New work w/ Ellie Rayne!

Swinging through for a late night Steemit post just before calling it a night. I am exhausted. Today, me, @vermillionfox, @bryanpolitte and @guthrie went to the last day the Minnesota Crypticon. It’s an annual horror convention held here in the Twin Cities. Fun times. I’m going to allow @vermillionfox to make the Steemit post about because she took most the photos. The rest of the night was managing all these projects while consulting with @mada and @bryan-imhoff. The remaining hours of the late evening has been editing. The thing I need to do above all.

The photos I have to share tonight are from this evening’s editing session. I did complete the last set for a beautiful family that hired me for gothic family portraits […which was amazing, actually], but for privacy purposes, those won’t be shared on social media. What I can share is a new set of images with Las Vegas tattoo and fitness model, Ellie Rayne, from our last dark pinup collaboration. Coincidentally, all of these images shot just hours before @wcpublishing’s Dark Pinup book release party.

Ellie actually saved a big part of Dark Pinup. Just weeks before going to print, a prominent pinup model […who will remain nameless], pulled herself from the publication. Extremely frustrating for myself and @wcpublishing as she’d already agreed, in writing, to appear in the pages of the book. She was also a big part of it, compromising some of the best photos I’d taken in 2014 and 2015. It was devastating. Around that same time, Ellie Rayne found my work on Instagram and DM’ed me about shooting together.

I already had a trip to Vegas planned. Those shoots during those particular dates just a week before Dark Pinup went to the print. You can read about that first shoot in my previous Steemit post, “Las Vegas!”. This was our second time shooting together during Viva Las Vegas in April of this year. A completely different experience, shooting at The Artisan Hotel, styled by my dear friend, @vintagevandalizm. Hair by Carly Henschel and make-up by Emily Caitlin. The same team from our first shoot together.

These photos with Ellie Rayne are close to my heart because I see something in her that I found curious and fascinating. She isn’t a part of the vintage or rockabilly scene, but she allows me to shoot her in that style and absolutely kills it. I love people that aren’t afraid to wade out of their comfort zone. It’s that kind of creative cross-pollination that really keeps the passion for photography alive. Thanks for reading. For more photography, art, illustration and the stories behind the work, follow me here @kommienezuspadt.