Actor Guillermo Díaz Poses for a COVID-Era Shoot
| 07/13/20
Ryan and Guillermo Fooling Around With Social Distancing
Guillermo Diaz has been in some of your favorite movies and shows: Scandal, Half-Baked, Party Girl, and most recently, I Know This Much Is True. Like the rest of the country, the out actor is laying low at home, trying to think of the best way to spend all his ample free time. Diaz teamed up with his photographer friend Ryan Stanford to create some images that hope to express the emotions we're all currently feeling. The friends elaborate below:
Guillermo:
When COVID forced us all into quarantine one of the first things I thought about, aside from wanting everyone to be ok and safe, was my need to continue to be creative, no matter what!
Ryan:
I am ridiculously fortunate to have had the opportunity to work with Guillermo multiple times in the past, and even more fortunate to be able to call him my friend. We are both artistic collaborators at heart and we have created some beautiful art together.
Guillermo: I have a photographer friend who started sharing all these FaceTime photo shoots he'd been doing, since lock down began, on his Twitter page and it completely inspired me. I immediately thought of Ryan Stanford, my good friend, but also my partner in crime when it comes to challenging ourselves when we collaborate on a new shoot. Who better to explore this new way of creating with me than Ryan?
Ryan: The best thing about the last four, or so, months has been to spend quarantine with my best friend Joel Someone. We were able to cultivate and share ideas and mount artistic projects at home.
Guillermo: I knew he would be 100% percent down for a socially distant photo shoot, and he was! And I absolutely adore what we came up with. Although, I do remember at one point I wanted to try something, so I stood on this way-too-high stool, and I fell and busted my ass really good. That's when we knew it was time to wrap it up.
Ryan: But we all also need other partners and other inspirations as artists, too. I think Guillermo was the one to present the idea of the virtual shoot. It was my first time attempting anything like this and his first time too.
Guillermo: This is the first of many creative journeys that I hope Ryan and I will take together. Also -- I would like to shout out and thank our friend and fellow artist, Joel Someone, whose sexy hands and ideas are a huge part of this shoot.
Ryan: So everything we did was an experiment, a challenge, and also a brilliant form of connection. It felt so marvelous to see his smile again (he has one of the greatest smiles I have ever seen) and almost feel like we were hanging in the same room as friends again. We tried different lighting and different positions and of course got his shirt off!
Guillermo: If you dig these photos and you wanna see more of my goofy ass, you can tune in to watch me on United We Fall - ABC on Wednesday July 15th 2020 at 8/7c, it's a really funny sitcom with an amazing cast that includes, the iconic Jane Curtin!
Ryan: After so long apart this was a special form of reconnection. And I am really proud of what we did and the story that it tells. It is experimental and raw, but it also shows how important art and connection and relationships are to us all. This tells a lot of our stories of being alone and separated from a lot of the special people in our lives these last months. Yet using those feelings to create and be innovative; also to enjoy the thrill, spark, strength and inspiration we take from each other in these trying times. I am thankful to have people like Joel and Guillermo in my life! These photos are a gorgeous way to celebrate them, and to look forward to so much more in the future!
