This summer I had the opportunity to travel to Europe after meeting up with Jake who just finished a study abroad program in Denmark. We decided to hop on the train and tour around for a couple of weeks and our first stop was Paris. We were extremely fortunate to meet such an amazing woman named Juliette Dragon who is a kick ass rockstar and burlesque beauty! It was not hard to convince her to do a photo shoot with us the only thing we needed to figure out is where to do it.

Juliette suggested a street in the neighborhood of Belleville. There used to live a lively street filled with restaurants and artists studios and now it is a multi cultural graffiti haven. Its covered head to toe in colorful art from the walls, the flower pots, the shutters and the lamp posts. The street is called Rue Denoyez and it is on its way to destruction. On Rue Denoyez we met a sweet old man who offered up a lot of his personal history with this place. He still lives on the street and has many stories to tell although they were all in French and I only got a couple of details translated. Some inhabitants have been fighting to save it for years and have had some small victories but now it has reached its end. I feel lucky to have witnessed this street of art before it is gone for good. This feels so real to so many artists in San Francisco. We are being driven out of the city by the building of new apartments and ridiculously high rent.

Going into this shoot I had no ideas at all and was going with the 'fly by the seat of my pants' and the 'make it up as you go' approach, which was very challenging for me. I had never seen the place before and I nervous that we did not have enough of a concept to make this shoot fabulous. But then Juliette arrived dressed in a perfectly French outfit to fit our French inspired shoot and she killed it! Leave it to the professionals to bring the fire! This photo shoot was so much fun. Juliette and I laughed and made lots of faces back and forth which I am imagining is a typical day hanging out with her. She is so full of life and is an inspiration to be with.

And of course I want to extend my gratitude to my side kick Jacob for running around all day grabbing video clips! The whole shoot would have never even happened if he did not dramatically whisper into my ear at the dinner table the night before, right in front of Juliette, while she watched in curiosity and then demanded to know what we were whispering about. Thanks babe I could not have done it without you!

Click on the link below to get a little more up close and personal with Juliette Dragon.

Ever since I started this challenge at the beginning of the year I knew I had to start collecting locations to do epic photo shoots at. One of my ideas was a tattoo parlor and I just happen to know a beautiful girl who runs one! When I asked Frankie if I could shoot her in her tattoo shop she invited me down to take a look and to start brainstorming. I wanted the classic getting a tattoo shot, but I have seen too many like that gone wrong, so this one had to be special. 

I was inspired by a conversation with Jacob Haslem that first stared out as a joke about a Unicorn. But after the idea entered my head it would not leave. The day before I coordinated a photo booth with a friend who brought a trunk full of props and one of the props was a Unicorn head. It was perfect. Unfortunately the head went missing so I ordered one online and set a date!

Frankie and Tim drove up to the studio and we piled into their van and headed to the tattoo shop. It was a late night that was getting later and later so I wanted to make this a quick one. With the help of my incredibly amazing assistant Christian, we moved things around, set up lights and worked fast. I can't thank Christian enough. He was there from the beginning of the planning process and saw this project to its fruition. He even stood in as Unicorn head while I prepared my shots.

Click on the link below to watch behind the scenes video of the evening.

It is impossible to get a bad photo with this girl. Thanks Frankie. You are a rock star!

This was an adventure! I must be really convincing to get all my friends to follow me, trespassing into a condemned and abandoned warehouse with all of my gear for this months photo challenge. I had been here before and was so inspired by this location I knew I had to come back for an epic photoshoot. 

We started the day off at the Share House with hair done by Michelle Stehle and make up by Nate James. Kayleigh looked like an angel with her long hair up in a messy bob. We packed the car and raced off to the location. After making sure there were no cops in sight we found a hole in the fence and shoved all of my camera gear thru including all three of my lights and generator. Now that I think about it that was the worst idea ever. I knew it was dark inside and was convinced I needed to light it up. But what I did not think about was what happens if we got caught. There would be no option of running with a generator and a car load of gear. We met a fellow trespasser friend who was using his drone to film the outside of the warehouse and we warned him to be carful. 

Once we all got in I thought for sure we were good to go until we saw our new friend talking to the cops as they wrote him a ticket. Before we had even begun we all freaked and split up to asses the situation. We found an escape in the back but there was no way to get all of my stuff out so Christian left and gave us play by play texts from the outside as the rest of us hid in silence waiting for something to happen. It turns out our friend was purposefully trying to distract and turn the cop around to give us time to clear and find a hiding spot. He saved the day! The cop left and we made a group decision to take the gear back to the car while we had the chance and just finish the shoot with what we had in our environment.

Lucky enough there were a couple patches of light to work with. The beams of light coming from the holes in the roof were bouncing off the metal and paint on the walls and creating a unique lighting situation for a good shot. I had Kayleigh on her stilts with a dress that just barley covered her feet so I could edit out the stilts to make it look like she was floating in mid air. We had balloons for her to hold that added to the floating imagery as if they were taking her away. The trick to the success of this photo was creating a shadow in the post production. After I took out the stilts in photo shop it still looked like she was standing on the floor. With the right body position and a little addition of a shadow the floating started to look believable. 

I had such an incredible team that day! We all set off on a pretty amazing adventure together and stayed a strong group thru all the challenges. I could never have done it without Sari, Christian and Stu as my eyes, ears and muscles. Thank you mom for bringing your goodies to keep us fueled for our adventure and for supporting your daughter in her crazy escapades. And Kayleigh thanks for being a good sport. I know you had your doubts but you stuck in there like a champ and brought something really special to the front of the camera. You are a beautiful girl inside and out!

Click on the link below to see the video from the shoot! You will die when you see this video! Pete from Bassbin Twins created the music just for the documentary! I am so impressed with his musical genius. Check out more of his music HERE!

I hope you enjoy the photos. If you take a look at the gallery you will find a couple extras of Kayleigh after her suggestion of going topless. Wow... Just beautiful. She comes to life yet again. This time I left the stilts in to add to the intrigue. 

This months photo challenge was a collaboration between two very creative minds! My dear friend Deanna walked into this Junk Shop and amongst the trash she saw treasure! After coming to me with this idea I was so excited we went back together! She was right, the place was perfect! We must have visited two or three times before actually shooting there, checking out the best shots. The day before our shoot date we went in to set the stage. It was a well planned vision although nothing ever turns out the way you plan it to be.

The Junk Shop owner was totally more then happy to let us move things around and he was very excited when Deanna came in fully dressed in costume. I must say it was fun to walk down the street with her and see the reactions from people as we pass them by. We even stopped at a little garden and snapped some photos thru a mirror only to find that other people had stopped to take pictures as well! 

I did not bring any light with me to the shoot. It was such a tight squeeze it would have been difficult to set up the strobe lights. But we did bounce the available light we could find. I must say that that was the most challenging part of the day. Finding the light. There was always a spot in my photo that did not get any light at all but luckily you can fix it up in post. I had a very strong man hold my bounce for me!!! Thanks Dan! He is the best light guy ever!

 Click on the link below to see the video from the shoot!

I am very happy with the photos. We got some fun impromptu shots outside too just playing with things in our environment. The car and the phone were sweet extras from the day. This Junk Shop is like an adult toy store! Its right on San Pablo and 61st! Guaranteed to find treasure!

For this months challenge I had the pleasure of shooting in my amazing friends barn while she got to play the role of Mamitu! My inspiration for this shoot was a mesopotamian mythological creature who was the goddess of destiny. She had a goat head and holds the power to decide your fate. I am drawn to this character because I also feel like I am in control of my own destiny. Destiny to me is a matter of choice, not of chance. But I would like to honor Mamitu and assume her qualities for myself!  

Naturally after an idea you have to start putting the pieces together. One of my most beautiful friends at the pole studio had always told me about all her barn animals and all her gorgeous acres of land she lived on. This was the opportunity to make magic at her house and a perfect excuse to finally come visit. My long time friend Ian and I drove up late night to sleepover in Chesaray's movie theater and woke up the next morning to peacocks everywhere. At 7:00 am we were feeding all the goats, pigs, chickens, horses and peacocks. The plan was to start breakfast at 8:00 and then make up at 9:00. Nate James arrived just in time for breakfast and then got right to work turning Chesaray into a goat headed goddess. I had these amazing horns lying around that I was dying to use but we had no idea how to make them stay on her head. The decision to drill a hole in them and tie them together with ribbon was the best we had and ran with it. Success!

The most challenging part of the day was chasing the light. I found a perfect spot with rays of light coming in thru the old wood planks. But the light was moving too fast and left before we got a chance to start. I tried to take a light outside and see if my strobes would create the same rays of light but there was no chance. So on to the next spot which turned out to be even better. The light was perfect and the scene was exactly as I had imagined! It was my first time using a fog machine. Good thing there was a party store right down the street because I forgot to bring fog liquid. I do like the smoke. Is gives such a fantasy like feel to anything. 

 Click on the link below to see the video fro the shoot!

Mamitu

I am actually surprised how smooth everything went that day. It may have been a little too long of a day and we definitely had some starving people at the end, including myself, but it was pretty easy going and fun! The photos seriously turned out better then I thought they would and I had a great team that was really excited to be there! It always helps when everyone is having fun! I cannot thank my crew enough for the energy and creativity they brought that day! It was such a pleasure to work with them!

The year begins and so do my Challenges! This year I am going above and beyond last years weekly challenges and creating big productions every month. My ideas are so big they need a whole month to prepare and execute. This month's theme came to me in a dream. I was a bird sitting in a nest preparing for flight. Completely terrified by the idea of jumping out into the open sky and trusting that my wings instinctively knew how to keep me afloat. But I conjured up the courage and made the leap and that is when I woke up. I can only imagine what the outcome of my decision was. If I do happen to plunge to the ground I know I will fall with grace!

This year it is less about the actual photographic challenge and more about the challenge of putting together a big production and coordinating team of people. I was worried that it would be difficult to portray my vision to my team but once I got to talking about it I was confident that everyone could see it clearly. Bird Mc Cargar, a very talented costume designer, had once told me that she wanted me to model her bird costume for her. Remembering this I asked if she would be open to me photographing my model in it instead. Bird helped out with a lot of the initial brainstorming as we went location scouting in the East Bay hills. I wanted to see a bird in a fantasy like place with feathers floating in the air like fairies. The location I chose was a beautiful rocky creekside with green moss creeping up all around and the perfect amount of sun light peeking through the trees! When I saw it my heart stopped! 

On the day of the shoot my amazing hair stylist (and best friend) Michelle created a master piece atop Stephanie's head while she finished the last touches of her make up. Meanwhile I had the help of Sari and Isabella to build a life sized birds nest. We collected sticks and twigs and went to work. The most challenging part of the day was figuring out the feathers. Isabella was on feather duty and after trying to fan them into frame then decided to climb up to the top of the rock to drop them down from above. We had planned on using fog with dry ice as well but that was an epic fail. Dry ice did not put out nearly as much fog as I thought it would so we scraped it all together. I have an actual fog machine on the way so I can use that effect in the future. Stu was there to capture it on film so we can begin to document the year and its challenges. Click on the link below to see the video fro the shoot!

Birds Nest

At first I pushed for the image to hold some kind of meaning and emotion. But after some thought I realized that is not really my style. I am a dreamer and I want other people to just have the freedom to dream without imposing any feelings or opinions. I just want to create beautiful things and that is what we did!

My biggest challenge for the future is to clearly communicate expectations. A couple things went unnoticed this time around which is a great lesson to learn. It takes more then just a good idea to make it happen. It takes a lot of coordination and communication between everyone involved and this experience was a great start!

My very LAST Challenge. I can't believe it! This has been a very long and interesting year of self exploration and motivation through photography. I have learned so much these past 52 weeks. Each week something completely new and unexpected happened. I now have a really amazing portfolio of creative an inspiring images and have a new appreciation for photography as an art form. I am feeling more ready then ever before to go out into the world and show off my stuff! It has taken me a long time to get here but it was worth every step.

I am currently running an Indie Gogo campaign to raise some money for the next year of challenges. The 12 month photo challenge will be another year of amazing projects that are bigger and better then these ones. I have a team of people ready to create magic! Here is the link to my campaign. Please donate if you can. And share the link with all your friends!

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/12-month-photo-challenge/x/9428585#home

Week Fifty Two - Self Portrait!

For this challenge I wanted to see myself between the legs of a beautiful women. Wow that sounds dirty! I love legs and I get to photograph them a lot! So in reality there is no place I would rather be then right here shooting through this gorgeous pair of legs.

Click on the photo below to see even more photos from my last challenge.

Next Challenge - 12 Month Photo Challenge 

For this Challenge my very good friend Roxi and I will be collaborating on the project together. This photograph is in the process of becoming a part of a painting. Soon you will see colors mixed in to her hair and all around her with watercolors and acrylic paints! The photo you see here is only the beginning of something even more amazing! 

Week Fifty One - Mixed Media!

For this challenge I wanted to have my model in an epic hair flip. My friend Anastasia has the longest most beautiful hair I know but this photo is a little deceiving. I actually took hair from a couple of different photos from this shoot and put them into one to make it look like her hair is literally weightless and floating around her. Photo shop magic! The choice to go nude was to eliminate distraction. I feel like clothing can be a statement and in this shoot it was all about the hair!!!

Click on the photo below to see more photos.

Next week's challenge - Self Portrait!

This is a completely unfamiliar realm of light to work with for a photographer. UV light brings out a very different quality in your images. The colors glow and demand attention. 

Week Fifty - Black Light!

For this challenge I wanted to create an image that was out of this world. I wanted to use paint and brightly colored wigs and tutus but after a little experimentation discovered that just the paint on its own was powerful enough. We started out painting slowly and photographing each new layer of paint. We also added a little bit of warm  light to bring her to life and provide dimension. The end result was my favorite. She is positively out of this world!. 

Click on the photo below to see more photos.

Next week's challenge - Mixed Media!

I thought I would continue on this texture kick I have been on in my last couple of challenges and take in to the shoot. Instead of adding a texture in the editing room I wanted to shoot thru a textured surface. Here it goes!

Week Forty-Nine - Shoot Thru a Textured Surface!

This challenge was really fun. I found a piece of plastic that you use to cover a fluorescent light fixture and thought it would be perfect for this challenge. The tricky part was lighting. The texture picked up a lot of light so most of the lighting had to come from behind the surface. My model basically had to press herself against the plastic to get any kind of clear image but it makes for a dramatic image!

Click on the photo below to see more photos.

Next week's challenge - Black Light!

A Discplacement Map allows you to put a pattern onto a surface in a more realistic way. It is basically one step up from adding textures. 

Week Forty-Eight - Displacement Maps!

I wanted to continue the polka dot theme from her bathing suit and bring it onto her skin. With this technique the dots starts to wrap around her instead of just lay on top of her. Look closely and you can see it on her shoulder and check. I definitely like this and will be doing it again soon!

Next week's challenge - Black Light!

There are lot's of different ways you can add texture to your photographs. Textures add unique qualities to images no matter what the subject. Now-a-days it is really easy to add textures to photos right from your phone. Putting a texture on a photo you took with your phone most often makes it that much better. 

Week Forty-Seven - Add a Texture in Photoshop!

After I added a wrinkled paper texture to this photo I though I would take it one step farther and rip the page, as if there was a piece missing. I used a torn edge brush in photoshop and this is what I got. Not bad!

Next week's challenge - Displacement Maps!

When a good friend of mine approached me with this photo idea to decorate her brothers beard as a tree for Christmas, I immediately knew I had to capture the whole thing and make a time lapse. 

Week Forty-Six - Time Lapse!

I set the camera up and attached it to a computer program that was set to take a photo every 5 seconds. We made sure the lights were on and the stage was set and then went to town! This collaboration was so much fun! No one knew how the end result was going to turn out. Success!!

Next week's challenge - Using Textures!

There is really an endless amount of possibilities for this challenge to be just amazing. 

Week Forty-Five - Mirror Image in Photoshop!

One of my favorite photo shoots was with this gorgeous cape. I love the way the fabric flows and I knew it would be a great image to mirror. The symmetry created gives the whole image a surreal feel. This one even feels like she might be a conjoined twin. 

Click on the photo below to see more photos.

Next week's challenge - Time Lapse!

This is one of my oldest photographs that I absolutely love. 

Week Forty-Four - Paint with A Photoshop Brush!

In this photo I added her into a blue and purple sky first. Then I downloaded a photoshop brush that looks like snow. I painted all the snow in and even put some in her hair! i just love how precious it turned out! Perfect for the winter season on the horizon.

Next week's challenge - Mirror in Post!

Bomber nose art is a military tradition and began for practical reasons of identifying other aircrafts. This practice evolved into a way of expression often constrained by the uniformity of the military. It was used to evoke memories of the home and peacetime life and was a kind of psychological protection against the stresses of war and the possibility of death. My favorite were the paintings of girls sitting on bombs.

Week Forty-Three - Take control in Photoshop!

I had this image planned out way before we shot it and it was going to require a lot of photoshop play to pull it off. The costume was the inspiration. My model bought the costume for Halloween and wanted to make use of it in other ways. We were planning on recreating images from the early 1900's 'girls on bombs'. I found the perfect bomb to edit in. We used a chair and the bomb came later. The rest is history.

Click on the photo below to see more photos just as amazing as this one!

Next week's challenge - Paintbrush!

To me there is nothing more beautiful then a baby bump! 

Week Forty-Two - Silhouette!

When creating a silhouette it is easy to just outline a person against a white backdrop. But the challenge is finding the lines that make for a mysterious photo. A silhouette strips your subject down to the most basic elements and highlights very simple features. That shape is what makes these photos so compelling and what draws your attention in. During one of my maternity photo shoots I saw just that. The mystery behind the human form and how it can become so many different shapes. A silhouette strips your subject down to the most basic elements and highlights very simple features. That shape is what makes these photos so compelling and what draws your attention in.

Click on the photo below to see more photos.

Next week's challenge - Take control in Photoshop!

A high key image is one with predominantly light with tones in the white and highlight range. There are very little shadows and the histogram is skewed far to the right. They are clean and soft, elegant images used in a lot of beauty and fashion magazines. 

Week Forty-One - High Key Image!

I love white on white in photographs. It makes for an angelic and magical photo!. I wanted to reduce the shadows on my models face so the light is relatively flat and the white backdrop is over exposed. I just love how innocently seductive this photo turned out to be. 

Click on the photo below to see more photos.

Next week's challenge - Silhouette!

This was a really fun shoot! I have always seen these photos done before and love the way they turn out. I could not wait to try.

Week Forty - Shoot from an extreme angle!

I am lucky to have a loft studio so I can go upstairs and take photos from the second floor down! That was the easy part. It is actually somewhat of a difficult task figuring out where to put the legs under the dress and then where to put the hands. The lying down position is always a hard one. We tried everything and I think we finally got it! I am totally in love with this photo! 

Next week's challenge - High Key Image!

The Ziegfeld Follies were a series of elaborate theatrical Broadway productions in the early 1900's. Several of the top entertainers of the era were seen in these shows and many of them were captured in photographs. 

Week Thirty-Nine - Vintage Photo Look!

The photographer famous for photographing the Ziegfeld Follies is named Alfred Cheney Johnston. He created indoor studio black and white portraits with the most amazing vintage look and feel. These glamorous vaudeville photographs were produced to glorify the american girl. He used subtle colors and sepias tones in his photos. His use of glamorous costuming and lack-there-of is what drew me to this work. I had so much fun with this shoot. I shot in black and white and took my time carefully placing fabric as to show just enough. 

Click on the image below to see more from this shoot! 

Next week's challenge - Extreme Angle!

Bubbles might be the best thing in the world. I am so in love with these little iridescent balls of joy!

Week Thirty-Eight - Play with Bubbles!

For this shoot my friend Bubbles came over to play with bubbles. I was not surprised when I turned on the bubble machine and became instantly happy. I don't think it is possible to have too many bubbles but for the sake of a photo shoot it absolutely is possible. We had to turn on the fan a couple of times to blow the bubbles around. And I definitely took some liberties in photshop to make sure the bubbles were exactly where I wanted them. The only thing is that each bubble shows my two lights. It actually looks pretty cool but any photographer looking at these photos will be able to tell my light set up!

Click on the image below to see more bubbles! 

Next week's challenge - Vintage Photo Style!

Working with fabric is not as easy as you would think. It has a mind of its own. Throw it up in the air and there is not telling where it might go on its way back down to earth. But that is the beauty of this chaos. 

Week Thirty-Seven - Defy Gravity!

I wanted to create an image that seems as though there was fabric floating through the air. So we threw the fabric high into the air about 20 times and each time it fell a little differently. In post production of this image I took all of the pictures and carefully placed the flowing fabric around my model. 

Next week's challenge - Play with Bubbles!

It's my Birthday!!! Yup! On my birthday I got some of my amazing guy friends to stand in front of my camera in their undies after they just finished cooking me brunch and eating off my body! Best Birthday Ever!

Week Thirty-Six - Boys in their Underware!

I ALWAYS take photos of women in their under ware but I dont always get the privilege of seeing the men in my studio! This was fun for me. Posing men is a lot different then posing women. It is more important that women look very sexy. Men too... but they surprisingly look sexy doing strang things. Or maybe that it just my personal opinion?

Click on the image below to see more men in their under ware! 

Next week's challenge - Defy Gravity!

I heard about an art contest in my neighborhood and thought I would go for it. Definitely a Challenge! The theme is flora and fauna and the winners get their photos displayed on the bus stations in town. 

Week Thirty-Five - Enter in a Contest!

I decided to ask my neighbor and good friend if she would let me photograph her daighter. When we started planning our shoots we thought it would be great to speak messages of conservation and bring awareness to our current drought issues. These photos were very challenging and working with children is a little more difficult then I thought but it was perfect in the end! 

Click on the image below to see some more photos of Mica. 

Next week's challenge - Boys in their Under Ware!

FYI I did not win the contest. Incredible learning experience but I think Emeryville was looking for pictures of flowers and animals not incredibly cute girls presenting powerful messages.

This photo shoot was fun because I got to be in it!! 

Week Thirty-Four - Set a Timer!

I set the timer to 10 seconds after setting the shot up and ran to place! These photos were for flyers for our upcoming show of Sincereley Rescripted. It is coming up so fast! I love this photo because it is from my favorite dance number in the show!

Click on the image below to see more dancers in the dark! 

Next week's challenge - Enter in a Contest!

My next challenge is to use layers in Photoshop. I am about to embark on a few photoshop challenges so this is the first of many. I love photoshop becuase there are so many creative things you can do. Using layers is a great way to blend images together! I love the way these turned out.

Week Thirty-Three - Blending Layers!

For this challenge I thought it was appropriate to bring back some good old memories and use some of my very first photos I ever took in the studio. I took my dear friend playing on her accordian and layered music notes on top of that to compliment the theme. I also took photos of my friend Michelle reading a book and layered words and pages of books on top of that to continue that theme as well. I hope you like them!

Click on the image below to see both the themes. 

Next week's challenge - Timer!

My dear friend Ayla Nero and I found a free moment to collaborate in a photo shoot in Colorado at the Sonic Bloom Festival. She looks amazing next to those magestic Rocky Mountains. Ayla is wearing a Warrior Within Onesie that was designed for her called the Wild Light Onesie. 

Week Thirty-Two - Capture Movement!

For this challenge we were working with the elements. It was windy that day but each time we went out to take photos the wind seemed to go away. Ayla used my scarf to dance with the wind. She also played with the earth and picked up sand to spread in the air. The sand was difficult to capture and seemed to cover her face most of the time but it is cool to see it in action. 

Click on the photo below to see some more photos of Ayla playing in the dirt. 

Next week's challenge - Blending Layers!

For this challenge I was in collaboration with a friend to put her multiple personalities in one photograph interacting with each other. This is what we came up with!

Week Thirty-One - Me Myself and I!

So the most challenging part of this image as you can imagine is getting the two to match up. We first posed the tux costume and then carefully posed the flapper costume where we thought it would match. In the editing room I had to make a lot of creative choices but I think it turned out pretty good. More challenging then I thought it was going to be for sure!

Click on the image below to see more.

Next week's challenge - Capture Movement!

I really love the way the light creates flares in the lens. It is a great tool you can use outside and inside the studio.

Week Thirty - Studio Flares!

For this shoot Meka and I wanted to create an image with a lot of fur and a beautiful woman wrapped in it. The make-up was subtle and classic and the fur was really fun. This was a simple challenge but also a good one to master. It can really add something incredible to a photo! Very g;am!

Click on the image below to see some more photos. My dogs make cameo appearances!!

Next week's challenge - Me, Myself and I!

For this shoot Meka wanted to decorate her modle with diamonds all over her. The application of each individual diamond on her eyes and mouth took a couple hours.

Week Twenty-Nine - Wind Blown Hair!

I was excited to use this gorgeous model with amazing long hair to add a little wind and see if I could get it moving. It got really cold and there was even a moment when a tear rolled down her check but she stucj it out the whole time. There was not as much wind as I was hoping for. I might need a more powerful fan or just figure out how to place it better. An assistant is crucial at times ike these.

Click on the photo below to see more images.

Next week's challenge - Studio Flares!

I have always wanted to bring my handmake feather mohawk into a shoot. So I built a theme around it. We wanted an african warrior princess and here she is, a jungle goddess.

Week Twenty-Eight - Bring the Outside In!

I used this challenge to build a makeshift jungle in my studio. The tall grass I found in my neighborhood and had two assistants hold it up behind my model in a fan to create a wild scene. I really loved the bright colors that Meka brought to the photo in her Make Up. And I am so proud of my little mohawk that I made. I also took some photos with my model holding a bow and arrow. This was interesting because I am not really knowledgeable about how to hold a bow. We basically looked at a couple of photos and tried to make it look somewhat real. But I am not very confident that it is correct form.

Click on the photo below to see the gallery. 

Next week's challenge - Wind Blown Hair!

Another challenge in this marathon photo shoot was capturing a mirror image. This might be my new favorite thing to do.

Week Twenty-Seven - Mirror Image!

It is actually challenging using a mirror. You have to make sure it is really clean with no streaks or the light will reflect off of it. And when you put naked ladies on it you have to clean it often! The angle in which you shoot is also hard to find. My mirror is just barely big enough. The editing is simple although there is a line that I have not been able to figure out how to get rid of between the mirror and the floor, so I have to edit it out. And of course there is double the skin to edit. Good thing these girls have incredible skin. 

Click on the photo below to see some other super sexy shots from this shoot.

Next week's challenge - Bring the Outside In!

Considering I just had the opportunity to shoot with a gun, I wanted to take it one step further!

Week Twenty-Six - Play with Smoke!

This shoot was one of many in a day long adventure with my Make-Up Artist Meka McPherson. When Meka told me she was moving to Atlanta we only had one day to make all of our ideas come to life. On this day our five visions came to fruition all in one day. I figured it was also the perfect time to catch up on some of my photo challenges I had missed in the past couple weeks traveling. I really wanted to play with smoke and so I brought out the prop gun again. The idea was a vampire playing with fire. An immortal being trying to find a way to end it all.

Click on the image below to see some other super sexy shots from a different shoot with smoke.

Next week's challenge - Mirror Image!

What a better prop to use then a gun! Jake is really good with guns!

Week Twenty-Five - Use a Prop!

I realized that props are not as easy to just add into a shoot as you would think. You have to figure out how to incorporate it without it looking out of place. I really love the shot I got with the depth of field with Jakes eye in focus and the gun out of focus. The other photos are a little silly but of course Jake makes it look good!

Click on the image below to see some more silly shots. Dont worry, it is a prop gun not a real one.

Next week's challenge - Play with Smoke!

My Inspiration this week comes from Andy Warhol. He was an artist widely known for his pop art. I love the bold simplicity and color combinations of some of Warhols famous pieces. Lucky for me, these techniques are easily done in photoshop as well.

Week Twenty-Four - Draw Inspiration From A Famous Artist!

The first photo that I played with was an old image of mine that I took of a sealion I used to work with in the Virgin Islands. I was his primary trainer and he was the love of my life. This picture brings back a lot of really great memories we shared together. I can't help but miss this creature very much. 

Next week's challenge - Use a Prop!

Well considering a lot of my photo shoots require costuming I thought I would search my house for something different and creative without having to buy something new. I think I am pretty clever!

Week Twenty-Three - Creative Costume Design on a Budget!

The second I saw the caution tape I knew exactly what to do with it!! This shoot is for all the women in my life I have had to tip toe around. The ones you really have to think about what you say before you say it to them. The super sensitive girls who can go from zero to crazy in a matter of seconds. The emotionally tormented for no reason type. I love you!

Click on the photo below to see more photos... But please use caution.

Next week's challenge - Draw Inspiration from A Famous Artist!

There is something powerful in a single color. The emotion you get just from a color can be really telling. Each one of these photos feels completely different even though they are all very similar.

Week Twenty-Two - Recreate an Old Image!

For this shoot I took a simple subject and turned in many different colors using photoshop. I love playing with saturations in the editing room. Makes for an interesting collection of photos even when the photo itself is not as interesting. I learned about the color blue today! The reason it was called royal is because it was a difficult color to find and produce back in the day. It was one of the last colors to be used in art and decoration and only royalty had access to it.

Click on the photo below to see more photos.

Next week's challenge - Creative Costume Design on a Budget!

Babies are the most incredible thing in this world. To watch them figure out their new life is just amazing. I can't even imagine what they must be experience. All their little facial expressions and sudden bursts of emotion, it must be dificult to make sense of this crazy place we live in.

Week Twenty-One - New Born Photography!

I am so lucky to have the opportunity to shoot my neighbors newborn baby. I got to photograph Ewan when he was still inside his mama. Now he is out in the world and more beautiful then ever with a full set of hair. Being my first newborn shoot I learned a lot. The baby runs to show. We are completely on his schedule and breaks are often. You know it is about to come when their tiny little mouths start sucking the air. Newborns need to take many feeding breaks and accidents may happen especially when you dont have them in a diaper. It is very important to act fast and to plan out the next shot during feeding time because you may have only a couple minutes to get the shot. Keeping the baby happy is priority and can be a challenge all on its own. What an incredible experience! I can't wait to see this little one grow up. He is going to be so strong! His vocal cords defiantely are (remember we are neighbors and our walls are paper thin!)

Click on the photo below to see more photos.

Next week's challenge - Recreate an old Image!

A surreal image is a mix of fact and fantasy! My recent trip to Faerie Worlds was my inspiration for this photo! 

Week Twenty - Create A Surreal Image!

I really wanted to have a fairy immerging from the water summoning her friends and that is exactly what we got! My model is the designer and owner of these gorgeous wings. She played to part perfectly with her vibrant colors and pointed ears. With a little editing to make everything just that much more unbelievable it all came together!

Next week's challenge - New Born Photography!

Tripdychs are a series of photographs in one photo, or a combination of photos. They are multi paneled works that exsist as one, to portray a story. Here is my interpretation.

Week Nineteen - Tripychs!

I have seen triptych portraits of ordinary people in the streets and found them to be fascinating. I decided to capture extrodinary people with the same intention. The festival scene is the perfect place to find very interesting people. This was definatley a challenge for me because just the idea of approaching someone out of the blue and asking to take their photo was something I struggle with. I am not so good at talking to strangers let alone convincing them to pose for me for a personal project of mine. To my surprise it was easier then I thought and in fact people were really interested and willing to help out. I would love to keep this challenge going but here are the couple I had the balls to ask for.

Click on the photo below to see more photos. I hope the people in these photos get to see them some day! Maybe when I get rich and famous and my photos are everywhere? Bahahahahah!

Next week's challenge - Create A Surreal Image!

Ok so if I was to call this a challenge I would be lying. The truth is the light at magic hour does all the work for you. The sun turns everything a brilliant gold color as it starts to set for the night and can turn the ugly duckling into a beautiful princess!

Week Eighteen - Magic Hour!

This just happen to be perfect timing with my new friends that I met at a festival in Arizona. Ever since I started taking photos of pregnant women, my eye is naturally drawn to the baby belly. I love it (and secretly want one of my own). So I planned to take this gorgeous couple out at magic hour when the sun would light them up just right! I decided to shoot through a tree branch to add depth of field. 

Click on the photo below to see more photos. Anika had a beautiful baby girl. We almost got to see them in LA but the timing was not in our favor. Next time for sure!

Next week's challenge - Tripdych!

Most photographers know to never take outdoor portraits at noon. The shadows it leaves on the face are unforgiving. But sometimes you can use this in a creative way?

Week Seventeen - High Noon!

For this challenge I decided to cease the moment with a new friend of mine. She has brilliant rainbow hair and I had her wear an equally bright shortsie. Since the sun at noon is directly overhead the shots to the face would be impossible so I turned her around to face away from the camera. At this moment we were playing in a river that apparently we were not supposed to be in. After I captured one shot we were caught and asked to leave. But at least we got one shot and a little dip in the heat of noon!

Next week's challenge - Magic Hour!

This summer I went on a very exciting road trip but I took as many challenges with me as I could. Now that I am home, I will tell you all about them! For this challenge I got to photograph with a wild animal. Animal are always interesting because they don't take direction very well so you kinda just have to make it work with what they are doing!

Week Sixteen - Wild Animal!

One of our stops on the road was at a festival called Faerie Worlds!! Think Ren fair but for faeries! I saw more faeries in one place then I ever have before in my life. This gorgeous girl in my photos was walking around with her pet snake wrapped around her neck. When I approached her about taking some photos I also asked if I could dress her in a snake skin onesie. It was the perfect Wild Animal on the spot photo shoot to tackle this challenge. By then I had everything but light. The evening had come and it was now or never. I think it still turned out pretty good!

Click on the photo below to see more photos. 

Next week's challenge - High Noon!

I love LENS FLARES! The sun is an incredible thing. It adds so much mystery to a photo! I can't wait to show you these!

Week Fifteen - Lens Flare!

I was recently at a music festival called Lucidity in Santa Barbara and had the opportunity to photograph a crazy cool girl named Indiana. She has a natural animalistic quality and real raw energy! When I saw her in this outfit I could not resist but take the moment to capture her in all her attitude. So inspired and intrigued by this woman! I think you will be too! 

Click on the photo below to see more from this gallery. We played with the sun and we played with bones!!

Next week's challenge - Wild Animal!

So this was not my original plan for this challenge but when the opportunity presented itself it was too good to pass up!!

Week Fourteen - Use a Location to Wow!

So I called on a good freiend of mine to help build my wedding portfolio. I took her and her hubby to the Emeryville Marina to take some fun photos!!! Out of the blue a very nice man named Miles took us onto his increible boat and let us play with his pirate hat and pirate sword. WHAT!!!! I know! It was a great day! Here are the great photos that came of that day!

Click on the image below to see more photos. They are pretty WOW!

Next week's challenge - Lens Flare!

When this challenge presented itself I was super excited to collaborate with my dear friend Kati. She brought over her projector and we went to town. We stayed up way past our bed time and got a little loopy.

Week Thirteen - Light Projections!

The trick is the image. I was lucky enough to have the perfect model but the hard part is finding the perfect image to project. I wanted to incorporate other itmes and props that were white into the shoot with her. My original vision was to put white flowers in her hair and project green grass all over her body. That was a success! We also played with white balloons and white candles. Canldes are amazing but make sure you dont catch your modles hair on fire... oops. 

Click on the image below to see more photos from this gallery. You will love these!

Next week's challenge - Use a Location to Wow!

My cute little puppy is such a great model! All it takes is a whole pack of hotdogs and a whole lot of patience. O how I love dog photography!

Week Twelve - Use a Photoshop Filter!

I usually dont use filters at all on my photos so this was something different for me. I do like this filter a lot. He looks like a painting! I like it so much I might even print it for my wall!

Click on the image below to see more photos. He is so pretty.

Next week's challenge - Light Projections! 

A composite is made by combining two or more photos together in a single image to make them look like they belong. It can be something simple or something elaborate. That is where the fun starts!

Week Eleven - Composite!

I thought I would take an old photo of me and put me somewhere fantastic! I always wanted to hang my lyra from a bridge so that is what I did! This may be an impossible scene but hey anything is possible in photoshop!

Click on the image below to see more photos. Some secrets are best hidden!

Next week's challenge - Use a photoshop Filter!

This challenge actually was one we had little time to really perfect. It was right before a photo shoot I was dong with a client who wanted blurry artistic shots of her body. Her photos turned out better then I could have hoped for. Here is what happened right before that shoot.

Week Ten - Shutter Speed Play!

We played with long exposure and a burst of light from the strobe. It actually turned out pretty ghostly. Depending on how fast Jake was moving we got really interesting trails and some scary faces from the burst of light. We are going to do this again for sure!

Click on the photo below to see more photos. These are pretty awesome!

Next week's challenge - Composite!

I love my 50mm and my 70-200mm and don't usually use anything other then that unless I take out the wide angle lens. I had to ask around a borrow a lens for this shoot and found a really fun one.

Week Nine - Use a Creative Lens!

I wanted to use a fisheye lens for this challenge. I have never been a huge fan of them for professional photography but I do think they are fun to play with. This play sesh with the dogs at the house was so much fun I think I am going to have to try it again. I could not stop laughing at their little distorted faces. I hope you like these ones too

Click on the photo below to see more photos from our play sesh. 

Next week's challenge - Shutter Speed Play!

One rainy night I thought it would be a good idea to take the camera out. This is what happens!

Week Eight - Night Lights!

So I always wanted to take a night shot with a backlight on my subject. I conviced Jake to take his truck out with me to the marina in Emeryville and use his head lights at a back light. The ground was all wet and provided a really great glare on the ground. Then I used my car head lights to light him up from the front a little. I actually convinced him to take off all his clothes and pretend like he was running from a young girls father. Those photos are for my eyes only!!!!

Next week's challenge - Use a Creative Lens!

Wow! That was way more difficult then I expected. This week my challenge was to take a group photo. It is much easier to light one subject then it is to light 10 girls. It was definatley a challenge. 

Week Seven - Group Photo!

I combined this photo shoot with a going away party for our Burlesque Sister Kay Bambola. Everyone came over, drank wine, got dressed up and then had some time in front of the camera. I set the camera on a tripod and with very careful and conscious placement I was able to get at least three images of each girl in the photos. I originally wanted everyone in each photo but it worked out better to have a couple of girls in each making a great collection. We all ended the night at the Uptown Nightclub to watch Hubba Hubba Revue. 

Click on the photo below to see more images from this gallery. They turned out really fun!

Next week's challenge - Night Lights!

Not only do I have some really amazing photos to show you but I also have an amazing behind the scenes video to go with it!!! 

Week Six - Draw Inspiration From Another Art Form!

When my friend told me what she was up to with her boyfriend I had to see for myself. Shibari is an artistic form of rope bondage. In Japanese, 'Shabari' means 'to tie'. Shibari style rigging creates geometric patterns and shapes with rope that contrast beautifully with the human body’s natural curves. The ropes and their texture provide contrast to smooth skin and curves. In Shibari, the model is the canvas, the rope is the paint and brush, and the rigger is the rope artist.

Next week's challenge - A Group Photo!

Click on the photo below to see more from this shoot. You wont believe this when you see it!

I am so exited to show you these fun photos. Shredder Hoops and I had a play date! 

Week five - Gels!

When Shredder showed up at my studio with a bag filled of silver fabric I went straight to work. I hung all the silver up to create backdrop and lit it up with gels to make it glow with multiple colors. The silver did a great job at reflecting the gels and the only challenge was how to light Shredder without effecting the colors. I used a constant spot light to limit the direction of light and another one from behind to give her a little definition as well.

Next week's challenge - Draw Inspiration from Another Art Form

Click on the photo below to see even more photos from this challenge 

I can't believe it has been four weeks already. I am officially giving myself a pat on the back! Last week the story of a dame by day and dazzel by night was shown in a vintage setting. This week I get to photograph my favorite things in the world! 

Week four - A Portrait Without Seeing the Face!

You can imagine the obvious choice for me! My favorite things in the world... Legs! And the best legs I know are that of Kirsten Gerding. I had a very specific idea in mind and we got the perfect shots in a matter of minutes. Then the rest was all play!!!

Next week's challenge - Gels

Click on the photo to see the full gallery from this challenge

This weeks Challenge was really fun for me! 

Week three - TO TELL A STORY!

This story happens to be a true story. Here you will see a vintage daydreamer sitting at her vanity waiting for the nights sky. By day she carries herself with elegance and by night she becomes an alluring burlesque caricature. 

Next week's challenge - Create a Portrait without Showing the Face

Click on the photo below to see the full gallery from this challenge