Green Eyed Boy: Chase by Lee Vandergrift

When I begin putting together a profile for FH, I usually start by discussing which image featured was the inspiration to have me research the work of the artist involved. In the case of Florida photographer Lee Vandergrift, the image that first drew my eye was a beautiful shot of a model leaning in front of a sun soaked window in Venice Italy.

But...when I going through Lee's site to choose shots for the piece, the choice of which images, and which model I wanted to use, became more complicated. Eventually it was the beautiful face and incredible green eyes of Chase that had me wanting to find out more. Lee has shot Chase several times and his portfolio provides an array of fashion shots and looks. Those incredible green eye's however, almost got in the way...

Lee had devised an idea for a shoot with the theme, 'Brown Eyed Boys.' Lee says that at the time he had been shooting a lot of guys with brown eyes and brown hair. After mentioning this pattern to Tim, his partner, Tim suggested instead of trying to look for other types of models with different looks that Lee should concentrate on a shoot bringing together the guys he had been shooting who fell into this category.

'Plan A always ends up as Plan B. I was able to get Alex, brown hair brown eyes. I was able to get Bart, brown hair and brown eyes but finding a third was difficult. It seemed every model I wanted was unavailable. Bart said he had a friend who could do it and needed help with his portfolio, Chase. I found out as we were beginning that his eyes where actually green, not brown. THAT'S why the shoot took on the "ABC" name Alex, Bart and Chase.'
Lee Vandergrift

'My concept was to play on the whole “wolf pack” craze or that of three brothers hanging out doing what brothers do, standing around with their shirts off and modeling. That’s sarcasm if you didn’t pick up on that... But hey, it’s Summer and it’s hotter than all get out here in the Sunshine State so standing around with your shirt off is about all you can do if you don’t have a pool! That’s why we were very lucky to have another location inside!'

'Our next shoot we just went out and shot on locations around Orlando. I love driving around and doing what I call "Kamikaze" shooting and Chase is very amenable to this style of photography. He's smart and easy to work with and the camera loves his face. To me he's perfectly proportioned body and face and a great innocent sex appeal about him.'

'Chase has a lot of ambition and drive. It was a pleasure working with him and his sense of adventure was terrific! Despite the heat of a mid- August day in the Sunshine state he was a real pro.( Even though I was about to pass out) I hope I can shoot with Chase more and look forward to watching his career. Chase is defiantly one to watch!'

Lee Vandergrift was born and raised in Central Florida. He has seen things artistically all his life and at the age of 20 decided to harness this artistic energy into a career by attending the Ringling School of Art and Design in Sarasota. He majored in Illustration with a minor in Photography. The artist spent six years working at Buster Brown Children’s Apparel in Chattanooga, Tennessee as an artist working with designers producing art for children’s clothing. Although Lee says he enjoyed the work, he feels he was was destined to return home to Orlando.

On his website, Lee describes his current style of work, which he does in his free time, as an expression of himself which reflects his love of whimsy and brilliant colors.

'It’s really just about being inspired on what happens from day to day and the happiness of being alive. Some may love it and others may not, but in the end it’s about making yourself happy.'