"Shoe-in"

Written by: Ashley Vest

Photos by: Edward Boe

Yes, I do know the saying is a shoo-in, but that is not nearly as punny as today we are talking about, you guessed it - shoes.

Ah, shoes, all at once they can be a necessity, a luxury, and a specialty. For some, such as my family, they can be a collection, a hobby, an obsession. I would argue there are less practical things to collect, hobbies that are more unhealthful, and certainly obsessions far more dangerous. Still, though, I’m not sure that my family motto of “You can never have too many shoes!” is 100% the best of ambitions.

I realize all this, and yet I have two closets overflowing with shoes. I still buy pretty high heels even though my plantar fasciitis makes it impossible for me to wear them for more than an hour. My love of shoes is not new, when I was in high school, we went on a family vacation to New York. I packed one bag (a very large bag, please note) full of nothing but shoes. So whether it is nature or nurture, I too, am a calceophile.

“Neque calceamenta sunt nimis multi potes!”

All this to say, Ed and I recently did a shoe photo shoot, and it turned out really cool.

Nikes in red.

Ed did a photoshop technique called pixel-stretching. The final result is pretty dynamic.

A yellow pair going for a fly.

In blue with the pixel-stretching done on both sides of the shoe.

I love how the pixel-stretching gives the shoes the feel of movement while standing still. You can feel the functionality of the shoes while still admiring the beauty of the shoe itself.

In case you were wondering, no, I didn’t get to keep a pair, although Ed did. I may be a bad (or good) influence on him.

PS: As an aside, did you know there is a whole damn museum about the history of shoes? It’s in Toronto, Canada. I highly recommend it!

Ashley Vest is a Chicago-based producer and writer. She works in-house for Edward Boe Photography as a creative producer and art director.