Hollywood Hills w/ Shanda Golden and thoughts on "Dark Pinup"!

Good evening, Steemian brethren. I’m delaying the Trial by Comics winners and new theme announcement by one day. The work on “Dark Pinup” has been paramount for my weekend and I’d like to make a well thought out, comprehensive post about the comics contest, rather than rush something out in to the world […especially with the pride I take in how far Trail by Comics has come and the community that’s been built around it]. So, for tomorrow, look forward to the winners of “Star Wars” and the next theme.

The work on “Dark Pinup” with @wcpublishing has been a rollercoaster. I’m feeling mentally, emotionally and creatively drained. Fortunately, we’re in the very home stretch. There have been many set backs that’ve taken a toll on me in a variety of ways I didn’t anticipate mattering as much as the did. Late last night, one of the model’s […and a close friend] had to decline to be included in the book for personal reasons. It really hit me hard.

We managed to find replacements for 8 photos that had to be taken out of the book […which at this point is very late in production]. Contrary to the bad news, @wcpublishing and I did put out nearly a hundred model releases for the other 89 models to be included in the book and the response has been overwhelmingly positive and flattering. One of those models I’d like to share here tonight.

Shanda Golden got back to us and couldn’t be more enthusiastic about being a part of “Dark Pinup”. It was encouraging to see someone so excited about being included in the pages of this project. It is, without exaggerating, a photo story of the last five years of my career. All the miles travelled, floors slept on and budget airfare to make create the photos, and this is the book to collect them.

Honestly, Shanda and I didn’t have a long history. She contacted me about booking a shoot shortly before one of my trips to LA, we picked a date and she booked an AirBnB at the top of the Hollywood Hills. Shanda is a quintessential Hollywood starlet and I was happy to meet her and capture her beauty. The shoot was short and professional, but we stayed in touch. We did the Facebook thing and she’s continued to be a supportive friend ever since.

Thanks for reading. I post daily. For more photography, art, illustration and the stories behind the work, follow me here @kommienezuspadt!