darkling

coleman dobson

a couple of weeks ago, my friend coleman was telling me about this new velvet cape she purchased...so automatically, I thought we should do a photo project with it. I had some ideas flowing in my head, but I didn't know if it would work out exactly. sometimes, ideas don't translate and the day we got together we decided to take a grueling hike to a mountain top and of course I got lost trying to find this exact spot which lead to a mini creative breakdown. its interesting how all this comes into place. in los angeles, there is a hiking area I frequently go to called fryman canyon and what I love about this area, is that it can go from looking like a forest to an isolated desert, perhaps that is due to the recent fires and how dry california can be. either way, I eventually found the spot I was looking for and she just gave me a side profile view with her sunglasses and cape hood on and I just captured it. luckily, we also had a little bit of wind so the cape had a little bit of drapery. seeing her in this cape reminded me a little bit of ingmar bergman's 1957 film the seventh seal and even a little bit of harry potter. I know the two are strange comparisons, but there definitely is a little bit of both in it. whatever it may look like to you, I was really content with what we manifested, not only was it noir chic fashion, but there's also some photographic elements with that shadow and sky. I must thank coleman again for this moment and for all that we unexpectedly create....cinematic always!

cape town

photo by nathaniel goldberg

oddly enough, a month before I took that photo of my friend coleman I was looking through the december 2017 issue of vogue spain and came across this image of a model in dramatic black cape. I am not really sure where this was shot...maybe scotland or ireland? wherever it is, I just love the fluidity and movement of that cape and the way it contrasts with those stones in that wall. it conveys so much even though you can't see her face. the detail of the fabric of that cape is so eye catching and when I was hiking through fryman canyon I definitely had this in mind. you can do so much with a cape whether on a mountain top or a stone wall. this was certainly a major influence and if you haven't seen this nathaniel goldberg editorial for vogue spain I highly suggest looking through it. I rarely see layouts that resonate in my mind lately, but this one still catches my attention....have a look if you like ethereal drama!