Call Him Mr. Rose
Fashion Editorial with Aaron Rose
“A man should look as if he had bought his clothes with intelligence, put them on with care, and then forgotten all about them.
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For this shoot I asked my coworker who is an actor, so he was perfect and plus I needed more male models to add to my portfolio. After a month of waiting we finally was able to set things up.
I used the LA River and Art District again for this shoot as this has became one of my favorite locations to shoot. With these looks we did men’s fashion and a little bit of spider-man cosplay.
We met at Urth Cafe and it seem like they were doing something down there so things were cut off on one street. Once he arrived we headed to the river to get the ball rolling.
This turns out to be great shoot with a lot of laughs and a lot of fun in the end. It’s never a dull moment when I get in the groove of things with a session. We had music playing to really help us folks on getting the shoots they we need to get. I used the entire area around the Art District using the environment to different graffiti spots. Then the finally location of the parking structure across the street into Lil Tokyo. That spot was all Spider-man.
Travel Series - J'ampple Paris!!
Family trip to Paris, France.
It’s my mom’s birthday month. So for her 49th, I suggested Paris with a tour if possible. As time got closer we just kind of made an adventure out of Paris. So, the beginning of the trip was a show. We get to our flight and we didn’t make it so, we had to change over to Amsterdam then connect to Paris. After a few minor hiccups and getting things in order and restructuring we were off to the Netherlands. We finally arrived, and Meech was on a earlier flight than ours because KLM doesn’t allow parents to fly under contract. Meech arrived in Paris as we were boarding our flight on Air France. Land in Paris we all finally get back together. The first night was a chill night as we all decided that a day flying through different time zones was extremely tiring.
Day two was a start of the adventure. As the day started we planned out what we wanted to do, so Muse du Louvre it was. We took an Uber to the first providence. We arrived and wandered about the area and took pics and videos around and inside the Louvre. While buying time to get in, Meech was spotted by a few of his fans. First a group of guys then one girl with her friends from South Africa. We took pictures and he chatted with them for a good five minutes. Now it was time to head in as the morning is the worst time to go to the museum. Tickets are cheaper at the museum than online! I didn’t know the museum was below ground then goes back up above ground. We seen the Venus Di Milo and the Mona Lisa. I was highly disappointed with the Mona Lisa. For one, it was protected behind a glass and a barricade separating you ten to fifteen feet. It takes away the nostalgia of seeing the painting. It was only maybe no larger than a 16 x 20 picture. I honestly enjoyed looking at the statues and other paintings. One last stop was to the Louis Vuitton store but from my miss calculations I took us to the Paris headquarters instead of the actual store.
It’s a new day and also our Mom’s birthday. We were suppose to have breakfast but we started a little late. Instead of breakfast we went to Five Guys to get lunch from there and walk to the Louis Vuitton store, so she can get the birthday present she always wanted to get for herself many years ago. After she got her bag, we stopped real quick and took a few pictures. In doing so, Meech told her to open her card. To her surprise it was money to hey her mortgage (which probably all came from Meech himself). At that moment of time it was tough staying afloat while living in Los Angeles.
We continued our exploration after her emotional moment. we started to make our way to Notre Dame, along the way we stop at a dope spot near the Louvre. We did our picture and videos. We finally arrived to Notre Dame, I forgot to mention it was pretty much a rainy day. There was a line to get in but it was never the plan to go inside. After that we made it back to Five Guys to regroup and eat then head back to the apartment.
Last official day in Paris, and Meech is sick and I have a shoot at three, so it was a completely late day for us. Thinking he cold would get better it never did. What makes it worst was it continued to rain and once we do to our destination we were taking pictures and trying to kill time til my model arrived. She finally arrived and we started right away. Fifteen minutes into the session it began to down pour like crazy for ten minutes. Mom and Meech were caught in, and they were done for the day. So, he had to cancel his meet and greet because the rain killed the entire day and he was sick and soaked. Once your feet get wet, it is a wrap for the whole day.
An artist has no home in Europe except in Paris.
Friedrich Nietzsche
“An artist has no home in Europe except in Paris.”
The morning of was almost a shit storm as there were no Ubers out in our area and the owner had to call us one and the guy that worked for the host was late as hell. There was a ton of traffic and our driver went to the wrong terminal. We barely made it to our flight. we were the last ones to board on the flight. A long eight hours flying home. Arriving was no better as the line for customs was overly long and took forever. We enjoyed ourselves minus a few setbacks but definitely planning more European trips in the future.
Chanelle de Lau
Fashion shoot with Miss International Curacao Chanelle de Lau.
“When in doubt, wear red.”
I was contacted by my client Antina photograph her new client Miss International Curacao Chanelle de Lau. We decided to shoot two looks with a possible third in the works. We met at the Art District, but for some reason I was having major BG’s this day. This has never happened to me before so the entire day just felt weird for some reason.
For the first location we went to the famous LA river where plenty of people have done shoots, movies and videos there. The first look was an army fatigue one piece, with high heel booties. It was an interesting walk down to the river because there is a slight incline into the river Chanelle crabbed walked all the way down and Antina needed help making her way down. For this shoot I rented the Nikkor 85mm f1.8 for Lensrental.com. Also, I used my drone to do some area shots for BTS footage.
After finishing up at this spot, I helped them up the incline and back to the car. Again my stomach was killing me. We drove around looking for the second location but still couldn’t find the train that was supposed to be in the Art District but we couldn’t find it. We found a graffiti wall that was very dope. So we stopped while prepping and someone came across and we started to chat it up. She allowed me to use her restroom in her shop. I will forever in her debt for that one.
Lonely Thoughts
The soul that sees beauty may sometimes walk alone. - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Her second look was a red body suit with a motorcycle jacket and high heel boots. We used different angles and utilized every aspect of the area to get the best look possible. I wasn’t until the end of this location when we were on a high of such a good set that I didn’t realize that I left my camera on top of the car. I knew something I was up when those bubble guts came back as warning, I did not pay attention to at all. We drove to the next location and enroute there. There was a hard right and when we took that turn, my camera went flying right off the car causing major damage of course.
I picked up all the pieces that I could find in the vicinity. On the inside I was hurt, as I knew all of this was coming out of my pocket because I didn’t have insurance on the lens. On the inside I was dying and wanted to cry. To mustard thru the pain I wanted to continue the shoot, but Antina called it and took us to eat to finish the night.
**It’s been over a month and lensrental.com still haven’t charged me for the damages but I’m for certain those charges will come at a very inconvenient time.**
“There are things which nobody would see unless I photographed them.”
“I see little of more importance to the future of our country and of civilization than full recognition of the place of the artist. If art is to nourish the roots of our culture, society must set the artist free to follow his vision wherever it takes him.”