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!