VICKI LEOPOLD - BIO & BANTER
Banter with Vicki Leopold, Director-Photographer / EP
WHO ARE YOU AND WHERE ARE YOU FROM?
I'm Vicki, I started out as a barefoot king country kid on a farm in middle earth New Zealand about an hour from the thriving metropolis of rural Taumarunui! Our house was in the hills, mmm just remembering so many pleasurable long drives home up windy gravel roads, carsick heaven! Couple of childhood memory gems to share, that time when Mums pride and joy ‘wringer washing machine’ fell through the old farmhouse floor. Dad reacts, chainsaws house in half, burns the dud half as you do! And that time the chooks got into lovely Mums meticulously groomed vege’ patch wreaking havoc. Angry mother chases chooks screaming she’d chop their heads off if she caught them. A while later she returns to the garden.. sees her three prized egg-laying chickens ‘dead’ in the dirt! Turns out my (then three year old) brother had taken her chook threats literally, chooks chased, chooks wacked over the head, chooks knocked out cold by sadly misguided boy with broom! Buckets of cold water thrown over chooks by horrified Mum, mouth to beak resuscitation (no not really!), chooks get up and run away. Result!
WHAT DO YOU ENJOY MOST ABOUT SHOOTING?
Mmm, so MANY things.. obviously the creative side of things is tops, but a very, very close second is the people the people the people! What an amazing job, being able to work with and shoot folk from all corners of society the good the bad and the ugly, love that! And that no two days are the same, it never gets boring and that's a big something!
WHY CHOOSE TO WORK WITH A PHOTOGRAPHER-DIRECTOR?
That’s easy, because we’re a charming bunch of misfits who really enjoy those very, very productive Friday arvo ‘lunches’!
Oh you’re serious? Okay among other things, we are able give the project a consistent creative visual feel throughout the film and stills, a skill that is becoming more and more popular with clients. As photographers we've worked with closely with talent for years in our stills shoots, controlled lighting and camera so moving into motion has been a really smooth transition I'm loving it.
MOST INTERESTING HUMAN YOU’VE SHOT?
Lots of these.. but mm…the most '‘interesting’' prize would have to go to one of the prisoners I photographed at Long Bay Maximum Security Men’s Prison in Sydney, who I then saw on 60 Minutes TV Australia hailed as ‘The Shotgun Bandit’! He was interviewed on how he was addicted to the rush of power he got from holding up stores with his sawn off shotgun! That’s why he did it he said. Nice chap.
WHO AND WHAT LIVES AT YOUR HOUSE?
My three RATBAG lads, one supercool-cat called Storm and our border collie Polly (and yes we are aware how lame ‘Polly the Collie’ sounds ha ha), along with our naughty neighbours from next door a lot of the time ☺
WHERE CAN WE FIND YOU WHEN YOU’RE NOT WORKING?
Mm.. probably poppin’ round to the neighbours!
FAVOURITE MOVIE?
Tarantino’s 1993 ‘True Romance’, hands down! Clarence and Alabama, it’s the best action-thriller-romcom ever made! Patricia Arquette is gold!
FAVOURITE SEASON?
Not Duck Shooting Season, poor ducks :(
TEA OR COFFEE?
Those that know me well will laugh at this question! These coffee ‘connoisseurs’ use terms like ‘its an abomination to coffee’, ‘that’s just plain disgusting’, ‘ it smells like burnt hair’, ‘it leaves a crust on the cup that looks like it’s survived a nuclear holocaust’. Not to forget this gem, ‘I’d rather drink my own p*#s than that sorry excuse for coffee’. How rude!!
These heathens berate me constantly, but I do not fold! My 'glamorous' instant coffee recipe is a closely guarded secret (up there with Colonel Sanders 12 herbs ‘n spices), they don’t know what they’re missing!!!
Vicki Leopold - Bio
Specialties: Advertising director & photographer with a strong emphasis on emotive, environmental imagery.
Vicki was originally trained as press photographer and spent the first seven years of her career based out of Auckland shooting for a national newspaper and freelancing for magazines.
Vicki dedicated these early years to honing her craft shooting people from all walks of life from prison inmates, to musicians and actors, to everyday hardworking folk, to international celebrities, sport stars and politicians.
From photojournalism Vicki then made the move into the advertising arena specialising in crafting emotive, documentary style portraiture campaigns. The move to directing was a natural career progression for Vicki with TVC and brand online campaigns becoming a regular addition to her photography commissions. Her extensive experience capturing spontaneous, authentic moments in life and her ability to create a easy rapport with her subjects makes her a popular choice with creative teams and producers across Australasia.
Client List & Campaigns Include; DDB, Colenso BBDO, M&C Saatchi, Saatchi & Saatchi, Ideaworks, Microsoft, Samsung, Spark,Telstra, BNZ, Commonwealth Bank, Unilever Persil, ANZ Bank, Fonterra, Panadol, Sleepmaker and Pfizer.
Vicki works on personal projects alongside her commercial commissions. Her love of documentary led her to shoot the Prison Project which was part of a group exhibition held in Sydney. She recently completed a documentary series shot inside a cigar factory in New Orleans and is currently working on a new portrait collection for exhibition later in 2018.
We would like to acknowledge and thank all of the creatives, producers, clients and crew involved in the making of the images displayed on this website.
Content on this site may have been changed from the original broadcast version for display purposes and is in no way intended as general consumer communication.
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