My Favorite Warwick Rowers Images
It's very hard to come up with a definitive list of my all-time favorite images -- after seven years, there are a lot of highlights and a lot of great memories! But here are 20 of the images that have meant the most to me over the years. -- Angus Malcolm
The first Warwick Rowers calendar was launched in 2009. The calendar has since achieved global recognition as a fundraising initiative and a public awareness campaign, delivering products to around 80 countries every year and reaching more than 140 countries through its viral messaging. It has won a large number of awards for excellence, innovation, and social impact, including twice being voted the U.K. Charity Calendar of the Year. Read more about its charity support and the Sports Allies program here.
To order the 2017 calendar:
This year's hugely anticipated WR17 Freshers intake, with some new faces for you, and of course a few familiar ones. All set to make the 2017 season one to remember.
1. Tom and Ollie -- this was taken at the Mayfair Hotel in London in 2014, on the eve of the formal launch of Sport Allies with actor Sir Ian McKellen. I think Tom really conveys how thrilled we were about being in a fancy hotel suite, getting ready for our big night with a Hollywood legend.
2. This is our second limited edition print and the one I have on my own wall. The water reminds me of Seurat and makes it very impressionistic, almost abstract. I gave a framed print to my neighbors in Spain, a retired couple who very kindly loaned us their apartment to put up extra rowers on our Spain shoot. They really love the project and this print, and it now has pride of place in their living room, much to the amusement of their grown-up kids who visit!
3. One of my all-time favorite images, shot near Tarifa on Spain's Atlantic Coast. We were so lucky to find this structure on the beach, and Matt never looked better.
4. The first of our Sport Allies paint pictures! I took my inspiration from Jackson Pollock, and the guys had a lot of fun squirting paint over each other. Since then we've done hand prints and graffiti, and I love how the action of applying paint has allowed us to convey one of our key messages -- that guys can be tactile and playful with each other regardless of sexuality.
5. Shot in Miami, this was my homage to both the TV show Entourage and the 1961 Lincoln Continental. I gave the image a vintage feel to match the car, which incidentally I had to drive myself from Fort Lauderdale to Miami Beach in one of the most terrifying experiences of my life -- it cornered and braked like a boat. But it was worth it for this shot.
6. The famous "shoulder ride"! I think it's fair to say that a lot of people found this pretty hot, and it also made a serious point that men of all sexualities should be less squeamish about getting up close and personal!
7. This was a very difficult shot -- handstands are not easy to hold, and we did take after take to get the guys doing everything the same way at the same time. For me, this is a group of straight allies showing that they're down with their gay supporters, in a way that is funny and hot without crossing a line.
8. This is the cover of our first coffee table book, and another all time favorite. My retoucher, who knows a lot more about photography than I do, saw it as a male homage to the female nudes of Helmut Newton. I thought, OK, I'll go with that.
9. After six years of shooting at the boathouse, I was really running out of ideas on what to do next. Almost in desperation, I dragged the boys over to this tree, to see if we could do anything with it. We improvised and experimented until we came up with this, and now it's one of my favorite shots.
10. Our 2016 calendar was a departure -- the idea was that the rowers were having downtime after the rowing season, so we left the boats and oars behind. This shot was an ironic comment on the growing fame of the rowers -- I imagined a '70s album cover with rock stars at their country estate.
11. Shot in my own bedroom in Spain and featuring my little dog Fluff as a puppy! It doesn't get much more personal than that, but what I really love is that the guys are so relaxed together. You can tell they're having fun.
12. Shot in midtown Manhattan a year ago, this is one of my favorite shots of Tristan. Tristan is always the life and soul of the party, but he also has a more thoughtful and reflective side that has made him a passionate and committed advocate for Sport Allies. I think this shot really captures that.
13. Our very first centerfold image! For me, this was the start of moving away from the standard "naked student calendar" format into something more artistic. Lee, who was never shy, is positively on fire here. He's now an active volunteer with Sport Allies from his new home in New York City.
14. Matt and Chris -- two of our all-time superstars together! Both were crucial to the project on both sides of the camera. Chris was there at the very beginning and played a leading role in getting the whole project off the ground. Matt created and ran our first website and was the chiseled and handsome face of customer support for several years.
15. There's something surreal about this shot that I love. All these naked guys with matching umbrellas in a Tudor geometric garden. It's recognizably British, but in a way that reminds me of TV shows from the 1960s like The Prisoner and The Avengers -- which is perfect, because this is about asserting and protecting our freedoms and our values.
16. We decided to bring back the fold-out poster in this year's calendar, and this was the image that clinched it for us. I love the composition and the combination of serenity and purpose -- in a year that has been dominated by noise and idiocy, those are qualities that we will need if we are going to prevail.
17. This image freezes a moment of pure joy. Technically, I was very happy with how I'd captured the water in motion, but emotionally, what I love is the palpable energy of the boys in the moment and the fun they are having.
18. This is another frozen moment shot. I love that, at most, one of Laurie's toes is maybe touching the ground -- everything else is up in the air. It shows the fundamental trust that these guys have in each other, and I think it's also a metaphor for the trust that the boys have put in the project and their supporters.
19. The inimitable Laurie! One of our all-time superstars, Laurie brought heroic levels of energy and dedication to the calendar project and Sport Allies throughout his time at university. I think you can see his strength of character and charisma in this image, which inspired us to launch our limited edition art prints.
20. Shot in Manhattan, the composition and geometry of this shot really work for me, but more important is the sense of three young men on the brink of adult life, looking out at the world they are about to enter. In their faces I see the same mixture of determination, optimism, and idealism that they bring to the calendar and to Sport Allies. It reminds me that there is hope.
Freedom: The book everyone will want this Christmas!
As it's produced to luxurious specifications and in a similarly limited and numbered edition of only 1,000 copies, you can expect it to be even bolder than last year's book.
Also included is the WR17 bonus film to download once it is complete; it will not be available to buy.
In recognition of the contribution you will make to Sport Allies by buying this book, the group will also send you an exclusive print copy of the first published report from Sport Allies. With funding from Warwick Rowers, Sport Allies has commissioned an authoritative report on the problem of homophobia and gender bias in sporting culture.
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