J-BAR Aspen, Colorado - 2022 The Jerome Hotel is an integral part of the fabric of Aspen - the world’s most famous ski resort. It has become something of an...
J-BAR Aspen, Colorado - 2022 The Jerome Hotel is an integral part of the fabric of Aspen - the world’s most famous ski resort. It has become something of an institution and its saloon bar - J-Bar - has hosted many an eventful evening. In my mind, to shoot at this location, carries something of a responsibility because this is a town where neither the mundane nor the bland will survive. J-Bar needs be accorded the respect it deserves. My concept was to go back in time and employ a western theme. It seemed apt as the Wild West was loosely governed and modern Aspen has enjoyed some freewheeling behaviour over the years. It is the night time behaviour that has made Aspen notorious and J-Bar has to take some of the credit for that. I had the very best leads for this shoot - fellow Brits Cara Delevingne and Gerard Butler. Cara is one of the most famous models in the world and rightly so; her eyes are so powerful and lift every image to another level. Meanwhile Gerry is made for Westerns, he does not need to act with menace, he wears the mood drinking a glass of water, which is rather ironic as he is the most charming and lovely man. He can walk on set in a western with little help from the hair and make-up team - it is all there already. There is nothing about this cinematic image I would change. The careful composition has a good balance and the leads play well to the western lore. It looks like another good night is about to kick off at J-Bar.