European vibes w/ German model, Sasha Natasha!

Good evening, Steemit! Burning the midnight oil. I’m kind of in the same manic frenzy as the rest of us. I’m a neurotic motherfucker to begin with but the last 40 hours in the crypto-world has shaken everyone. I recently saw @lovejoy leave a comment about how we’re in uncharted waters. I’ll second that. I have a propensity for high risk, high adrenaline hobbies. I was a professional death match wrestler, I used to breed and collect exotic, often deadly invertebrates [..tarantulas and scorpions], so it should come as no surprise that I end up in a world where a digital currency can gain or lose over 1000% in a single day. I’ve been having stress dreams about the price of STEEM; how much it gained or lost while I was unconscious. I recently watched a video by @jerrybanfield where he mentioned his brother confronting him about his addiction to the Poloniex exchange for Bitcoin price, and I may be entering that domain. I admit though, even with my crazy dreams, I never foresaw STEEM brushing up against the threshold of $3.00 as it did this afternoon.

I’m mentally and psychological exhausted after this rollercoaster, so I thought I’d come back to what brought me to the dance in the first place. Dark pinup photography. This particular shoot with a beautiful German model named Sasha from my home town of Scranton, PA. 

Sasha reached out to book a shoot last fall and we locked in a date during my last trip to the east coast of 2016. She found me through mutual friends on Instagram. Somewhat of an advantage from growing up in such a small town is the warped perception of success relative to the rest of the world. Nothing, and I mean, nothin happens in Scranton, PA […we’re only slightly on the map because of The Office]. Achieving some sense of career success means that when I do come back home […I haven’t lived there since 2010], I’m always able to book the dates I’m taking shoots in record time. Sasha was one of those clients, but I was extremely excited to shoot with her. She is the quintessential European model; blonde hair, high cheekbones and crystal blue eyes.

As it turns out, Sasha’s mother […a very German woman who reminded me of my grandmother] owned a small bed and breakfast outside of Clark Summit, PA. It was an eccentric, dark place with collected trinkets and art from across Europe. Parts looked like a hotel, other rooms looked like a private library, most of it felt like a cultural museum. I couldn’t have asked for a better location to shoot. Rarely do so many elements line up without endless hours of preparation, but this was one of that unicorns. Everything just fell in to place.

Sasha had shot with a few other photographers in Scranton so she had a comfort in front of the camera. My shoots are usually a unique experience for even established models since I use available/diegetic light and tend to try for bizarre, uncomfortable, angular poses in and through the elements of our set […tables, lamps, etc.] Sasha rolled with my crazy ideas and together, we turned out an exceptional collaboration for what was the first shoot of a 10 day photo tour throughout Northeast, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia and NYC.

Thanks for reading, and thanks for all the generosity and support with this post and every single post I’ve made on Steemit since last August. This place has caused a massive shift in my life, and clearly […after today, especially] my future and the future of my son @millsguthrie. I feel so fortunate to have discovered Steemit when I did. Please follow me here @kommienezuspadt for more photography, art, illustration and thoughts on life!