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.**
Five In Five Days
My days in Detroit was just a busy trip home. Click to read more.
Dark Alley with Ashley
The first of many shoots and events when I got into Detroit. Ashley wanted to shoot at the Z-Belt, which is a common place for photographers and tourist, and I despise it. I hate it for the simple fact that creatives aren't able to work there even if they were to call ahead. Everything is always a "No" to equipment. We started out in the garage but was quickly shut down. So we moved to the alley and they managed to shut us down again but not before we were able to get some shots off. Now we were on a mission to find a new spot which we didn't find til we came across another part of the River walk and used a fence next to this training faculty. To continue the gritty look we were going for. After the shoot, we dropped her off at a party she was attending that evening
Lost in the Woods
Following the race, I had to run home real quick and dump everything from the race then I had to race back to Belle Isle to meet Stephanie and Dedan. I met Stephanie first near the entrance after the booth to pay. After met Dedan over at the casino. From there we went over to a dirt path that was suppose to be mildly secluded, but it had so much traffic that it was a car every two or three minutes. We managed to get a lot of great shots for the first look we used a Paul C. Buff Alien Bee B800 with 7ft parabolic silver umbrella. The tight throws so much light back that I had to use a higher f-stop than I normally use. After that we moved to a second location still on the Isle. We came to a bridge this time we used the Paul Buff beauty dish because winds started to pick up, and using the umbrella would be like a huge sail in the wind. After another hour of shooting I dropped Dedan off at his car then Stephanie and I went to Bucharest to have lunch. She never been to Bucharest before so she really enjoyed it.
P. H1ll Foundation
For the third year the P. H1ll foundation has held their annual 5k run/walk marathon downtown Detroit. Every year there is a nice turn out, and every year it has been on the cold side but when the sun rises it becomes better. Last year there was news coverage from Fox 2 and Channel 4 WDIV, this year there was none. In my opinion is was fro the better. The event brings out police officers, family, friends, and those who just like to run marathons. The owner of the foundation Deodge Hill have hired George Mitchell and myself to cover the huge event. This year Dennis Radford was unable to help as he had moved to Texas. So, we brought in De'Andre Elliot. Even with the three of us, we still wasn't able to cover the entire event. There is just too much for three people to cover. From video to photography it's just too much space.
This year, I did something a little different. Since I have two reliable cameras now and a GoPro. I setup the second camera on a tripod and shoot the finish in a time lapse then as a second angle during the results ceremony. The GoPro was mounted on Deodge's son to give a first person perceptive of the race. In the end I missed one moment due to me having to go grab my second camera from the starting line.
Video can be found on Youtube.
Warmin' Up
with A-Train Super Fit
And they are off!!!
Deodge with A-Train and crew
Best Male and Female Torphies (Overall)
Fashion with Symona
Afther lunch with Stephanie, it was time to shoot with Symona in Dearborn at the Artist Loft. I was a little behind schedule but it didn't matter. Dedan got there before I did, soon Symona arrived. The spot I wanted to use was a little crowded due to an art show that was being held in the newly renovated area. Everything was going smoothly til the trigger sattery began to die on us. We had to change over to using natural light for the second look. While shooting the first look we wanted Symona to sick off the wall into a strong pose. While Dedan and I were demostrating the look we drew a crowd of onlookers who were interested and cheering us on at the same time. After from the wall we went over to the steps and that was a riot act all in itself. The stairs were grated and she had on stilleto style heels. You can only image the silliness that ensued.
Family Memories
This one is short and sweet. After the passing of our Uncle Reggie, Meech wanted to do a family portrait because we don't have anything recently. You never know when life will end. It took a little planning on Meech and I ends to coordinate when both of us will be back in Michigan. So, we planned everything out with the family we were to do all black and I thought of using the black background. So black on black like a black mafia family.
Productive Week
** All images are SOOC (Straight Out of Camera) and selected at random. Final images are placed in galleries when finalized.**
As most know, I moved to Los Angeles for a full time position at my company. In the first few weeks of being here living in different hotels and flying back and forth to Detroit every week with my two off days. I began to feel my creative side dampen, and I was not myself. Not one bit at all.
Like any photographer feeling in a rut would do, I put out an "ad" on Model Mayhem to get my juices flow again. After about a few days, I began to get a few hits from people who were interested then it began to snowball. I had a lot of people contact me that some of the ones who I responded to have not responded back to me at all. With all these different possibilities I asked my bro Tristan if could help with some of them, and he was more than to happy to assist whenever he was able.
The first person I photographed was Andrea. Andrea contacted me on Instagram as we set something up within that week. The location that was chosen was the art district Downtown Los Angeles. When meeting Andrea it was never chill and relax, as an experienced model I did not have to give a lot of direction to the poses she knew exactly what to do. We went to pretty much all over the area. Also, with my first shot comes the first confrontation with a resident in the area. We pushed passed that mess and kept shooting. In the end for my first shoot, I over shot like crazy.
My next shoot was with Oyenoya who I was communicating with over email. We set up a fitness/swimwear session but had to cut the swimwear because of time and she had a open audition to record. We met in Santa Monica near the entrance of the pier. Again this was another chill relaxed person. We start the session with some basic yoga poses and then we move to more active positions, jogging, running, step-ups, and high knees. At times while I'm readjusting I catch he posing naturally waiting on me. To me those are the best moments to capture. The last spot was a walk way over the Pacific Coast Highway where we did our last poses and because we had to get back and it was getting dark as well. As I walked her to her car, I told her I really didn't have to a car yet, so she offered me a ride at least half way. With it being LA that took longer that expect. About half way I just had her drop me off at Home Depot so she can make her taping. In the end she did make it.
Next was my coworker Ronnie. She was starting to push her hair business and needed a few head shots and I still take models to expand my portfolio. We schedule a day after she came back from her trip. Again day was suppose to have been done Thursday but her flight came in late and it was pushed back to Saturday after I got off from work. Because I don't know LA traffic like at all, I just know it gets extremely heavy at random times. I had to quickly shower, change clothes and call an uber to take me to Beverly Hills. I finally got there and met Ronnie and we drove down Melrose til we found a parking lot that had a lot of dope street art. Just like all the street art in the area there are a lot people "tourist" taking pictures as well. We start moving along different pieces and incorporating different shades of lipstick. All the pieces there was so dope I wanted to stay there longer but I had other plans for the night.
So my original second shoot was suppose to be with Miss Black Los Angeles herself Jasmine. Due to the weather being a little cold and wet due to the rain the day before it was pushed back to next week Wednesday then moved forward to Monday (MLK day). This shoot I was able to have Tristan with me I was making sure the shoot was going to be one for the books. Just how I planned it -- not really though but let me have my moment -- It was a complete success. We met at the Route 66 sign that signified the end/beginning of Route 66. The first look was in the edge of the water where the waves just hit our toes. It was semi-perfect as the sun was setting, I just wanted it a little lower to really bring out the hues. In the middle of our session she was recognized by someone who follows her in the pageant world (I'm guessing). From there we moved to under the pier to do some dopeness and get even more cold from the water. Brief intermission, clean sand from feet and wardrobe change. She came back with the dope sequin skirt and yellow jacket, oh I forgot to mention her mom was there who is also her manager. With this look she wanted to shoot within the arcade but that was short lived as we aren't allowed to shoot in there we did get a few shots before we were kicked out. So we moved to the park entrance, and it was perfect as the colors matched perfectly with her outfit. Because we were using a speedlight we kind of drew a crowd. It was as if she was a celebrity. With momanger and Tristan on the look out they began to notice we caught the attention of the park security. With a few more shots we quickly broke down and moved inside. While inside we used all ambient light and the Ferris wheel as a rim/background light. Because I limited, I had to push myself and my camera. In the end, the shoots became something that I loved. After the shoot, Jasmine's mom invited us to her video premiere party on Valentine's Day. She told us a lot of names will be in the building so it will be a perfect networking opportunity for us. Noted also future collaborations between us.
Stay tune for more shoots!
“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.”