#57 Panda is a Rockstar.
The infamous Panda photo was taken last July 2010 in Arlington, Virginia.
As part of my first photo exhibit in Washington DC, I auctioned off a photoshoot and this guy won.
It turns out that he's in a band with his girlfriend called "Lenorable" and I noticed at the time that their Facebook page had a drawing of a dinosaur.
I tried to find a dinosaur costume, but the costume store only had a Panda costume. As soon as I saw the Panda costume, I knew I had to use it.
The photoshoot was done at a lounge on stage and the idea was to have a rockstar Panda. We didn't plan to use the Metro, but since we were just a block away, I had to take the opportunity. When we boarded the Metro, people were instantly taking out their phones and snapping pictures. It was crowded because it was rush hour so my thought was to take the Metro all the way to the end so that the train would eventually empty out.
After 15 minutes or so, I had the Panda walk down the aisle towards the middle so I could take a picture. Most of the people have already seen him so they weren't as interested anymore. Most of them are looking away or reading something and the photograph turned out to be very cool. You have this giant Panda riding on the Metro and nobody cared! I actually couldn't stop laughing.
I had the Panda grab the railing so it looks like he's tired and coming home from work. I ride the metro all the time and I wanted the Panda to look the same way. The funniest part is that his head is not attached to his body so everytime I wanted him to turn his head, the guy has to actually pick up the Panda head and turn it. One year later, we found a footage of the photoshoot on YouTube.
Since then, the Panda has become an unofficial mascot of "Shoot for Change". I've used it on my business cards and the photo has been featured in The Washingtonian magazine as one of their favorite photographs in 2010. It was also selected by Vogue Italia as part of their PhotoVogue Collection. More recently, we hosted an event at BoConcept Georgetown and people had a chance to wear the Panda costume. In a short time, we raised over $300 for Capital Breast Care Center and was featured in DC Luxury Magazine.
Who would have thought that a Panda costume could inspire so many possibilities?
by Walter Grio, Washington DC.
As part of my first photo exhibit in Washington DC, I auctioned off a photoshoot and this guy won.
It turns out that he's in a band with his girlfriend called "Lenorable" and I noticed at the time that their Facebook page had a drawing of a dinosaur.
I tried to find a dinosaur costume, but the costume store only had a Panda costume. As soon as I saw the Panda costume, I knew I had to use it.
The photoshoot was done at a lounge on stage and the idea was to have a rockstar Panda. We didn't plan to use the Metro, but since we were just a block away, I had to take the opportunity. When we boarded the Metro, people were instantly taking out their phones and snapping pictures. It was crowded because it was rush hour so my thought was to take the Metro all the way to the end so that the train would eventually empty out.
After 15 minutes or so, I had the Panda walk down the aisle towards the middle so I could take a picture. Most of the people have already seen him so they weren't as interested anymore. Most of them are looking away or reading something and the photograph turned out to be very cool. You have this giant Panda riding on the Metro and nobody cared! I actually couldn't stop laughing.
I had the Panda grab the railing so it looks like he's tired and coming home from work. I ride the metro all the time and I wanted the Panda to look the same way. The funniest part is that his head is not attached to his body so everytime I wanted him to turn his head, the guy has to actually pick up the Panda head and turn it. One year later, we found a footage of the photoshoot on YouTube.
Since then, the Panda has become an unofficial mascot of "Shoot for Change". I've used it on my business cards and the photo has been featured in The Washingtonian magazine as one of their favorite photographs in 2010. It was also selected by Vogue Italia as part of their PhotoVogue Collection. More recently, we hosted an event at BoConcept Georgetown and people had a chance to wear the Panda costume. In a short time, we raised over $300 for Capital Breast Care Center and was featured in DC Luxury Magazine.
Who would have thought that a Panda costume could inspire so many possibilities?
by Walter Grio, Washington DC.
 |
Walter Grio |
||||||
| Walter Grio has captured the fashion runways of Donna Karan, Tommy Hilfiger, Monique Lhuillier, Diane von Furstenberg, Christian Siriano, Carolina Herrera, and many others at the world renowned Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week in New York. read more |
|||||||
| Exclusive Collection |
 |
New York Fashion Week 2011 | |||||
