2020_Year in Review

2020, where do we start? My family and I are healthy, I’ve learned that is the most important thing to me, along with finding gratitude for the little things. The pandemic stay at home orders began as I was on location in the Catskills shooting with Andre Assous. We had crew and location cancellations at the last minute which made for a crazy production, but it in the end we got amazing images thanks to our paired down crew and incredible models. Since then I’ve been able to maintain a steady string of shoots despite so many restrictions. All in all, I keep coming back to gratitude. I’m thankful I’ve been able to keep working when I know many have had much bigger challenges this year. Despite all the challenges, we kept shooting. My mantra was to keep shooting. Whether it was shooting dress flats in my living room or creative edits or smaller crews or protocol, and more protocol and more protocol. Every shoot is a new opportunity to make something beautiful and we did just that. I say we because from brilliant creative to an all team effort on set, I get to work with the most amazing humans, and for that I am grateful. Here are a few visual highlights.

Go Silk going to the street

Such a fun shoot with Go Silk at Drift Studio.  We had a busy day mixing Lookbook and Ecomm and some editorial shots.  After lunch we heading out to the street near the studio.  When we were setting up an outside shot, musician PHresher happened to walk by us with his amazing style.  We asked him to jump in and he did!  Love those spontaneous moments!

Sintra in Spring

It was actually fall.  In October I flew with Raven + Lily to photograph their SS18 collection in beautiful Sintra, Portugal.  It was my first time in Portugal and it did not disappoint.  Winding cobblestone streets, pastel painted stucco, warm sunshine and charming people made for a perfect "blush" themed backdrop.  Our model was the gorgeous @zarabicha from Elite Lisbon.  I spent a lot of time with R+L founder Kirsten Dickerson casting Zara for this campaign and it was so worth it.  She was stunning inside and out.  Take a peek at BTS fun!


NYFW Helen Castillo SS18

Always love shooting with my beautiful friend Helen Castillo.  We are constantly looking for ways to make every event count, so we set up a quick lookbook of the collection during all the NYFW backstage craziness.  I love the shots we ended up with.

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Island Waves and Cotton Candy

Years ago, probably 3 summers ago, I had an idea for a shoot.  I wanted to do a modern looking beach shoot with a model and a clear beach ball.  All this time, I've had the ball in my supply closet waiting for the right model, crew, weather, etc.  Sahirah and I have worked on several projects together and when I saw that she'd let her hair go curly this summer I knew we had to shoot it.  She is such a trooper and has the most upbeat fun personality.  Love working with her any day.  After shooting the dreamy beach pics I couldn't help but capture her smile along the colorful Coney Island.  Here's a peak into our day.

Producer: Me    //Model:  Sahira @sahirahabdur  //MUA:  Julian Lazaro @julianlazaro

Lovely Nicolette

It was a crazy hot day in the city.  The kind where you never really cool off inside or out.  So why not put together an editorial on a sunny rooftop!?!  Sometimes you just need to seize the day and make it happen.  Luckily everyone on board had a great attitude and was super positive so we braved the heat for some amazing shots.  Here's a peak into our day!

Producer: Raymond Casas @casa.nyc  // MUA:  Josephine @silvernoir // Model:  Nicolette from Wilhemina

Downtown Doll

Incredible location and incredible crew is a recipe for great images.  Creative director and producer Raymond Casas pulled together our editorial called Downtown Doll.  The edgy and beautiful Grace modeled looks on this industrial NYC rooftop location.  Editorial coming soon!

Producer: Raymond Casas @casa.nyc  // Model:  Grace Summerfield @gracesumm // MUA: Josephine @silvernoir  // @designerhelen

 

Milos

It's pronounced "Milosh".  Super fun day shooting with @milosdrago at @driftstudio Here's some BTS goodness. This was when he was not making his "Lincoln Tunnel" face.

Stylist// Shay Dixon @ishayhello 

Assistant// Christine Yoo @christinecyoo

 

 

 

 

Helen Castillo AW 17

The Helen Castillo AW17 collection was inspired by the ballet.  Helen is a dear friend and has an incredible eye for detail and craftsmanship.  She scouted our model Stella on the street.  Stella is in high school and studying ballet.  She was such a unique beauty and natural in front of the camera.  

Stylist:  Shay Dixon @ishayhello  //  MUA Aeriel D'Andrea @aerieldandrea // hair @chc.artist

We also did a series on white which I loved too! 

We also did a series on white which I loved too!

 

Lands End

Amazing shoot out at Lands End in San Francisco with the gorgeous Ema from Look Model Agency.  We focused on leathers and this beachy vibe.  Made me miss living in California.

Getting ready in my hotel room.  MUA @karlsanchez 

Getting ready in my hotel room.  MUA @karlsanchez

 

The next day was super rainy!  Glad we got the sun! 

The next day was super rainy!  Glad we got the sun!

 

Raven + Lily FW16

It was a snowy day in Feb shooting the Raven + Lily FW16 collection lookbook at Drift Studio.  It's always great to shoot at Drift and we had such an amazing crew on set.  Check out our BTS video produced and edited by Josh Taylor (@joshtaylor).  I snuck in a few clips but Josh did most of the work and has such an incredible eye.  Great work team!

Lamu

One of my favorite trips ever was to the island of Lamu, Kenya where we shot a lookbook for Raven + Lily.  Such a surreal experience.  We spent months preparing and after a long search we ended up flying in the beautiful Robyn Schrikker (@robynschrikker) at 20 Model Management (@20modelmanagement) from South Africa.  It was the right choice!  She was so wonderful to travel and work with.  The island is pretty small and the only transportation is either by foot or by donkey.  One of the shoot days we hired an antique Jahazi boat!  I got to ride on a speed boat alongside to capture images while boat was moving.  It was one of my favorite days ever shooting.  We ended up on a remote beach along the rocky coast.  So many incredible visuals.   You can also read about this shoot on RavenandLily.com. https://www.ravenandlily.com/blog/introducing-springsummer-2015/