Adam Katz Sinding

CONTEXT David Zilber, 37 Chef + Food Scientist Hørsholm + Copenhagen, Denmark 30 August – 16 September 2023 I ask David to meet up once again in order not to just showcase him at his place of work. On a beautiful Danish day, I ask him to bring his current reading, and I bring a camping chair and we meet in the city center. David sits down on one of the city’s busiest walking streets and soaks up the sun as he turns pages in his books. His hands showcase equations which likely unlock a code that I will never understand. He reads a book as thick as my camera about salt. A whole book about salt. David is a professional intellectual. I pack down my chair and say, “thank you” and “goodbye” to David before we part ways. I race home to import and retouch the images. I’m fascinated by the multifaceted talents and knowledge of this man whom not long ago I did not know existed. I feel that I could broach any topic with David, and he would be able to explain it to me as though he’d always known about it where I am just discovering it. He’d do so in a way which was not pretentious rot holier-than-thou. I feel that David finds joy in knowledge and discovery, and I found joy in discovering David. -AKS Branding + Visual Identity by @sascha_lobe + @kimberly_lloyd at @pentagramdesign • #AKS #AdamKatzSinding #NoFreePhotos #DavidZilber

CONTEXT David Zilber, 37 Chef + Food Scientist Hørsholm + Copenhagen, Denmark 30 August – 16 September 2023 Context is born and I add David to the top of my list of people to hunt down and photograph. David is no longer at his post at the world’s greatest restaurant (Noma) and is working at one of the world’s largest bacteria banks where he sits in a glass office which resembles a lab in Jurassic Park. As I find him (after being lost on the campus for a while) he is prepping white tempeh patties into airtight bags which he will carry the following day as a guest of a cooking show. He packs 4 patties into each bag, and we discuss our lives, David becoming a father, war, my friend Corwin whom I introduced to David the year prior and their “conversation” about Elon Musk, and who knows what else. I overcooked it (kitchen reference) in asking to come to David’s office, as I decided to make the 30-kilometer commute (each way) by bicycle instead of by train. I roll back from Hørsholm towards the city, very excited by the dawn of my project and the glimpse into a life which I would have otherwise never had the opportunity to see. Branding + Visual Identity by @sascha_lobe + @kimberly_lloyd at @pentagramdesign • #AKS #AdamKatzSinding #NoFreePhotos #DavidZilber

CONTEXT David Zilber, 37 Chef + Food Scientist Hørsholm + Copenhagen, Denmark 30 August – 16 September 2023 I once was at a dinner in Milan with a group of friends. At this dinner, Patrick Stangbye made a proclamation that he thought himself to be an intellectual to which I replied that I too thought of myself this way, and the entire table erupted in laughter. I’m smart…right? I like to nerd out about things. Learn trivial facts about trivial things. Right? After I met David Zilber, I realized how wrong I was. Back when I had my podcast, I was told by my friend that I should reach out to this guy named David. A fellow North American (Canadian) who would likely make for an interesting guest. At this point in my podcast series, I had only had conversations with people I knew, so the thought seemed a bit out of my comfort zone, but I reached out to David regardless. The purpose of my podcast was to talk with people about absolutely anything that they wanted except for work. The title “So What Else do you Want to Talk About?” was a prompt which after introducing the guest, I would ask them, and they would reply with a topic we could discuss. In most situations I had been briefed prior to recording so I could prepare. With David this was not the case, and when I asked him “So what else do you want to talk about?” he replied with simply “Love” and blindsided me. You can listen to the episode and hear me at my dumbest. My most stupidest. I counter David with what I thought to be an interesting point about time and the Fourth Dimension, only to find that David held exponentially more knowledge of Quantum Physics than the exact zero-sum I had in my arsenal. Go listen to the podcast. It’s great if I do say so myself. Just mute the parts where I speak, and it can be quite informative. Branding + Visual Identity by @sascha_lobe + @kimberly_lloyd at @pentagramdesign • #AKS #AdamKatzSinding #NoFreePhotos #DavidZilber

CONTEXT Vincent Beier Sommerfeldt Kaspersen, 25 Model Agent Copenhagen, Denmark 10-28 August 2023 Vincent’s byline on their Instagram reads: “It’s fluid – All pronouns welcome.” As if to welcome themselves to interpretation by the viewer. A “I am who I am” and a “take it or leave it” kind of statement. Regrettably I did not ask to photograph him in her home. That being said, I feel that showing Vincent out in the world, filled with confidence and pride in his appearance, is much more of a statement than showcasing them in the controlled environment of their home. Thankfully I have never had to deal with trash being thrown in my face just for being myself. I’m not sure I would take it as well as Vincent has when it’s happened to them. Seeing what is happening around the world right now, chanting hate-speech in cities across the world, I applaud Vincent for one very important thing: For being proud to be themselves. -AKS Branding + Visual Identity by @sascha_lobe + @kimberly_lloyd at @pentagramdesign • #AKS #AdamKatzSinding #NoFreePhotos #VincentBeierSommerfeldtKaspersen

CONTEXT Vincent Beier Sommerfeldt Kaspersen, 25 Model Agent Copenhagen, Denmark 10-28 August 2023 Vincent was one of the first people I photographed for Context. And it was Vincent that made me come to the realization that I needed this to be more than just a one-and-done thing. I met up with them after she got off work and photographed him in beautiful light in the center of the inner city. Looking through the photos after, I was proud of what I had done. It had been a while since I had been pleased with my work. However, a few days later I was cycling back to my apartment down one of my favorite streets, and I see Vincent standing on the corner waiting to cross. She was wearing bright pink. I don’t recall the details. But I saw Vincent in a different light (literally and figuratively) than I had during out first meet-up. I texted him and asked if they would be available to meet in the coming days to take some more photos. The next day I would meet up with Vincent in Den Sorte Plads (The Black Square). A cliché place to photograph, but I knew that the subject matter would outshine the setting. This time when I came home, I looked over the images and realized a bit of a metaphor in the setting I had chosen. Black and white. Contrast. No gray area. Vincent, however, became the gray area, and in the most beautiful way. No hard lines. No 0s and no 1s. A deep voice and a soft presence. Branding + Visual Identity by @sascha_lobe + @kimberly_lloyd at @pentagramdesign • #AKS #AdamKatzSinding #NoFreePhotos #VincentBeierSommerfeldtKaspersen

CONTEXT Vincent Beier Sommerfeldt Kaspersen, 25 Model Agent Copenhagen, Denmark 10-28 August 2023 “Please do not throw trash directly in my face just because you don’t appreciate my existence!” That’s the story Vincent posted on his wall just a few weeks after I photographer her in Copenhagen. I ask them if they have encountered much hate like this, and he replies “Depends what ‘much’ is, but yes it happens once in a while. I’ve gotten very used to it over the years.” Hate is gross. Why is it so scary for people to see another person who is different from them. Why do we focus on the differences and not the similarities? I do not know Vincent well, but surely Vincent and I have more in common that we do apart from one another. I have seen Vincent around Copenhagen for years. I’ve always found him to be very intriguing. A beautiful and handsome specimen of a human being. I reached out to her to ask if he would be interested in being part of my Context project. Branding + Visual Identity by @sascha_lobe + @kimberly_lloyd at @pentagramdesign • #AKS #AdamKatzSinding #NoFreePhotos #VincentBeierSommerfeldtKaspersen

CONTEXT   Jonas William Abbotts, 27 Stylist & Creative Consultant Copenhagen, Denmark 8 August – 7 September 2023 In my seven years living in Copenhagen, I have had a very hard time getting Danish clients.   However even abroad, where I do 99% of my work, it has become increasingly difficult to secure great loyal clients.  Don’t get me wrong, I am super grateful for the brands and people I work with, however, as time passes and more and more new (and talented) photographers arrive on the scene, the more difficult it becomes and the harder I must work.      I grab my bags and head off to the airport.  I leave Jonas to do his work, and I head off to do mine.  Both of us live very similar but still so different lives.  We exist in the same industry, fulfilling different roles in the ecosystem.  We probably must work on the weekend of a friend’s birthday.  Or be on set when everyone is off work and sitting in the park.  I can only speak for myself, but I think we are lucky to have the lives that we do.  Regardless of the lack of security (and paid holidays), it’s nice to not be anchored to a desk on a sunny day.    But as I touch down at Newark Airport and head to the fashion shows to be treated like a criminal by PR people, I am reminded that…freelancing sucks.              -AKS   Branding + Visual Identity by @sascha_lobe + @kimberly_lloyd at @pentagramdesign •   #AKS #AdamKatzSinding #NoFreePhotos #JonasWilliamAbbotts

CONTEXT   Jonas William Abbotts, 27 Stylist & Creative Consultant Copenhagen, Denmark 8 August – 7 September 2023 I photographed Jonas over the span of a month.  Three meetings.  He has a weird schedule like I do.  But in the third meeting very much summed up our way of life(s).  I arrived to the set of Jonas’ job as he prepped for a shoot.  I came with my suitcases as I was off to the airport to head to New York for Fashion Week.  I photographed him pulling looks for a shoot in the coming days.  The conversation was funny.  Jonas mentioned how many stylists there are in Denmark, and how few clients there were to hire them all.  He spoke of how happy he was to have the good repeat clients that he has. Branding + Visual Identity by @sascha_lobe + @kimberly_lloyd at @pentagramdesign •   #AKS #AdamKatzSinding #NoFreePhotos #JonasWilliamAbbotts

CONTEXT   Jonas William Abbotts, 27 Stylist & Creative Consultant Copenhagen, Denmark 8 August – 7 September 2023        Freelancing sucks.  Sure, you get to work when and if you want.  But there is the constant fear of “What if this is the last of it?!”  I remember when I booked my first big Tom Ford campaign.  I was sitting in a taxi in Seoul, heading to Incheon for a flight.  I was so excited and immediately though “Holy SHIT, you’ve made it!”  And then almost instantaneously after the “What if this is the last of it?!” flooded in.      Freelancing sucks.  Sure, you get to ride your bike and sit in the sun when and if you want.  But there is the constant knowledge of emails piling up.  A vacation is always just a postponement of responsibility.  A silenced phone could mean a missed paycheck.  A missed alarm clock could mean a lost client.  It’s a life of freedom with a lot of invisible chains.      Freelancing sucks.  Sure, you get to make friends with tons of other freelancers who also get to live weird schedules, where a weekend is probably a shoot date, and a bank holiday could be a day on set.  Your freelancer friends, if in the same field, are also your competition.  Your friend might book the job you were optioned for. It can cause rifts.      Most of my friends are freelancers.  Many of them are my competitors as well as my peers.  It’s a bizarre place to be.  But I also think that only a freelancer can understand the life of another.  So here I am with Jonas. Branding + Visual Identity by @sascha_lobe + @kimberly_lloyd at @pentagramdesign •   #AKS #AdamKatzSinding #NoFreePhotos #JonasWilliamAbbotts

CONTEXT Sunniva Hartgen-Sverdrup, 31 Head of Fashion, Oslo Runway Oslo, Norway 14-16 August, 2023 Although this story has gone off track a bit, I find it interesting to see how people are connected. How a city can be so different for so many people. I spoke with Sunniva about Madeleine. I said how the city and the event was so different without her. I said that Oslo needed her cynicism to balance things out. Who was I going to be my co-cynic? Who was going to keep me at Angst until 3am? In the end, Oslo Runway was great. Sunniva and team did a fantastic job, and I truly think it was the best iteration of the event so far. She graciously allowed me to photograph her in the very first days of this project before I actually knew what I was doing. I probably should have asked her to allow me to photograph her at home as I’ve been doing with so many others, but this was all done before I made the “rules” yet. But I’m quite sure I’ll be back next summer again. -AKS Branding + Visual Identity by @sascha_lobe + @kimberly_lloyd at @pentagramdesign • #AKS #AdamKatzSinding #NoFreePhotos #SunnivaHartgenSverdrup

CONTEXT Sunniva Hartgen-Sverdrup, 31 Head of Fashion, Oslo Runway Oslo, Norway 14-16 August, 2023 Not only was Sunniva’s style toned down, but she always came across as quite quiet and calm, which in contrast to the wild nights which I cannot remember at all, was very welcomed. So, I hopped on my bike and I rode to Oslo to give the event another chance. But as I rolled into the city, I started to have memories of Madeleine, whom I realized only now as the city drew closer, that I would not be seeing on this trip or on any future visit. The ride went from being totally freeing to feeling like I was entering into a bit of a self-inflicted trap. Patrick, who rode the last kilometers with me into town, was the one that called me to tell me Madeleine was in the hospital years before. So, when I saw his face it all rolled back into view for me. Was this going to be how the whole trip went? Branding + Visual Identity by @sascha_lobe + @kimberly_lloyd at @pentagramdesign • #AKS #AdamKatzSinding #NoFreePhotos #SunnivaHartgenSverdrup

CONTEXT   Sunniva Hartgen-Sverdrup, 31 Head of Fashion, Oslo Runway Oslo, Norway 14-16 August, 2023   I rode my bicycle to Oslo.  From Copenhagen.  I was invited to Oslo Runway, an event which I have attended every iteration of since its inception except for in 2022, and frankly I missed it.  Back before Copenhagen Fashion Week became the juggernaut that it is now, there were events in both Oslo and Stockholm which were of, in my opinion, equal importance.  I had been to Oslo before back in 1994 when my mom was still designing for Helly Hansen, and it seemed interesting to go back again. I made tons of friends during my visits to Oslo Runway, and you’ll see many of them pop up here as I continue with this project.  Before the pandemic the event was helmed by my friend Ditte, a Dane living in Oslo, and we got along at a very high level.  There were parties and debauchery and dinners, and every morning was a hang over and a half.  Partying with my late friend Madeleine Holth and her friends was probably one of my best memories of the city.  But I hadn’t been back to Oslo Runway since she passed. When I was invited, I was told that Sunniva was part of the organization of the event.  I’d met Sunniva almost daily on all my previous trips to Oslo and only knew her in the context of a Stylist.  We’d worked on a shoot together with Holzweiler a few years prior.  Where many of the people at the shows seemed to be dressing up for attention, Sunniva always stood out by not standing out.  Her way of dressing was what I personally felt embodied the true Scandinavian aesthetic, which was at the time on a decline, making way for a new more maximal look. Branding + Visual Identity by @sascha_lobe + @kimberly_lloyd at @pentagramdesign •   #AKS #AdamKatzSinding #NoFreePhotos #SunnivaHartgenSverdrup