Layin’ in bed. Low energy, honestly. I got the first dose of the Pfizer vaccine today. It’s a polarizing thing. Half of my friends are celebrating, and the other half thinks I just gave in to a global control cult. Ultimately, I’m tired of all of it. I just want to get on with our lives. I weighed my position and decided to make the appointment when the opportunity came up. I want to hang with @ericvancewalton, @ghostfish and @bonesandomens and this is a critical part of that reality. It’s kicking my ass. My arm is throbbing and I can barely keep my eyes open.
I thought it would a good opportunity to share some of my favorite, recent black and white photos. Sometimes I think the real black and white gems get buried because the rich color photos are what I’ve become known for. The lamps and candles can sometimes muddy the monochromatic images because the values are so close to one another, but then you’ll have moments where nearby window light creates stunning Old Hollywood style photos and that’s what I wanted to share tonight. Here are just a few of my favorites.
These next two images were taken in 2019 during my trip to Australia and New Zealand. The first was shot in Auckland, which is where I landed. I stayed with my friend Miss Victory Violet. We did an entire day of sessions in her home city, then flew down to Christchurch for another round of shoots. I love the drama in this first capture of Ashleigh. From there, I flew to Melbourne and one of my first shoots was with a beautiful Aussie pinup named Betty. We shot at a cute chocolatier in Collinwood and this image was even more striking as a black and white.
Finally, the last of these images was taken just a few weeks ago with my friend Abigail in Minneapolis. I’ve been shooting with her for years, but around 2017, she moved to New York City. She was back in town visiting friend and family in February, right after I purchased my new Nikon Z6II camera. I was eager to try out the new equipment so we coordinated, booked a room at an uptown historic mansion, and captured this image. I love how dense the data is from RAW photos with this camera. Another favorite as a black and white. Enjoy.