A simpler time w/ Adora Tokyo!

How’s it going @hiveio? Already getting late and I’m even further behind on my book project. I see the possibility of finishing it by the end of the month diminishing each day. I had a chance to run some errands today, which normally wouldn’t be an opportunity I’d celebrate, but I did swing by @caffetto, our local co-op, see a friend and pick up another box of Magic: The Gathering cards. All of these things made life feel a little more normal, with the exception of a mask.

I have new photography to share. In March, I visited Texas for a few dark pinup shoots between Austin and San Antonio. When I returned, I got a spontaneous text from my friend Adora Tokyo. Adora is a well known model, DJ and micro-blading technician/businesswoman here in the Twin Cities. Equally well known in Atlanta, she now lives there but travels back and forth between both there and Minneapolis. She asked if I’d be available to shoot. I was, just barely.

I had just gotten back from Austin, and was still tired from a busy week of travel. For Adora, though, I’ll always make time. We have a great body or work together as we’ve been shooting for years. Each time, Adora seems to reinvent herself with a completely new esthetic. Never one to disappoint, she looked like a brand new woman when I met her at an upscale boutique hotel in uptown Minneapolis. We shot a series of photos in the lobby, the parlor, and even in the elevator.

I wouldn’t have know it at the time, but this would have been my last in person shoot before the pandemic really hit. Shortly after this, flights were beginning to cancel, borders were closing and shelter in place orders were taking effect. She’s one of my closest friends and it makes me happy to reflect on these images before everything changed. I’m hoping on the other side, those changes will be for the better. I can’t wait to see Adora and shoot with her again.