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Casting Photo One

……….Layla and I met at Club NL, an Amsterdam hipster lounge packed with young beautiful people who enjoy the Dutch night life.

Casting Photo Two

She apparently was already familiar with my work and asked if I would be interested in casting her for one of my shoot’s.

Casting Photo Three

She stopped by the apartment a few days later for a few candid shots………..

Casting Photo Four

Casting Photo Five

Anne

……….I was shooting for Met-Art.com for a while. The models had to be young and naturally beautiful. On one of my many sojourns to Amsterdam, Anne stopped by the apartment to be cast for a Met shoot.

A Perfect Casting

As soon as she disrobed I thought for sure she was perfect for the shoot I had in mind. Test photos are very helpful for making more definitive creative decisions down the road.

Basking In The Sun

Anne Rear Torso

Mel

………..When Mel arrived I thought for sure she was the model I would be working with on that particular day. The sun was shining for a change and put me in a particularly good mood for a shoot, as there was ample available light splashing the red colored walls of my Red Light District apartment in Amsterdam. I told her the makeup artist would be arriving soon to get her ready. Mel giggled and said “I am the makeup artist”.

Mel In Natural Light

Moments later the model called and said she would be a little late, so I asked Mel if she would like to take a few test photos while we were waiting.

Mel Test Photo With Black Panties

She agreed……….!

Publisher: La Musardine, Paris 2010

……….TW’s most recent publication entitled “WASTELAND” is now available for sale on line. http://www.lamusardine.com/livre/%20/8784-wasteland.html

Wasteland Poster Art 2005

It was the fall of 1999; I was working on an assignment in Munich, Germany for Penthouse Magazine and was scheduled to produce a shoot for Dutch art director, Onno Klein who was working for Penthouse, Holland at the time. Onno and I met in Munich to produce the shoot, and he brought along a beautiful Dutch model from Amsterdam for me to photograph at my hotel.
During the sitting, Onno kept telling me how much he thought I would love the place of his birth and that I would absolutely fall in love with the Red Light District, and the general openness of the culture in The Netherlands, as the attitudes and atmosphere in Holland at the time catered to creative types like myself. He was very convincing, and shortly after returning to the states, I received an email from him to schedule a production in Amsterdam the next time I returned to Europe.
Onno sent me pictures of a variety of Dutch models to select from, and promised to make them available for shoots upon my arrival to perhaps the most creative, liberal, international city in the world.

On my very first trip to Amsterdam, I decided to photograph a friend of the art director and well-known model by the name of Justine Bakker. Knowing that I was new to the city, Justine volunteered to show me around the beautiful quaint city and introduced me to Frans Verlinden, the owner of the famous Winston Hotel and well-known patron of the arts in Holland. Justine realized that if I met Frans, I would have direct access to many artists who worked in and around the city, including Paul Blanca, Micha Klein, Erwin Olaf, Aldert Mantje and others. Frans and I became best friends and he introduced me to his closest friends, two of them happened to be the producer’s of the grand fetish party called WASTELAND.

Justine Bakker

Frans arranged a meeting for me to meet with Wasteland organizers, Rene Meuessen and Jeroen Oosterhout. They were apparently already familiar with my work and commissioned me to produce a picture for a poster that would symbolize and promote the next Wasteland event. They also invited me to document the event as it occurred twice yearly which resulted in the publication of this monograph a decade later. I was happily introduced to the greatest party on earth.

Rene Meuessen

Jeroen Oosterhout

The book is in memoriam to our dear friend and brother, Frans Verlinden who passed away suddenly and way to soon, in the spring of 2006. It would not have been created if it wasn’t for the assistance and guidance of Frans.Verlinden. We love you Frans, always.

In Memorium

Cover

……….The studio is pleased to announce that TW’s most recent book publication entitled WASTELAND, has been printed in France, and first edition copies are making their way to international book stores in the coming days. Unfortunately do to the volcanic eruption that took place in Iceland on Wednesday April 14th, the scheduled book signing at the April 17th Wasteland party in Amsterdam is canceled. The publisher La Musardine, Paris has made arrangements for a representative of the company to attend the party on TW’s behalf and will continue to make books available for sale at the event.

Josselein Meijs

Josselein Meijs wrote an insightful essay to accompany the publication about the evolution of the party and its participants;
“If you dare to be different… If you are without prejudice… If you love living on the edge… If exploring your wildest fantasies makes you tick… ”

Blend 1

……….The studio is pleased to announce that after recent correspondence, Dutch fashion model Justine Bakker may be coming out of retirement to work on an erotic fashion editorial for Tony Ward Productions. TW was the first international photographer to discover the androgynous star back in the late nineties when he first began shooting and producing in Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

Blend 2

Recently, the Studio has been contacted to produce a series of pictures for the 30th anniversary issue of German Cosmopolitan. As he began the casting process his former model came to mind.

Shortly after he provided Justine with the confidence to move forward as a fashion model, Mario Testino discovered her and she soon after wound up on the cover of Italian Vogue. Her range is uncanny, from the androgynous editorial shoot Justine produced with TW for Blend Magazine to DKNY international ads, shot by Peter Lindbergh.

Blend 3

Like most models in their 30’s Justine thought she was at the end of the line. She took some time off, and now is contemplating a return to an industry where she was very well received.

Blend 4

TW recently told Justine, “If Linda Evangelista has that kind of staying power, you can too”.

Blend 5

Dutch Beauty

THE ART OF FEASTING
Posted by Mashed Up

What would happen if we human beings were not restricted? The absence of restriction would leave us with complete freedom. However, this freedom would then lose its value. We know what freedom is because we know the definition of a restriction. We appreciate freedom because we know what it feels like to be limited. But when do we feel restricted? For most of us it means that we cannot spend our time in a way we want, and generally speaking we tend to say that we are free in the evenings and weekends as we have obligations such as work during the week.

Club Life

We say things such as: “I am looking forward to the weekend” and “I am free at six”. We are eager to do something nice in the weekend because we think that our free time is valuable. We say for example, “I feel like doing something nice” or “I want to do something nice” and we go and look for it at places that provide us with ” that certain something nice”.

Free At Six

A party is a social gathering for pleasure and amusement. But what actually happens when we enter a well organized party? The music, lights and decoration will immediately appeal to our senses. We see lights, dancers and faces. We hear music and the interior and decoration surrounds us in shape. We arrive here and become a part of a different world and a different context.

Photos By Eric Soenens

……. To learn more about Mashed Up log on to www.mashedup.nl