BALLANTINE’S LAUNCHES THE SECOND ‘ARTIST SERIES’ WITH THREE LIMITED EDITION GIFT PACKS DESIGNED BY MUSIC VIDEO DIRECTOR AND PHOTOGRAPHER, DAVE MA

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Ballantine’s, the world’s No. 2 Scotch whisky, has partnered with renowned music video director and photographer, Dave Ma, to launch three new limited edition gift packs for 2016. Created to champion inspiring and innovative individuals who are committed to expressing their creativity in unique ways, for its second year Ballantine’s Artist Series gift packs showcase Dave Ma’s unique perspective of Scotland, the home of the whisky, in a series of stunning aerial photographs.

Moving to London from the beaches of Sydney a decade ago to pursue a career in music photography and video direction, Dave Ma started a ‘zine’ to showcase his work with emerging bands. Dave has worked with some of today’s most exciting music artists, including Bastille and Rudimental, however his repertoire extends well beyond music photography, with a newly discovered passion for capturing aerial landscape photographs.

Travelling around the world, Dave began to realise that the best TV screen was his aeroplane window . This kick-started a desire to shoot aerial views whilst flying, and, after realising that by playing with the colours in his shots he could make terrains look ‘otherworldly’, his first series of aerial landscapes were featured on the Jagwar Ma single artwork for Come Save Me.

To push his landscape images of the Scottish Highlands beyond realism, Dave reworked his striking photographs for the Ballantine’s Finest Sleeve and Tin with a bold two-tone colour palette to reflect the energy and youthful personality of the Finest blend. For the first time, tactile technology has been used on the Ballantine’s Finest Sleeve to reflect the look and feel of the rugged terrain of this corner of Scotland. For the Ballantine’s 12 Year Old Tin, Dave added depth to his stunning photograph with a rich blue colour palette to reflect the complexity of flavours in this distinguished 12 year old blend.

Dave Ma said of the collaboration: “I was ultimately drawn to working with Ballantine’s for the excitement of doing something completely different, that would still represent my artistic style. It was awe-inspiring to see that part of Scotland, and to be able to shoot a really unique perspective of that landscape. My focus was to capture the natural beauty of the terrain, but I wanted to move the images away from the all-too-familiar green landscapes of the Scottish Highlands and give each gift pack its own distinctive look, which reflected the personalities of each of the blends.”

Sophie Gallois, Global Marketing Director for Ballantine’s, added: “The Ballantine’s Artist Series champions unique individuals that ‘stay true’ to their creative style and Dave Ma is no exception. He captured the beauty of our Scottish heritage, resulting in these striking gift packs that will no doubt be a great addition to any whisky connoisseurs’ collection and complement last year’s designs as part of the Ballantine’s Artist Series collection.”

The 2016 Ballantine’s Artist Series Limited Edition gift packs will be available globally from October 2016.

For more information, visit Ballantines.com.

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Greg

My name is Greg, and I’m a brand strategy consultant, writer, speaker, host and judge specialising in premium spirits. My mission is to experience, share and inspire with everything great about whisky, whiskey, gin, beer and fine dining through my writing, my brand building and my whisky tastings.