Photographer Captured Grueling Lifestyle Shoot On An Active Volcano In Ethiopia

Photographer Joey L. is known for pushing himself to capture stunning imagery. From his documentary work on the frontlines of the fight against ISIS, to A-list celebrity and commercial work, he never shies away from a physical or creative challenge. His most recent commercial shoot was both.

More: Joey L., Instagram, Facebook h/t: petapixel

The ad campaign featured the ZAAF Collection, a premium lifestyle brand created by Joey’s friend and personal hero Abai Schulze, and whose bags are made entirely in Africa. For this special campaign, Schulze wanted to highlight the heritage of her homeland and place her brand in several of “the unique locations that people don’t really know about” in Africa.

“There are so many stereotypes about my homeland,” says Schulze in the short doc above. “With a shoot like this, you can break that narrative.”

And so the duo chose to capture this campaign in the Danakil Desert, one of the most remote regions in Ethiopia and hottest places on Earth.

“Our crew climbed an active volcano, camped for days without electricity, and yet we somehow managed to photograph an advertising campaign in one of the hottest places on Earth. This project for ZAAF Collection will go down as one of my top 5 favorite photoshoots of all time- a special project for both the overall vision as well as the journey creating it,” he wrote.

“We developed a crazy idea- let’s shoot a luxury brand campaign for ZAAF in some of Ethiopia’s famous landscapes using all African models and crew. Let’s show to the world the unique qualities that her country and culture has to offer, but in a high end way without the cliches of the way “developing nations” are usually presented.”