The Chasing of Golden Hour

Originally Shot: Summer, 2013

Models: Erke Roosen, Marlies Bell, Shayna Craig, Jesse Rodriguez, Shannon Lower, Al Patrick Jo

Location: Financial District

One of my favorite "stupid human tricks" is accurately predicting how much useable sunlight is available. No, seriously: half the time I can't articulate it, but judging by length of shadows, position of the sun in the sky and just a good gut-feeling, I can tell you how much time is left before sunlight's completely useless with a five minute margin for error.

You wanna learn how to do that? Spend most of a summer armed only with your camera and a buncha people willing to hop in front of it as you're learning, with an almost desperate fervor, how to shoot with just natural light.

I can't lie: it was a lot of fun. So much fun. I made a lot of friends through this project, friends that are near and dear to my heart, still. I stretched my photographic muscles. And, it was so, so warm.

New York's having a good and proper winter this year, and I'm not complaining. I like my seasons to behave. And, winter's supposed to be cold and snowy and kinda miserable. But, that doesn't mean that I can't think of warm, summer evenings; the shots I captured; the friends made; and the mad, passionate chasing of Golden Hour.

Only In the Shadows

Originally Shot: 06-16-13

Model: Glass Olive

Location: Brooklyn, NY

Olive fed me guacamole on that first day we met. I would've been very happy with just the guacamole, having lugged over all three overstuffed bags of my gear to her apartment in Bushwick. It was THAT good.

She was absolutely sweet and funny and a league and a half above my abilities as a fine art nude photographer at the time, but she was gracious and warm and patient. At the time, I was very proud of these shots, as they were some of the best shooting/lighting I'd done up until that point.

Now, I see more of the flaws in both technique and execution of my ideas. But, there's a real affection for this series, as well as the person who collaborated with me to create it, and that quiet afternoon where we played with light and shadow and form.

I still want some more guacamole.

(Other than a little bit of tweaking of the overall picture in Lightroom, Tatyana has not been Photoshopped in any way.)

The original draft of this was a novella-sized post, pretty words full of sentimentality and saccharine sweetness.

Tatyana's the Red Storm, and that simply won't due. Her work and her passion require honesty, not sentiment. So, I won't say much more than this:

The Red Storm is one of the toughest, loveliest and most awesome people I know. She's an actress, and a model, a sister, a lover, and a friend. A provider of delicious baked goods. And, a cancer survivor.

Please, take a gander at the Daily News' piece on her after her double-masectomy - and, how she was back on stage, rehearsing, ten days afterwards.

True story, bro.

This is also about the wonderful, amazing work of Cathi Locati, a fantastic artist with a mission that I'd never realized was absolutely important and vital: she's a professional Fine Artist and an Areola Architect. Her work helps that part of the process that we very rarely get to hear about: what happens after the survivor survives breast cancer and must now come to terms with her body.

I can't do justice to her work. I won't try, beyond honoring what she's done for one of my dearest friends with my camera:

Find out more about Cathi Locati's work at: Areola Architect

Find out more about Tatyana's Process after the Double Masectomy: Mata Hari's Lead Actress Tatyana Kot/Double Masectomy Story

Cheers,

Theik