15 Minutes of Fame

                               

In 1968, artist Andy Warhol uttered the phrase, "In the future, everyone will be world-famous for 15 minutes." It was an almost flippant comment on the difference between media, and it has endured. Today, it is applied equally to fleeting moments of "celebrity" as well as infamy.

Well, my boys can now tick "15 minutes of fame" off their to-do list. Hope they read this and know there is no need whatsoever to do anything silly in the future...a mum can only pray.

One day in the Summer that just went past, Sam was outside cleaning up and admiring his plush, green lawn when he was approached by a man carrying a camera who asked if he could photograph a car out the front for a well-known national motoring magazine. He also asked about kids and said he wanted to include them. We were a bit suspicious and made some calls to people we knew in the industry, even though Sam was quite chuffed that the man made reference to the house and in particular the green lawn.

As it turned out, the man in question was respected photographer Thomas Wielecki and the project was legitimate. They were photographing a number of cars around the neighbourhood that weekend. Coincidentally, one of Thomas' school friends had her Dad appear in the magazine too.

After much coming and going while we tried to sort out available times, the shoot finally took place. It was certainly an experience and something a little different for a Sunday afternoon. Why anyone would work photographing children for advertisements on a regular basis is beyond me...it wasn't an easy task. Thomas and Daniel were difficult enough to direct, Samuel as you can imagine was virtually impossible. I did remind the photographer of the old adage, "Never work with children or animals", and he had a bit of a chuckle.

The following behind the scenes photographs were taken with permission to be used on this blog.

Thomas Wieleckie prepares to shoot

Thomas' trusty assistant adjusts lighting

Mr Wielecki soon discovered that it wasn't as simple as saying,
"Stand over there".

Pick them up and place them exactly where you want...hmmm...that didn't
really work either...

...especially when they all wanted to be the one holding the hose!

But in the end, Thomas Wielecki got his perfect shot!

The photo was a little photo shopped and the grass didn't emerge as green as reality would paint it, but it was a great photo and a fun afternoon. The kids were drenched from their "water fight" and Sam didn't make the final cut - they chose a shot with Thomas and Daniel in the foreground and Samuel in the background near the car, playing with a sponge and water bucket. Sam didn't mind - he was just focused on the all-important lawn!

So there's 15 minutes of fame x 3 done and dusted and achieved in about half an hour of shooting! Oh, and in case you are wondering, magazine sales did go up. The publication sent us a complimentary copy but I also went out and bought extras so they could each have one to keep :)  You will also be pleased to hear that fame did not go to their heads...the magazine wasn't even exciting enough to trump a Cars book for news day at school!

Have you or someone close to you lived your 15 minutes of fame?

Please share! I would love to hear some great stories :)