This could have been my swan song. Not because I was ready to be done, but because I thought a literal swan might end my life that day.
I inched closer to the pond, camera in hand, dodging numerous white “gifts” left by the birds, who now noticed me encroaching on their turf. I just needed a quick shot of them looking regal, as swans do.
Swans are not, in fact, regal.
As I walked onto the dock, one of them directed its focus in my direction, making a bee-line straight towards me, and fast. Horrifically fast. I’ve risked injury multiple times over the years with one idea in mind: anything for the shot. Still, getting attacked by an eight-foot bird was not—and will never be—on that bingo card.
I swiftly backed away, far enough that my unmerited enemy felt it could also back down and return to that “regal” state of being. I checked my camera. One or two shots had landed that would work, and that was good enough. I turned around and headed back to the centerpiece of the project at hand, filming and photographing a $22,000,000 estate.
My long-time client, friend, and luxury realtor to the stars, Damian Hall, had just recently secured the listing through his brokerage firm, Blackstream Christie’s. Luxury is nothing new to Damian. It’s his business. And after four years into working with the Damian Hall Group, extravagance was becoming less novel to me, as we regularly filmed and photographed multi-million-dollar homes.
But this one? The mascot of the property is Irwin, a real-life kangaroo that lives on the premises. That should begin to give you an idea of the magnitude of this residence. It was nothing like anything I had ever seen nor likely will see again for quite some time.
Most people typically have some sort of fringe benefits tied to their job, perhaps a boss who buys the team lunch regularly, a box seat at a concert, or tickets to a college playoff game. For me, it’s access. Access to things and places that the general public doesn’t get.
I’ve been in condemned high-rises, watching firefighters train by busting down walls. I’ve been on catwalks at arenas, looking down at people the size of ants. I’ve been hoisted up 150 feet in the air on a firetruck ladder. And I have had complete, unrestrained access to a $22,000,000 home.
For this shoot, we had two days at the house to get the bulk of everything needed. The first day was spent on photography, the second day devoted to video. These were both 12-15 hour days (with a few hours of break in the middle of each day). And they were long days, from sunup to sundown. We covered every inch of the house as well as the yard, and the pasture, and the other pasture, and the barn, and the guest quarters, and the horse arena. All of it.
Day two also included an extra perk, riding in and filming a classic Rolls Royce, rented for a few hours to be shown in the pictures and video. Because if you’re selling the idea of living in this house, you might as well add to it with an exotic car. We had a Corvette, too.
When the project was completed, I walked away with one of the most luxurious looking videos I’ve created, a stockpile of photographs that make me feel like I could shoot for Architectural Digest (did I mention some of them appeared in the Wall Street Journal?), and one of my favorite portraits I’ve ever taken, which was the result of a last-minute, impromptu setup (most of my favorite images are happy accidents).
Check out the final video along with a few images below.
