New work and photography ramblings from NYC and Pennsylvania!

Back in Minneapolis and loving it! I made it back to the Twin Cities this morning. Big thanks to @moony for picking us up at 8:00a.m. amidst daytime traffic, sleepy eyes and teaching English to Chinese kids at sunrise. What a great friend! I’ve been on the road for two weeks and coming home to my own bed is always such a cathartic experience. I slipped in to a brief travel weary coma for a few hours, and I’m now back at Caffetto with @guthrie @mada @vermillionfox and @zachnewell. It’s good to be home!

I’ve finally had a chance to digest the last two weeks, for better and for worse. I loved having chance to see family and friends. Being back in Scranton, PA as far as the area and the people, wears on me. The food surpasses the racism and homophobia. Shooting was the highlight of the trip and I was able to make some outstanding captures. Coming home with new images is like filling the creative tank with fuel. I know many photographers that hate editing, but I look forward to it. Now that I’m home, I have thousands of pictures to browse and new art to create.

As I mentioned previously, during the beginning of the trip, I met with my friend Ryan Ashley Malarkey, winner of last season’s Inkmaster on Spike TV, and host of the upcoming season of Inkmaster: Angels […Ryan’s Steemit account is active so you can follow her @ryanashley and her fiancé, @joshbalz]. Ryan and I have been shooting together for over ten years and working with her is always a privilege. These photos however, began what I hope will be a new, even darker direction in my photography.

My NYC dates were near the end of the trip. One of my favorite clients, Miss Violet Vixen, had booked a shoot at The Gramercy Park Hotel on Lexington in Manhattan. This was the fourth time we’ve shot together, each time undertaking a more elaborate, complex concept and story to be told through our photos. She’s an avid collector of vintage fashion, much of which is museum level pieces with priceless historical value, all part of her personal collection. It’s an honor to shoot such extravagant clothing and work with a passionate creative such as her.

I slept four hours and the following morning, I shot with a friend I’d made a few years ago during NOIR in Los Angeles. Molly Morrison is a curvy, blonde Texas bombshell and we’ve worked together previously. She contacted me on a whim when she saw one of my posts looking to hire a make-up artist in New York. She asked if I would be in town, and in a wild, serendipitous turn of fate, she was in the city as well. She booked a shoot, and we met that morning. A 6:00a.m. call time as my friend Sunny met us at the hotel for hair and make-up. Molly was as fun to work with as I remember, and we walked through the streets of NYC making beautiful, candid fashion photos. I can’t wait to share those here on Steemit.

As soon as we wrapped, my third and last shoot began. Alisha Gory is a drop-dead gorgeous model and tattoo artist and we’ve been trying to work out a date to collaborate for most of this year. That day finally came. I pulled some gorgeous vintage wardrobe from New Jersey stylist, model and photographer, Christina Meerloo. Another two looks from French boutique lingerie brand Maison-Close and we made the two hour drive to The Bookstore Speakeasy in Bethlehem, PA, our shoot location for the afternoon.

I reached out to friends for an interesting, dark location and The Bookstore Speakeasy seemed like it was made for my style of photography. I knew Alisha it would be impossible to take a bad photo of Alisha, but this place met and exceeded my expectations. It was completed by professional hair and make-up by Sunny, boutique lingerie and one of a kind vintage wardrobe, and the dark shadows and low light I’ve become known for over the years. It was a tall order to bringing all of these elements together on short notice […especially with two other shoots to consider], but this is what distinguishes good shoots from unforgettable shoots.

More to come from these four shoots with Ryan, Molly, Violet and Alisha. I just wanted to give you some context for the images to come and story behind them. I post all the time so follow me for more photography, art, illustration and thoughts on life at @kommienezuspadt.