Annie Came Back!

Hey Everyone!

I certainly hope that I still have some readers left! ha. A lot has happened lately, and I mean a lot! I am now a full time designer at CMT, and am living in Murfreesboro once more. About Wooden Heart, I am wrapping up the final shoots and starting to prepare for the show! Lots of stuff.

Back to the reason for this blog entry, I wanted to write about the Jack White Karen Elson shoot I was assisting at for Annie. I write all this stuff on here so that I dont forget! It is quite easy to feel like most of the things that happened in NYC were just some sort of a dream, and never happened to me. I have to read this to remember!

At the end of the Taylor Swift shoot, I received an email that Annie would be returning back to Nashville for another Vogue shoot! I was not sure who would be photographed at that time but they told me it would be an incredible one. I soon found out that it was with Jack White, and his wife Karen Elson, an international supermodel turned singer/songwriter with the help of her husband Jack White.

The theme of the shoot was a sort of Rockabilly, gypsy, love story of a producer and his singing muse. It was so great. First thing first... I had to go and pick up Grace Coddington at the airport! She is the Creative Director of Vogue magazine! I also had to pick up Julien D'yis, and Gucci Westman, the head of Revelon makeup! Thankfully Jason let me borrow his 4Runner once again! I entertained them on the way to the hotel from the airport, and we all went to sleep in order to be rested up for the first day of the 2 day shoot!

We began shooting at Tootsie's Orchid Lounge on Broadway in Nashville.Karen and jack arrived and i was so excited! We were preparing all the locations and making sure everyone had what they needed. I was helping Nick and Mattieus, the lighting guys and holding some lights during the shoot. I also helped the shoot producer and made sure everything was in order at the shoot and was there to help wherever needed. The days flew by and I was able to meet Jack which was awesome!

This image in the car was taken around 6 in the morning,I was so tired from the day before and had to make a coffee run for everyone. Over 20 something cups of coffee.... ha.


This was shortly after the car shot outside the Ryman, and afterwards I had to help Jack carry his bags out to his car, which by the way, his car was completely amazing.


This was one of my favorite shots from the shoot, the one I talked about in front of Tootsie's earlier. It was so intricately lit, and they were actually playing during the picture.


I was standing right behind Annie during this picture, I wanted to try and see what she was seeing. It was awesome. They had all kinds of fog machines going creating the haze you see. Jack carried Karen all the way from the dressing room to the barn, her shoes were sooooooo tall and she couldn't walk it by herself.


Julian D'yis was the hairstylist for the shoot. Before I came to the shoot I didnt know who he was, but apparently he is the Annie Leibovitz of hair. ha. He had just finished working on a Dior shoot, and doing Chanel's runway hair that season and hopped right over to work for Annie. Before this picture he found this ivy at the farm we were shooting at and decided it would be a nice addition.



Another of my favorite pictures! I just liked the way the prop stylists threw all the pieces together so quickly. I have developed a passion for prop styling myself! I think its so much fun.


All in all, this was such a great experience, and it was such a thing to see Annie shoot all of these images so very quickly. Being around Grace Coddington and witnessing her work was also incredible. She was incredibly nice and I drove them all back to the airport. Definitely an inspiring day once again!

It was so incredible to witness a true supermodel at work. It is really her job, and she was incredible at it.

I Hope they come back again!!!!!!!

Hey Folks, Its been a while!

Sorry It has been so incredibly long since I have blogged on here! I have been so busy, with my new job, and updates to come on that soon. It's been quite a whirlwind but the wheels are still turning as I had feared they wouldn't when I left NYC.

I was having a pretty bad day, seeing as it is pretty hard to come back from such an amazing experience and nothing really great happens. I missed feeling inspired by the city and the people in it. I missed the constant sense of urgency, and feeling as if the air was full of opportunity. It is truly a city where any of your dreams can come true. This had been bothering me for some time, and then all of a sudden i received an email from Annie's Studio! They were coming to NASHVILLE! I was so excited! They were coming to shoot for Vogue magazine, and they wanted me on staff to help produce the shoot. I couldn't have been more excited! First of all it was Annie, then on top of that, Vogue, and even on top of that they were shooting TAYLOR SWIFT, as my friends at CMT call her T Swift. ha.

I received my itinerary and learned that I would be picking up the staff of Vogue at the airport. Jason was nice enough to save the day and let me borrow his 4runner, as no one would be caught dead riding in my truck. hah. The day of the shoot was quite hectic, planes were delayed and plans were changed and things had to fall together quickly. Just like that i was back in my environment, running around, trying to make sure everything was prepared, and looking forward to the shoot.

Everyone at the airport arrived, and the first person I saw was Annie, she remembered me! I was so glad to know that i had not been forgotten. The rest of the crew came out and I was driving the makeup artist, hairstylist, and the fashion editor from Vogue. We arrived at the farm and Taylor was quickly prepared for the shoot and it all began. Within half an hour, Annie had exactly what she wanted, it was wonderful, the overcast sky, and the newly greening grass looked so great. Taylor was a great model and was totally comfortable.

Here is the final image that ran in this month's Vogue.


We wrapped the shoot and I was just standing at the craft service table and Taylor walked over. She said, " I didn't get a chance to meet you yet, I'm Taylor!" and then extended a huge hug. What a great girl. We chatted for a bit and then it was time for her to head out.

THis shoot couldn't have come at a better time.... Annie came to NASHVILLE, and little did I know, she was coming again...... I will blog about that soon!

The Fox & the Cat

Things are moving along and it is crazy to think how I am already posting the second image in the Wooden Heart series! This image is of the Fox and the Cat. In the story of Pinocchio, the fox and the cat are two very devious animals about town. They con Pinocchio into selling his schoolbooks to see a puppet show and many other terrible decisions... they even try to kill him at one point.

In this scene, they have taken Pinocchio to the Field of Dreams. The Fox and the Cat tell him that if he plants his four gold coins in the Field of Dreams, the coins will grow and turn into a tree filled with thousands of coins. Their motto is all play and no work.

I met Artouro and Philippa in New York during my internship. They are both professional dancers and can dance just about any style possible and do it well. They invited me to watch them dance at The Atlantic, a great restaurant in Brookyln, and I was moved at the chemistry these two have while dancing. They are incredible.

I went to Philippa's house and we were having some tea. I told her I would love to shoot her and Artouro some time soon, and then it hit me. They would make an incredible Fox and Cat. To me, the Fox has control over the cat, and tells her where to go every move of her life. This symbolized a dance in my head, the leader sweeping his partner across the floor... it totally described the relationship I felt the Fox and the Cat have. They are very devious thieves, and it reminded me of Bonnie and Clyde, and then I landed on Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. What an incredible couple. I knew at once how I could unite our two worlds and still have the models be very much a part of the shot as well.

The location could not have been any more perfect to me as well. The Field of Dreams is a desolate, bleak field located in a broken down town full of penniless gamblers. I went to Coney Island once more to find a location, and I found this wonderful field. The "Playland" sign in the back adds so much to the characters, and I knew we had to shoot here in the golden sun.

Philippa's incredible dress came from my friend Sue Harmon at the Brooklyn Flea Market. She has an incredible collection of vintage gowns, in every color, and in wonderful condition. I knew I could not afford one, so I asked her about renting one. She went out of her way and worked with me to make this possible. I am so grateful to her for letting us borrow this dress.

I wanted them to stand on top of a giant golden pile of coins, but was baffled at how i could achieve it! My friend Ashley had the idea to paint crackers, so I went to the store and spray painted around 1,400 crackers! They looked perfect, like pirate gold!



We had to shoot this scene twice. The first time we did, the sun was quickly fading and it was an extremely overcast afternoon. I was so sad that we had missed the golden sun, but everyone knew we were making something very important to each of us, and we met again later that week to reshoot, and it was so worth it. Not every shoot gets a second chance, and I was so grateful for this one. SO very grateful.

Philippa got ready on the train ride there!

Artouro was looking over the research I had gathered for the shoot on the train trying to place each foot and arm in the correct place. I knew he and Philippa understood how important this shot was to me, and they wanted to do their best.

As soon as Jacob helped me set up the scene, we braved the cold and the magic began. The golden sun reflected on the coins and the Fox and the Cat emerged. I was so excited behind my camera, because I was witnessing the characters once again coming to life. They were so graceful, just like Fred and Ginger, the Fox and the Cat.

I am so happy to have worked with these two, two great friends, and I know we are all proud of our work. A frozen Philippa said at the shoot, "THE THINGS WE DO FOR ART!" haha.

Wooden Heart Begins!

I am finally back from New York and ready to begin my project "Wooden Heart" the story of Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi. I am so excited about this series, and it is going to take quite a long time to create, but hopefully it will be worth it. I am pretty nervous about the project because I have built these images up so much in my mind, i just hope they actually happen. I would be so disappointed if it were anything less than what I am dreaming of.

My friend Lauren and I have been discussing this project for some time. She is as well beginning a huge project, but I will et her tell you about that! She inspired the creation of a project, and we began, planning and constantly racking our brains about all we want to create.

In the project I am going to hand create all the sets and props, hopefully some costumes as well! I feel as if a certain magic is lost in the digital age, and i am going to try my best and bring back the hand made quality to my work. I have just as much fun making these props as actually doing the shoot!

Tim Walker once spoke about how it is the photographer's job to create a dream world, and at the shoot, not only take a picture, but bring back a souvenir from that trip to another world, and there is your photo. I found that incredibly inspiring and that is what i am going to try and do with this project.

The first image is of a character i created called the Pleasure island Mistress. I created this character for my friend Shien! Shien is an incredible event planner and creator of Dances Of Vice in New York. She is successful at such a young age, and is such a kind friend. She has quite the collection of vintage costumes, and wonderful outfits, so as soon as she said we could do a shoot i instantly began planning a way to make her a part of this project. I thought she would work perfectly as a character I created that stands at the shore on Pleasure Island and welcomes the young boys with popcorn and instructs them to partake in all the activities they have dreamed of! She was so very excited! To represent the excess of the island, I made 2 trash bags full of popcorn to sprinkle upon the beach and have her laying on to of it!

Laila, my new friend from internship agreed to assist me for the day and i couldn't have done it without her! She came early and helped me carry all the popcorn and the giant rubber balls on the subway... needless to say we had many looks. We were headed to Coney Island.... the lighting is perfect at sunset, magical. It was however FREEZING! We were all so cold, but we knew it would be totally worth it.

Here is Laila looking beautiful in the light from the sunset.


Shien and I had been in conversation about her costume and I was totally blown away when she showed up in her costume... it was perfect, exactly what i had been hoping for. I could tell she gets it. She understood what dream land we were trying to bring to life. While photographing her, she became an actress, and the character just as I had hoped.

As soon as the popcorn was spilled out, the birds came.... I mean hundreds! HUNDREDS! They were going crazy over the corn and I was afraid for Shien! Laila was at least trying to get the birds to flee, but I looked at the image, and then I realized, they had created this frame all around her. It was beautiful. It was almost like they were dancing for us. In the final image i chose the one where the birds made this amazing swoop over her head. I didn't put those birds there.... they were all actually there. It was at this moment I had realized we had our image. It was exactly what I had hoped for and it had only been a short time in the freezing cold. I immediately wrapped the shoot, and had some hot tea waiting for Shien.

Here are the crazy birds...



We all had such a great time creating this, and with this being the first image, I am actually proud of it! That is a first for me, I struggle so much with that, but I love what we created. Stay tuned for more!

Finally Home!

Hello everyone. I am home safe and sound! I wrote this yeaterday but didnt have internet access so I could not update, but here it is now... Enjoy!

I am about to board the plane for Tennessee and have a lot on my mind so I thought I would write it all out so I could have it later.

Let me first say that I have absolutely no regrets about coming on this trip for the past three months. The Lord has blessed me with this amazing trip and sustained me all the way through it. I am so thankful to him for allowing this to work out. My mind keeps wandering back to the time when I was unsure about whether or not to come on this trip... what a tragedy that may have been. I was so scared of being alone for three months, away from my family, and all of my friends. I guess in the back of my mind I feared that they would be incredibly sad, and that would make me so sad... i know, sounds weird, but was not true at all. i believe this trip has brought me closer to everyone. Everyone has been so encouraging throughout this entire adventure. I cannot thank you enough for all your prayers and kind words.

About my internship... this was truly a dream come true. A dream. I have admired Annie's work for years and never in my wildest dreams thought that i would be able to study under her. Never. It has changed me forever... creatively. I thought I cared so much about my work, but as I witnessed her at work, i realized I didn't care as much as i could. This instantly lit a fire under me, and now, i am to be passionate about each project that I am truly excited about. I was given the opportunity to sit down with her on my last night and chat a bit while we got some work done. It was so incredibly special to me that she wanted to know about me, and what I did, where i grew up, and about what my plans were. She then autographed a book for me telling me to come back and visit her! To have your favorite artist tell you uplifting things and take the time to care, will impact you for life. I have so many new ideas that I cannot wait to put to work!

Leaving New York is a very bittersweet thing for me. New York has become one of my best friends, it romanced me, and now I am forever in love with the city. I know I will be back, I am sorry everyone, but i have to come back. I love it here... SO many creative, driven, people! Even down to the way you dress everyday, it's appreciated, not looked over, or criticized. I have encountered the occasional rude person (and believe me, they exist in Tennessee as well), but more kind, helpful, interesting people who have done so much to help me, and just talk to and inspire me! I also feel like I have really grown up here, forced to do everything by myself, left with a lot of time to think, I have really cherished these times.

I think about all the things I was able to do while I was here.... Seeing the Nutcracker at the NYC Ballet, Hansel and Gretel at the Metropolitan Opera, having an incredible time with my parents in New York that I will never forget. having Wanyne, Jason, and Ashley all come and visit! Seeing the USS New York, watching the Phantom of the Opera with my parents, seeing the Macy's Day Parade! Watching the Rockafellar Center tree lit, attending a Vanity Fair Photo shoot with Annie, seeing The Americans exhibit at the Met, walking in Saks 5th Avenue just to get inspired, swing dancing the night away with new friends, getting lost in the city and discovering amazing places!

I can never forget these times. They have been so wonderful. I am excited to come back to Tennessee! I cannot wait to see all of you! I have missed you all so very much... even the little things. Like the way my grandma always says "Yall stay with us" and my dad aggravating me! I have also missed annoying my mother! ha. Yelling in the car with my sister just because we want to be loud. ALL OF YOU! Dance parties, movie nights, CHERRY SUN DROP!

I can't help but feel like so many wheels were turning for for my future here in New York, and upon returning home, they will come to a halt. I hope there are many opportunities that open up for me in Tennessee, so please be in prayer for that. I just want to be able to do what I love. That's all.

So now the moral of this post, Please, I implore you, chase your dreams. Do what you were created to do while we are here on Earth for this short time to glorify God! never let anyone tell you that you cannot do anything, God has already made it all possible. He has everything planned, even to meeting the right person on a subway or at a restaurant. Sure, it is terrifying, but so incredibly worth it in the end. Nothing hurts me more than to see those I care about settling for less than their dreams.

Wow, thats a long post, hope you all read it tho! See you soon! And please keep reading the blog, I will now be posting with shoots and information about the Pinocchio shoot with all the behind the scenes stuff!

YESTERDAY!

The past two days have been amazing. I got the opportunity to assist Annie at a Vanity Fair shoot! It was absolutely the most incredible thing I have ever done. In two days I have learned more in photography than I did at school. Seeing the amount of work, time, and care that went into absolutely every detail was so incredible inspiring. The reason I was so excited to be there was because I was getting to witness someone work, who truly cares, so deeply about what they are creating. Being around that was incredibly inspiring.

I know that is the feeling i want to have... to know what I am doing is what God has planted a passion in my heart to do. So many times we think that we have to do what we can to make a large paycheck. No. Money will come and go, and after all, it's not what makes you happy. God has given us each passions, planted deep within our heart, and if you do what he has gifted you with, and given you an urge to do... then you can truly love your work. It hurts me to see people who are in positions that they could care less about. Leave that and do what you love! I want to see everyone I know and love do something that they are passionate about! I think we have all figured out, no amount of money will ever be enough, so why do we try and suffocate our dreams for that larger paycheck. It just won't work and you can never be content living that way.

Whoa, sorry about the preaching... I just want to see each and every one of you do what you are truly passionate about. GO and do it!

My Television Debut!

Ok... so I went to the Jimmy Fallon show the other night and had the time of my life! It was so funny, and the roots were absolutely incredible. They put on a practically 30 minute concert before the show. I am not sure why i become incredibly lame as soon as i am on tv... or maybe I am always that way. You know I wish i were up there dancing with him! ha.