Mid-September monochromes!

I’m starting this before midnight for a change. There is some weird energy in the world right now. I’ve been talking about it with friends and everyone seems to be traversing choppy waters in their respective lives at the moment. One thing I’m struggling with managing too many opportunities and with that, comes a lot of stress of its own. It’s a good problem to have I guess, but it’s leaving me with a sense of decision paralysis. @mirrorpool is a big commitment, but even little things like Instagram offering a subscription plan and Kindle Vella for my novel.

All those decisions that still need to be made can wait, though. Tonight I’m going to be sharing some new black and white imagery from shoots I’ve done over the years. Something I like to do here on Hive once or twice a month with select monochromes. This first image is from 2018, shot in Los Angeles. The model’s name is Kelly and this was easily the strongest image from our collaboration together. We shot at the Clark Gable estate in Pasadena and the triptych of mirrors made the perfect composition for the glamorous portrait.

Next, this is a shot from 2018 shot at The Artisan Hotel in Las Vegas. Sadly, the hotel, which is a staple of my entire photography career, has been bought by a company that’s completely renovating, getting rid of all the paintings and dark interior that gave it it’s charm. This shoot was with tattoo and fitness model, Ellie Rayne. Elie played a pivotal role in saving my book, Dark Pinup, by @wcpublishing. When one of the prominent models backed out at the zero hour, she was willing to meet with me in Vegas for this shoot.

Lastly, this is a recent photo of a Puerto Rican style-bending pinup named Kitti. She reminded me of my good friend, @vintagevandalizm. This was also shot at the Clark Gable estate in January of 2022. This was my first time back to the west coast in over a year. It was in the throes of COVID spreading and I was dealing with constant cancelations. She flew down from Northern California and this was one of the most memorable shoots from the entire tour. I love this shot as a black and white and its noir vibe.