LJ: Tell us about some highlights from 2015?
CM: 2015 was quite crazy, we did so many different projects that it’s not easy to choose. If I had to pick two, they would be the photoshoots with Michael Jordan and Buzz Aldrin. Nike asked me to shoot Micheal Jordan when he came to Paris to celebrate Jordan’s Brand 30th. I was watching the game when I was 15, if someone told me then that I will work with him, I would never have believed it. That was a great honor, I’m grateful to the Nike teams for constantly trusting me for so many projects. MJ was really nice and easy to work with, he was with Mark Smith and Tinker Hatfield, that was a once-in-a-life moment.
CM: I shot Buzz Aldrin for Gili Lankanfushi resort. He was staying with his family and we got the occasion to go diving together. Having Buzz as a buddy partner is a special feeling, after all, he was on the moon. The Gili Lankanfushi is for me one of the best resorts of the world, so shooting him in this place was even more magic.
LJ: What is in the pipeline for 2016 that you can tell us about?
CM: I’m starting to shoot TV commercials and I love it, so I want to develop this part while keeping the photography as my main activity.2016 is a special year for French football and Nike, as the Euro championship will take place in France, I already have exciting projects with Nike related to Euro, it will be fun. We are also planning to open a new office for Studio White in New York in late 2016. Lots of things coming !
LJ: You clearly have a great relationship with Nike, why are they still so innovative, relevant and truly global?
CM: They constantly challenge themselves, until the very last minute. We even make changes on the photoshoot, or if they see an occasion to shoot an athlete or to make something great, we can build the whole project in less than 1 hour. That’s their big strength: their incredibly short reaction time. I’ve been working with them for 10 years now and I’ve learned that nothing is done until the pic is released everywhere. They are very different than other clients: with such short time to prep and to shoot, you can’t afford any mistake. The good point is they trust you, so even if the photoshoots are done in crazy conditions, with very short time with the athletes (sometimes less than 10mins for a campaign shooting), they push you to give the best of yourself. Also they have a constant dialog with their sports communities, they are very close to their consumers, organize many events to let people test the products, exchange about them, get feedbacks, etc. I think that’s why they’re always innovating, they stick to the last trends or usually create them.
LJ: In your personal time you enjoy photographing travel – what advice do you have for MR H readers who will be capturing their own moments over 2016?
CM: Don’t hesitate to get contact with people. Travel photography is about meeting people.
Don’t hide yourself behind a zoom to capture stolen moments, you will have better pics and a much better human experience by meeting people, take time to discover their culture, talk and laugh with them, you can’t imagine what they will give to you. Even if you don’t speak the language, with a camera and good vibes, you can do anything…
Some of our favourites from Cyril Masson’s travels.
View more via: cyrilmasson.com
You can view more images of Buzz Aldrin and of Gili Lankanfushi resort by Cyril Mason in the upcoming release of the MR H Magazine.