Behind The Shoot: We The Nighthawks
A full-day shoot. Twelve hours. A team of creatives. One goal: to bring each song from We the Nighthawks to life through striking, cinematic imagery.
The Team:
Photography: Drew Bordeaux
Photo Assistants: Rosie Slater & Kristi Mas
Makeup: Priscilla Perez
Wardrobe Assistance: Claudia Stefany-Ruck
Location: Era Gone, New Jersey
Capturing the Sound of We the Nighthawks
A full-day shoot. Twelve hours. A team of creatives. One goal: to bring each song from We the Nighthawks to life through striking, cinematic imagery.
Kimberly Hawkey’s 13-track album, We the Nighthawks, pulls from art song, jazz, musical theatre, and the American songbook, creating a sonic journey through stories of life, love, and loss. Conceived by songwriters Lecco Morris and Justin K. Rivers, with musical director Assaf Gleizner and producer Joel Moss at the helm, the album was recorded with a full orchestra at Dreamland Studios in upstate New York.
For the photoshoot, we set out to capture the essence of this richly layered album—one song at a time.
The Shoot: A Vintage Dream in Motion
On an early morning in New Jersey, we assembled at Era Gone, a property filled with vintage cars and retro spaces, the perfect backdrop to transport each image into its own world. The goal was to create unique visuals for each track, capturing the spirit of We the Nighthawks in a way that felt timeless, evocative, and deeply connected to the music.
A shoot of this scale requires a team effort. I had the privilege of working alongside two incredible photo assistants, Rosie Slater and Kristi Mas, as well as the immensely talented makeup artist, Priscilla Perez. Our wardrobe choices were carefully curated with the expertise of Claudia Stefany-Ruck, ensuring that each look aligned with the album’s visual tone. We worked quickly throughout the day, moving from set to set, embracing the textures, colors, and nostalgia of the location.
A Day of Fast-Paced Creativity
Twelve hours on set means constant movement—adjusting lighting, shifting compositions, refining details in real-time. Each song had its own color palette, mood, and story, which we crafted through styling, set choices, and the natural beauty of Era Gone's historic spaces. The vintage cars added an extra layer of authenticity, grounding the visuals in a sense of time and place that complements the sonic textures of the album.
