Woody Creek Tavern owns a special place in Aspen history regardless of it being an unassuming dive bar 15 minutes from town. For it to be an integral part of the fabric of the community suggests that the world’s most famous ski resort has a far broader personality than outsiders give it credit for. Locals do not need to be seen in the heart of the action and Woody Creek has offered a haven for Aspenites for two generations. No local was made more welcome at the bar than Hunter S Thompson, who lived just around the corner. It became his daytime HQ.

I wanted to build a story that leveraged the famous facade of the tavern and the strongest idea I had was to dive back to the 70s when Aspen was a loosely governed bohemian playground. I needed a focal point in front of the tavern and the first prop we brought in was a classic VW camper van. Aspen caught the hippy vibe of the early 1970s and my leaning was to refer to the understated glamour of the era.

Renowned models - Alessandra Ambrosio, Kate Bock, Brooks Nader and Aleska Genesis - all look the part in this image; which is no surprise as they are the best of the best. If I was playing to a vibe, I felt we should do it as powerfully as possible. Alessandra leads the shoot and has great presence.

It was, however, the goggle wearing dogs that owned the day. It was a nod to that fact that in the rock and roll days of Aspen, there was no rule book other than to have fun. Hunter S Thompson would shoot off his gun inside the tavern, dogs would be dressed up and the crowd would get high.

I always sensed that the end result of this shoot would have to be printed in colour, partly because we needed to do the period ski wear justice, but mostly as a homage to Aspen’s most colourful past.