Tuesday, August 18, 2009

drive-in lovin'

amy and philip, had there first date at a drive-in a couple of years ago and we thought it would only be fitting to recreate the beginnings of their story and do the shoot at a drive-in. i am fortunate enough to live in a small town a half hours drive west of salt lake city. and nestled within this neighboring valley of salt lake and close to my home is a charming old town drive-in. thus began the magic all over again...
i later returned to the drive-in to watch a flick under the stars with my wife and our two girls and i got to talking with the owner of the drive-in. i asked him very sincerely "whats the future of this drive-in?" (as it has now become my new love.) he said "we've been here since the 60's and still goin' strong". to me, it seems anything that has charm and the old mom and pop character is dying off and to know this drive-in is still pumping strong was such a relief to hear. he then began to tell me how depeche mode shot a video at this exact drive-in....whaaaat??!! i was thrilled to hear that!! i used to be obsessed with depeche mode during their violator album (and quickly collected all their albums previous to violator) but to know that they were here and appreciated the aesthetic was great - but i also know the driving force behind depeche mode's imagery is anton corbijn and i knew that it was HE that probably chose the location to film the video at the drive-in. anton corbijn is one of my all time favorite photographers and is a major source of inspiration in my work. to be able to connect the dots through time leading up to this shoot, and almost 20 years later me doing my thing with the camera at the same location appreciating the same backdrop was quite a a great journey...


click here if you want to see depeche mode's "world in my eyes" video shot by anton corbijn at the motor vu erda drive-in theater. (circa 1990)
click here if you want to visit more of anton corbijn's work. - mind blowing mind you.  

7 comments:

Walt Sorensen said...

Nice, great shoots and story

Ryan Woodbury said...

very cool dusterbuns - i seem to remember the depeche mode phase.

duston todd said...

yes ryan, you saw it in full effect...

Mormon Bachelor Pad said...

Sweet car, that thing would get me in all sorts of trouble at a drive in.

melissa mae said...

those are some of my BEST memories, going to the drive in on Redwood. I love that place! I'm so glad they are still going strong.

Ashley Hawkes said...

I'd recognize that drive-in anyday!! Yay for Erda, that's where I grew up!! Great work duston, you really rise above the rest:)

Amy Nieto said...

YES! Depeche Mode!

Excellent location, wonderful results.