Primal scream

Worked with April and Lauren Warner yesterday ... Lauren came up with a fun make up concept for April and April lived her emotions ;-) ... this model doesn't act it ... she lives it ... raw

This series was pretty much shot on the street in San Francisco ... onlookers didn't believe their eyes ... ;-)

3 minute shoot, 3 primal expressions ... fear ... anger ... pain ... 

None of these images were posed ... they were lived ... the way I like it ... love photojournalism ;-)

April models fashion, fine art and she just starred her first leading role in an indie film.

The joy of chocolate ...

I'm not the only one who's enjoying chocolate ... 

Ankha wrote:

"It's official.  My number one favorite chocolate in the WORLD is Gianduja by Cote d'Or ... WONDERFULLY AMAZING ;-)

This bar is widely available in the US ... for those who don't know Cote d'Or ... they don't know what they are missing ;-) ... Google is your friend ;-)

*   *   *

Fortune cookie of the day:

You are admired from afar ...

*   *   *

I wouldn't mind being admired from a bit closer ;-)

*   *   *

Picked April up from her shoot with Jason Fassnacht ... I absolutely love Jason's work and it was a delight to finally meet Jason and J

Sacramento ... crazy drive ... loads of fun ... and my little car got over 29 miles/gallon ... not bad for a MBZ roadster ;-)

April is in town

Images from our previous shoots in Los Angeles and Fremont ...

She's tall, has strong lines and is absolutely fun to work with ...

The Lioness Den - Part Two

Having fun ...

First time meet ...

Bonding ...

From left to right ...

April

Sarah

Carly

Susie

I can climb the wall in boots ...
Susie is bouldering 20 feet up ...

Sarah climbing the wall ... no boots ...

We made it up there ... top of the world !

Never turn your back on goofballs ... they might stick their tongue out and flash you ...

The Lioness Den ...

4 Lionesses basking in the sunset light ...

Having fun ...

The Lioness Den - Part One

On October 29, 2008 the stars aligned and 4 top models showed up in my studio ... with that much talent, anything is possible.

Carly Erin was first in town.  We had worked together in the studio somewhere in February 08 and that was the beginning of my fruit and vegetable series ... that was also the first shoot where I felt I was on to something that I could develop in something more than just snapshots

This time I was using dried artichokes on the shoot and Carly was joined in  the studio shoot session by April and Sarah Ellis.  The 29th was Carly's last day of shooting during her San Francisco trip.

April had arrived earlier in the week and was using my studio as a base to work with other photographers in the Bay Area.

We worked quite a few life style shoots during April's stay and it was good to create together again after our shoots in London and Los Angeles.  

April can handle a wide range and is equally comfortable in fashion, lifestyle and fine art.

Ms Susie B arrived on the 29th for her first working tour of the Bay Area.   She flew in from NM where we worked together a couple of weeks agon on a life style and fine art location shoot in Santa Fe.  We never found route 66 but that is another story ... ;-)

We intercepted her at the Walnut Creek BART on our way to the outdoor shooting location.

Susie, we know that San Francisco is cold for a New Mexico girl but I do believe you are slightly overdressed ... lol ... on the other hand, I've never seen anyone climb a vertical rock wall like you do ... in boots ...

Last but not in the least ... Sarah Ellis doesn't need introduction anymore if you're following my blog.  

We've worked many times together now and lost track of the number of shoots as I have only two hands to count on ...

After the shoot we all went for dinner and had fun getting these family pictures taken.  

Thanks Carly for taking care of shooting Sarah, April and Susie.  Susie in turn shot Carly ...

For those not knowing CarlyErin, she's a great photographer, MUA, retoucher and model.

Me ... had nothing to do with the family pics, just a willing victim with a big grin as we all had a great day of collaboration,  camaraderie  and discovery as none of the models had ever worked together on a shoot ... I was priveledged to have all this talent together in one spot, quite an unique occasion.

Quoting Carly sums it pretty much up ...

"OMG !!!! I had sooooo much fun ... Thanks so much for having me and putting what I know will be some new friends in my life ;-)   All those girls are so wonderful ;-) ... See you soon darling !"

Images to be retouched shortly ...

Continued ...

I choose to heal ... rather than wound ...

April is in town.

Natalia is in town.

Vassanta is in town.

Carly Erin is in town.

Sarah Ellis is in town.

Elley S is coming to town

Ms Susie B is coming to town

Candace Nirwana is coming to town

... and I'm shooting with them all ...

Bill Murray

on his recent divorce ...

"I was just dead, just broken" ... "When you're really in love with someone and this happens - I never had anything like this happen" ... "It's like your faith in people is destroyed because the person you trusted the most you can no longer trust at all ... The person you know isn't there anymore."

*   *   *

Couple of more pics from April from our London shoot ... to be continued ...

Talked to my mom ...

... today ... she's feeling good and is able to walk around the house again.  Not up to go outside at this point but still, this is major progress.  She's not in pain.

  *   *   *

Editing pictures from a shoot in London (ON).  April on her balcony.

April is a fashion model and branched out into fine art and figure nude modeling.

She's energetic, versatile, reliable and passionate about modeling.

Tuesday, September 2, 2008.

Mildly sunburned from yesterday ... no surprise ... it always gets me ... fair complexion and always forget the sunscreen ... was a beautiful day though ...

Dealt with the insurance for my rear-end collision from yesterday ... wait and see what the adjuster comes up with ... my rear AMG bumper is totally shot and I don't trust the rattle in the car ... there could be more wrong than what the eye sees ...

Finally got to work on some more retouching.   

A continuation of my Betcee May series in the creek ... a gracious flow of movement ... it was a spur of the moment thing ... Betcee picked up effortless on my feedback to repeat a pose and the ensuing "dance" yielded a great series.  Betcee is always aware of  where the photographer is and how to move and position her body for maximum impact and elegance.  This model never ceases to amaze me.

The image below is from April, shot in London (ON) on a balcony.  I'll be posting more of these fashion styled images.  April needs little direction to come up with styled poses in a fluid movement.

Continue to work with Susie on plans for a San Francisco trip in mid to late October.

Maybe we can make Susie's and April's trip coincide and put both models together 

Talked to my mom on the phone also ... it was good to hear her voice ... we both needed this talk.

Hurricane in New Orleans ... terrible thought ...

Continued ...

Saturday, August 30, 08

Didn't get to do any edits last night after all ... got sidetracked ... in a good relaxing way ...

Today is shopping & cleaning day. Getting ready for a shoot tonight ... concept, accessories ... filling in two storyboards ...

Working on shoot prep for an October concept.  Called April ... She's good to go for that concept ... need one or two more models for that shoot ...

Long night ahead, still need to make up for the edits from last night ... these are fun ones ...

*   *   *

Betcee May and Lauren Warner arrived on time and got to work after quick introductions ... it's always good to see how professionals "click" in no time.  It's my third shoot with Betcee May  and my fourth with Lauren Warner.  They both know by now what I'm looking for and I trust Lauren will do a stellar job on Betcee.   I'm shooting Betcee May today with a beauty make up accentuating her mostly blue eyes while keeping the long curly flowing hair.

The first concept is shot outdoors.  There's a hill across my studio and that hill overlooks Alameda creek all the way till Coyote Hills at the bay.  Magnificent view but it takes a half hour climb to get there, a little over a mile with 800 feet of altitude difference.

Before we left for the hill, Sarah Ellis arrived and it was wonderful to see the mutual respect between the two models and the excitement for a duo shoot.  What a team !

The pictures to the left feature Betcee during the climb ... something she did with flying colors on sandals.  This girl truly grew up in the outdoors and I had the pleasure seeing her in action on steep riverbanks a couple of months ago.

When we got back Sarah Ellis was in the Dior make-up chair and Lauren was finishing off with the hair.  In the meantime I shot a couple of new backlighting set-ups with Betcee.

Soon both models were interacting in front of my lens in a splendid exchange of looks, intertwined arms and ... of course ... laughs.

Finished the evening with some Sarah Ellis solo work.  Black leggings, black heels, ethnic jewelry and my wrought metal iron chair.

Never got to do my edits ...  talked with Nicole in preparation of our next shoot ...

More pictures later.

Continued ...

Friday, August 29, 2008

Busy day at work ... not surprisingly, the last day before the long weekend ... solved some sticky customer issues to everyone's satisfaction ... life is good.

Went shopping for some new toys ... I'm a guy after all ... lol

Posted the Newbie Model of the Week composite on Newbie Model of the Week 

... I'm the OP since a couple of months for this forum thread, all a part of giving back to the community at large.

Working on more edits, planning on doing a couple of retouches tonight ... April, Nicole, Betcee, Sarah, Tiana ... plenty of it to go around.

Monday, August 25, 08

Busy day ... business demands attention ... morning flew by ... SMS cracked me up ... you have to watch what you're reading during a meeting ... crocodiles are hilarious ...

Working on edit of my photo shoot with April in London last week.

Picture of the day:

April is wearing vintage fur with a vintage bustier.   The Leica rangefinder is a 1946 model ... I just love how this camera looks.  Fully functional with a 5cm F1:2 lens but only used sparingly as a prop.

We got quite a few great images out of this look.  Shot in the late afternoon on Wellington Street in downtown London, ON in front of an antique store.

Quite a few onlookers and cars honking in support but April handled the distractions well.  Make-up and hair by Joy, wardrobe by April

This image is part of a sequence that was shot photojournalistic style.  I don't like posing this type of shots.   I rather explain the concept and let the model run with it.  More natural looking images.

Continued ...

Friday, August 22, 2008

Busy day at work and still dealing with the fall-out of a broken BlackBerry the other weekend.

Trip to Finland is cancelled.

Working on more pictures and a multi-shoot story-line.  Wardrobe selection in SF for my next LA shoot ... is going to be something different than what I normally do ... planning to shoot multiple models in the same space ... vintage alluring fashion ... meeting of the minds with N. ... more candid shots.

April sent me another pic from the previous weekend ... me ... as seen through the lens of my model ... lol ... no one ever takes pics of me.

Getting ready to shoot a wedding tomorrow, has been a while since I shot one but I love them ... challenging and rewarding at the same time.

Continued ...

Canada, August 13-15, 2008

Travel to Toronto on the 13th. Early flight but I have these down. Home to gate in SFO in the early morning in 55 minutes. New personal record I believe.

Flight was uneventful ... just annoyed by the scrutiny my camera equipment gets at security each and every time I travel. Funny. TSA needs training.

Had dinner with April ... she selected a very nice restaurant in London ... the Black Trumpet ... the weather was nice, the patio was delightful ... food was good.

First business meeting with a new customer. Good to see a couple of my peers again. Meeting was successful.

August 14, afternoon shoot with April and Joy, the MUA. Fashion, definitely fashion. Vintage mink. Love it. Pictures later

August 15, morning meeting with the engineering team of a customer ... going in alone this time. Developed a test and measuring roadmap to assist the customer with their application problem. Solution is evident, need to follow up with data.

Out at noon. 1.5 hour drive to the airport, more security, more swabbing of camera and lenses, more stares, more questions. Boring.

Thank God for lounges with Wi-Fi. Writing this. Following up on email from friends and loved ones.

Continued....