Grace and the Ants by Rus Anson

Going through the photographic work of Rus Anson wakes up your senses. When I received a selection of images by photographer’s agent Barbara Laurie, one story particularly caught my eye; I wanted to see more and know more about what I called “Grace Coddington and the ants” story. Here’s what I gathered from the artist.

Where are you from ? Your name sounds American! 
I am actually from Spain, from a small fishing village an hour north from Barcelona called Tossa de Mar. My birth name Rosanna is very long so my friends in Spain started calling me Rus. It’s funny because here in America Russ (with two s’s) is the short name for Russell. It happened a few times that I call a client or go to a shoot and everyone is expecting a man photographer. Is quite funny to see their reaction…

Can you tell us more about this story?
I actually shot this story as a personal side project but once it was done I submitted it to different magazines. I met with Priscila Barros, founder of Babiekins Magazine, in New York and showed her my work. She decided to publish this story in the next issue of the magazine (coming out next month). Keep your eyes open for that! :)

Could give a bit of info about your inspiration for this story?
I’ve been wanting to do something with insects and kids for a long long time. One day I was looking for inspiration in EBAY and found a bag with 300 fake plastic ants and I immediately bought it. Love the random things you can find online when not expected! :)
Once I received them I started thinking on the location and style of clothing I wanted to use for the shoot. I thought of having only black and white clothing and props to keep the story monochromatic and sophisticated . I also wanted a few of the clothing pieces to have some texture, reminiscent of the insect world.
The casting was an important part of the process as well. I was looking for kids with an interesting, striking look. I worked with Stars and JE in San Francisco, they both have a great kids division.

Credits 
Photography: Rus Anson
Styling: Laura Hollabaugh & Rus Anson
Hair and Makeup: Joshua Conover
Brands: Ralph Lauren, Burberry, Gap, Sally Miller, Lilly Pulitzer,  Little Marc Jacobs, Armani. Antique/ vintage accessories.