Shooting w/ Bizarre magazine covergirl, Amelia Nightmare!

Late post, Steemit. I had a great day. I spent a nice afternoon w/ @vermillionfox. We actually went on a date to see Alien: Covenant, which was just barely worth the matinee price, sadly. Over lunch, @vermillionfox was talking about Steemit and how she’s considering starting a serialized comic of sorts. She’s been experiencing a renaissance of creativity lately, so I can’t wait to see it.

Also in Steemit news within my family circle, my brother @customnature has made his return to the platform after a hiatus. He’s back with The Daily Nature Fix. In addition, I spent most of the evening on the phone with my mom walking her through the site, explaining STEEM as a currency, and the blockchain. Her big debut will be delayed a day or so because the confirmation email was hung up in the tidal wave of new accounts, but I’ll be resteeming her introduction post as soon as it’s live. 

Today’s post is from a shoot that happened in a very turbulent time in my life. Last couple of years, so still recent, right in the throes of my LA work picking up. My career was doing the same thing Bitcoin is doing now. Exciting, but nearly impossible to keep up with. I was getting opportunities to shoot with celebrity level models, and getting paid for it! No way could I turn these down, but at the same time, I’m only one person. During this time, I was still raising my son full time without any help. Obviously, that role in my life was non-negotiable, but I couldn’t let my “brass ring” moment slip out of reach. My health paid the price for doing both; I hardly slept and traveled 10,000 miles every 6 weeks.

This shoot is from that time. To be honest, I barely remember it. Amelia Nightmare/Demon Puff contacted me through Instagram, I think. She’s become a fashion icon within many subculture genres including the cannabis, make-up, fetish and tattoo industries. We made plans to shoot in Redlands, CA., two hours outside of LA. 

Amelia completes a career milestone that’s still high on my list of death bed satisfaction. In my teens, I discovered Bizarre magazine through a book store in Northeastern, Pennsylvania. I feel in love with it from the first issue. I clearly remember paying a ridiculously expensive subscription fee […for a poor punk] and sending a check to the UK. I religiously read Bizarre every month. Since coming in to my own, I’ve managed to photographed three Bizarre magazine cover models; Masuimi Max, Sar Elle and Amelia. 

Like I said, this is from a fuzzy time in my life. I remember “feelings” more than I do specifics, times, places, etc. I remember being entirely worn out, but having that artist high once we began shooting. Amelia is just one of those models that commands the camera. She moves slow and gracefully, like a classically trained ballerina […wouldn’t surprise me at all if she actually was]. The shoot wrapped in less than an hour and I made it back to LA in time for a late night dinner session with Thomas Kuntz.

Amelia and I have stayed in touch. We’re working setting up another shoot with her and Shrinkle, creator of Sugar Pill cosmetics. I hope that happens! If so, you’ll hear about it here first.

Thanks for staying up late! Follow me here @kommienezuspadt for more photography, art, illustration and thoughts.