From the archives, October 2013
A Cosplay Couture interpretation of Nathan Drake from the Uncharted series of games.
Costume and styling by Courtney Coulson
Holster by Jack Barbour
Photography by Luke Milton in collaboration with Sabatomic Photography
Shot in the sand dunes of Lancelin and a rest stop along Indian Ocean Drive
The Uncharted series is my favourite series of games of all time and Drake’s had an influence over my wardrobe ever since. I was wearing daily cosplay couture before it was even a thing.
Drake’s look breaks down to a few essentials, a half tucked henley shirt into some cargo pants, the Sic Parvis Magna ring and the horseshoe belt buckle. Beyond that I had a fair amount of freedom.
I love his shemag (scarf) that he wore in the third game, so that was a must, the aviator shades were more of a neccessity as it gets damn bright out there on that white sand in the middle of the day, I don’t know how Drake does it, oh that’s right, the badass squint! I gave it a go, think he does it better.
Hair was challenging as Nate wears it very short and neat and overall I wanted the styling in this shoot to look casual, not overly done up or intentional. I went for slicked down at the sides and left the top messy, the wind took care of the messy part! Make-up is lots of bronze and gold.
In terms of physicality I had a lot of freedom there too, Drake can be serious or he can be cocky and playful. He’s got a pretty relaxed posture, but very shoulder oriented.
-Courtney Coulson
Two main challenges shooting in the dunes. First is keeping that sense of space and expanse while maintaining a focus on the model – it needs to be about Drake, not the environment, although they have to compliment each other. And secondly the mass of sand and insects that were twirling into the camera. This created a fleet of black spots on all of the images leading to an extensive “Attack of the Clonestamp” scenario. Very happy with the exposure here though, and the lighting owes a lot to Sabatomic’s deft placement of the handheld flash.
The second location was a discovery while stopping to shoot the Eleventh Doctor. It led to a quick change and a stint under a bridge (while trucks roared overhead). Terrifying.
– Luke Milton
Travian Designs 