Aspen-1973

ASPEN – 1973
Aspen, Colorado – 2023

This is not just any ski resort; this is the unmistakable playground of Aspen - the most famous ski resort in the world and one where the slopes and the old silver mining town fuse as one.

They look like they have co-existed seamlessly for centuries in much the same way as the golf course at St Andrews sits in harmony with the town that it made famous. The reality is, of course, that this photograph celebrates a far newer relationship than the marriage in Scotland, but both unions will continue in perpetuity, passed down from generation to generation. Aspen is a vortex of pleasure and misadventure few can escape from and this spectacular vista is part of its unique appeal.

Whatever lies ahead for Aspen, no generation will probably have more fun than the free loving hipsters of the 1970s who made the town a Bohemian hot spot. The once silver mining town, nestling at 9000 feet, became an unlikely Rock and Roll town drawing established and aspiring creatives from every corner of the United States. It may have been a growing haven for the Hollywood elite, but it welcomed talent and bad behaviour more than it did wealth. I have a sense that in the 1970s Aspen was as loosely governed as it was back in 1880 when it was a frontier mining town, that would be quite an achievement.

The model - Kate Bock - reminds me a little of Heather Graham in Austin Powers in this throwback shot, taken late one winter afternoon from Hunter Creek Road. She plays a confident hippy, flying solo with ease and was made for this kind of shot. Meanwhile, the yellow of the Porsche works well against the flat winter light. We knew this story was best told in colour.
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