block sun beautifully

photo by my sister

since today, is the official first day of summer, I thought I would celebrate with perhaps my favorite parasol of the season. my sister actually bought it for me as a birthday gift in april and I have been using it nonstop, since. a couple of months ago, she found an online site called block sun beautifully. the designer of these specific parasols actually hand paints her umbrellas and not only are they stunning too look at it, but they also have a sun protection factor of 50+. since I am extremely pale, and plan on staying that way, these parasols are pretty much heaven. I have taken many photos with the parasol in various angles within the past 2 months and I will share more on my blog, but for now, I will start with this one. back in late april, my sister and I went to the renaissance fair and for some reason I spotted this eye catching area in the fair with carpets, pillows, and a throne. I wasn't actually allowed to sit on the throne, but they let me sit on the carpet and of course I thought with my parasol, this would make for a royal moment. I can't say I planned much thought into the styling of this picture, but I think the parasol added a little something extra. I must thank my sister again for such a beautiful and useful birthday gift. if you are unfamiliar with her parasols do check out block sun beautifully. I think the name of her line perfectly describes her parasols.....brava!

into the woods

katrina amato

naturally, with the clothes lent to us by designer valerj pobega katrina and I felt that we needed some kind of mystical setting to accencuate her garments. on that particular today, it was very foggy and while we both like working with sun for light and shadows the moody clouds, somehow worked in our favor. by chance, we found an area in the san fernando valley that had an amazing woods-like setting and we thought with the silhouette of her dress we could totally do something ethereal, yet highly dramatic. so with that, katrina started moving her body, in her signature dance like ways and somehow I caught this moment. I love her body language and how she almost looks that tree behind her. the viewer can see the full flow of that dress. it certainly feels like she is in motion and to me I think, the best part, is the way that light shines through. that was probably the strongest light we had all day and too me it feels very heavenly. this was all very much unplanned and I like how we just caught something loose and organic. a big thanks to valerj pobega for letting us use her clothes. through our collaboration, I was fully able too see the connection between fashion and nature. its interesting how with the right dress, setting, and body composition all that just falls into place.

fog covered forest

photos by peter lindbergh

oddly enough, a couple days after katrina and I collaborated together I noticed the may issue of vogue italia at the newsstand. inside, there is an editorial entitled women. lara and freha, which features the models in a fog covered forest wearing ethereal like looks from designers such as valentino and saint laurent. the layout has that signature peter lindbergh noir chic style that I am very much inspired by. there is a certain light and darkness about these images in particular that I am also very much intrigued by. the forest is a magical place to find inspiration and I think peter lingbergh did that and so much more. plus, the styling on these looks is quite superb. the viewer clearly sees shape and silhouette with these ensembles and how it can work so well with nature. I don't know why I found this layout after my collaboration with katrina, but I feel like she could easily fit into this layout. she certainly has that noir chic airy elegance that I wish was displayed more in fashion editorials. at any rate, if you have not seen this eye catching layout do check it out. there is also a gorgeous short film video that accompanies the photos on-line that is worth watching.

here is the link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A0cvEakcssA

habit forming

katrina amato

it is always a treat when I get to collaborate with katrina and after two successful photo projects together we decided to try something new. of course, we had ideas in mind, but nothing really set in stone and I think we both like it that way, because that is when something organic and unplanned happens. at any rate, katrina's friend lent us some clothes to play with. her name is valerj pobega she is an italian fashion designer who lives in los angeles. her clothes are hand painted and sewn together in a very avant-garde ethereal manner. so naturally, katrina and I were eager to mess around with what she gave us. one of the interesting pieces that valerj pobega lent us was a black cape with hand painted gold adorned all around it. for fun, katrina put it on as a headscarf and for some reason it ended up looking like a nun's habit....a very gothic one, nonetheless. with my camera, I just followed katrina's face too see how she could carry that cape-habit and this was the moment that we both responded, too. we both have a liking to drapery, textures, and striking black and white photography, so naturally, this is what we came up with. of course, its not your every day look, but I think with that cape as a habit, it really accentuates katrina's face structure. personally, this to me feels like a scene from the 2013 polish film ida or maybe a mariacarla boscono vogue italia kind of peter lindbergh moment. whatever it may be, it has something cinematic to it with a noir chic sensibility. two concepts that we love capturing when we work together!

uniqueness

photo by mikael jansson

weeks leading up to our latest photo collaboration katrina and I discussed how much we like the way daria werbowy looks in many of her editorials. I don't know why, but its very refreshing too see a model who just seems so nonchalant in front of the camera. daria also has a natural beauty that just exudes in all her photos. she's different from many of today's popular models and I think that is what makes her so standout. I don't even think its so much about what she wears, but more about the mood she evokes. I mentioned to katrina this image of her from the september 2014 issue of interview magazine and she loved it immediately. the layout was photographed in stockholm, sweden by mikael jansson and I love the whole noir chic look that this editorial conveys. in fact, I think I even featured many of these photos on sister's in black back in 2014. I can't say it was what we had specifically in mind, but for some reason when I saw katrina in her valerj pobega cape-habit this picture popped up in my head. is it one of daria werbowy's most popular photo moments....most likely not, but I love the darkness of this image. it seems almost like a scene from ingmar bergman's 1966 film persona and it just has total uniqueness that we don't really see in fashion magazines, anymore. I mean not all, but some. I don't know if you can see the style connections between mine and this one, but I think they have something similar. at any rate, if you have never seen this editorial do check it out. almost two years later, I am still skimming through this issue....its unforgettable and so noir chic to the next level!