Steemit optimism, new blood and old photography!

Good afternoon, Steemit! My heart is full of positive crypto-energy today, and for good reason. I’ve recently passed the 5 digit STEEM token threshold. That may seem insignificant for many, especially crypto-heavyweights, but other than two separate $100 buys while STEEM was below $0.10, I managed to reach that milestone solely on contributing to the community and earning rewards. 

Secondly, under @mada’s mentorship, I’m starting to experiment with short trading of other alt coins. This morning, my first sell order was fulfilled and made a cool $35 ROI. Doubling what I’d bought. It’s not much, but it further digs my heels in to this absurd, intriguing and volatile new world of crypto-currency. I’m absorbing information as fast as my brain can process it. It is encouraging that of all these coins, I still genuinely believe STEEM has the best odds for long term adoption and growth, BECAUSE of the community. We all saw that with the recent jump in price, and the resulting rally of posts and new content.

Finally, I’m really happy to bring new blood to the Steemit community. A good friend and unique voice to the platform in @tarotbyfergus! He’s part of the same Caffetto family that includes myself, @mada @bryanpollite @vermillionfox and @lovejoy […the best of the uptown Minneapolis usual suspects]. @tarotbyfergus is a professional tarot and palm reader. About 6 months ago, we started playing Magic: The Gathering together, and after enough Steemit intrigue, he’s got his own fancy username and is joining the ranks! I’m really excited to have him here. Give him a follow!

This post harkens back to my earliest days of measurable success in photography. There was certainly 10+ years of unmeasurable success prior, but the photos I’m sharing today are from my first shoot in LA. It’s where the powder keg was lit in October 2013. Shooting Doris Mayday for the first time at The Redbury Hotel in Hollywood.

I do this thing once a year, where I set a goal that seems personally unobtainable. It’s a good way to push yourself in to reaching new career heights, and that year, I decided I was going to shoot an editorial in Japan, collaborated with a designer I worked with in Minneapolis. I had another friend that worked for a big airline company that assured me should could get me a buddy pass. $430 to Tokyo, round trip!

Everything was set, until I got the call that my friend lost her job. The buddy pass was off, and a $1900 flight was out of the question. I was pretty devastated. I had money saved for this impossible project, so I reached out to a pinup model named Doris Mayday to see if she’d be interested in shooting together if I came to LA.

Doris previously lived in Minneapolis. She opened a Bettie Paige boutique location in The Mall Of America. We’d become Facebook friends through mutual friends and talked a few times about making pictures. It didn’t happen, and eventually she took a job with Pinup Girl Clothing in Los Angeles. She agreed, and my plans pivoted from Japan to the west coast.

First time in LA, I didn’t know anyone. I couldn’t call a friend looking for a cool place to shoot, and decided I’d spend the last of my money on a hotel. When I say “…the last of my money”, that isn’t an exaggeration. I decided this was an investment in my career, and popped for a $430 room at The Redbury Hotel at the corner of Hollywood and Vine. At the time, it felt crazy. In hindsight, I’ve made over a $100K since and that shoot was the catalyst for all of it.

These photos are from that first night, shooting with Doris. They’re from the archives. A few […the first, specifically], have become synonymous with both of our respective careers. 7/10 times if I ask where a client first saw my work, it’s from this shoot. A few of these, I haven’t posted prior to here and my Patreon.

You can follow my blog here @kommienezuspadt for more photography, illustration and thoughts!