new gear guide. Check it out and let me know what you think!
- Ever wanted some Von Wong shirts and hoodies? I’ve finally made a brand new store here... and it’s currently on discount!
- I’m hunting for great causes to raise awareness for, anywhere in the world. If you hear of anything, please let me know!