It is magical moment when a water balloon splashes atop a bald man's head, forming a fleeting halo before exploding into mist. Thankfully LA based commercial photographer Tim Tadder was there to capture each glorious burst in his series "Water Wigs."
Channeling a love of weirdness, and, we suspect, a soft spot for "Flashdance," Tadder rounded up an array of good looking bald heads and let the water balloons fly. The resulting splashes shapeshift into mohawks, halos, and top hats and George Washington status wigs. We asked Tadder some questions about his unusual project. Scroll down for a slideshow.
HP: How did you think of the genius combo of bald men and water balloons?
TT: We wanted to create something comical, and arresting. We worked with a mannequin (aka the bendy child) in our studio during concept phase and realized that the water made hair like shapes around the subjects. Bald men seemed like a perfect fit to display the water's shaping so we decided that we would work the concept towards wigs/hair styles. It was a blast!
HP: Where did you find all these good looking bald men?
TT: We shook all the trees: friends, Facebook, Craigslist, LA Castings, Model Mayhem, everywhere. We did not tell them what they were doing -- just to bring a bathing suit and a towel. I'm glad no one punched me in the face! Some folks came from over two hours away, it was incredible!
HP: Did you manipulate the images to get the incredible halo-like shapes?
TT: We used long skinny balloons to create the shapes; we would place them on the subjects heads and pop them from areas where you could not see the balloon (ie. the parts hidden off frame or behind them.) So actually there are two methods happening, one throwing balloons to create the explosions and placing the balloons on the heads and popping them out of view of the camera.
HP: Out of curiosity, are you bald?
TT: I am not bald, but thought of shaving my head for a self portrait. I did participate but I am far too hairy!
HP: Who would be your dream bald icon to hit with a water balloon?
TT: Natalie Portman when she was bald, or George Foreman, cause he would be hysterical. All the subjects have to be good sports and great with expression!
For more silly adventures in painful photography, see Tadao Cern's photographs of models being attacked by a leafblower. Check out Tadder's photo shoot below and let us know your favorites:
