Commission for the new Ingersoll 2025 campaign. Having collaborated with them many times, we’ve developed a strong creative relationship. Each campaign draws on the brand’s “true original” ethos, often inspired by Americana, from skaters to jazz bands to basketball teams. This time, the theme was cowboys.

We headed to California with a deliberately open brief. Ingersoll and the agency typically avoid rigid shot lists, apart from the essential close-up detail shots of each watch. The narrative tends to unfold organically on set, which makes for a rewarding way to work. Even so, we carefully orchestrated the shoot to create a range of scenarios that would build a cohesive visual story. Lou at RAW Production, along with Guy Stevens (our videographer) and I, collaborated with the agency to shape what we wanted our cowboys—and cowgirls—to be doing.

While prepping, I revisited a lot of references but kept returning to the iconic Marlboro campaigns shot by Norm Clasen. His deep documentation of cowboy culture offered a rich source of inspiration and reminded me why I enjoy this kind of project so much.