Brian Alcazar has been a Nike Air Force 1’s fan for years, and when he started a partnership with the company and set out to do a video shoot, Adorama’s own Sal D’Alia (@timbuz) was there to capture it all.
“As a native New Yorker, @Nike Air Force 1’s were always a part of the uniform,” Alcazar shared. “Before sneaker hype was even a thing, there were Air Force 1’s. When I was younger I would always have a pair in the rotation. It was such a versatile sneaker to both hoop in and roam the streets with, I didn’t need much else. Through many iterations it has ingrained itself in street fashion culture and is a sneaker I still find myself reaching for when I’m hitting the streets today.”
We sat down with D’Alia to talk about the making of the on-the-streets video, and here’s what he had to say:
Q: How did you conceptualize the setup and style?
A: Brian Alcazar (@1st on Instagram also known as @1stinstinct on Twitter) came up with the concept based on the assignment given by Nike. The concept is about the memories related to the AF1 shoes, and Brian grew up in Woodhaven, Queens playing basketball with those shoes on that court you see in the video so we just followed the steps of a young “Brian” on a regular day in his life where he would play basketball and shoot street photography.
I suggested black and white and film fx to blend in that hood/memories vibe.
Q: Which tools/products from Adorama did you use in the project?
A: I shot with the Sony a9 () with two lenses: 35mm f1.4 () and 28mm f2 (). The 28mm was mounted when using the stabilizer Optimus by CameTV. I also had a Tiffen Variable ND filter for the 35mm.
Q: How did you choose the location and work in such a busy area/with a car, etc.? What were your biggest challenges?
A: Locations were all picked by Brian since those are locations from his childhood. You can see a pizza place which was his first job growing up and the train station he used to go every day.
The cab driver was a friend and we quickly moved the car in the middle of the street during a red light, just enough time for Brian to take few photos.
We also did a short photoshoot with Brian sitting on top of the car but for that we parked close to the side of the street. We didn’t have any challenges, it was a smooth 2-3 hours shoot.
Q: What was your favorite part of the shoot?
A: I had fun working with a personal concept, nothing attached to the aesthetic or taste of a brand but to the person who makes the brand personal … it gives you freedom as an artist to tell your story without compromises.
I also had a lot of fun catching up with Brian who’s a great photographer and cool person all around.
