SCRATCH magazine cover and feature

Polkadots and stripes!!! Super graphic, visually exciting and FUN project with Nailz by Honey and make up/ hair design by Natasha Morgan. This was a fantastic collaboration, photographed (hmmm ZERO short term memory these days) with the beautiful model Julie at Q Models. The story of our creative process is actually printed with the images in this fantastic cover and feature for the glossy UK magazine Scratch!!!! They did a beautiful layout including text and I'm really proud and excited to see this one in print!!

Snakeskin and Nailz, Nailz, Nailz

Sometimes I really have to think about how incredibly blessed I am with the people that are in my life. This is my sister in law Tatiana from Brazil. One of the first things I noticed upon meeting her, other then the fact that she was madly in love with my brother ;) was how flawless, graceful and otherwise PERFECT her hands were.... Honey, a friend and "fantabulous" super down to earth Brooklyn native nail tech and manicurist, provided us with hours of entertainment and an array of nail accessories and polishes. This was a test for my Capture Workflow performance for Studio D in the Hearst Bldg and a part of a very rushed end of the day.
Results are still pending, but our shoot was none the less amazing.

Ava Gray Lookbook

This was a golden opportunity that made me feel...like I've arrived. Discovered via Artists and Creatives website, the designer and brand called Ava Gray, and fantastic new client, chose me! I have to take a moment such as this and appreciate it. I'm always pleasantly surprised and impressed when a client can see beyond the specific niche that I've created over the years, and recognize the diversity and range of what I can do, and have trust and faith that it will be executed beautifully.

The imagry and design here are the collaboration of my photography, an extraordinary support team of hair, make up, wardrobe and flawless model Mia at Trump who wears the line as it is intended, sophisticated, elegant and expensive. My super hero agent (cape and all) Joe Lombardo, is the vision behind this exquisite and brilliant design, and although this is not our final, its already looking like a campaign. Keep an eye out for the final Lookbook and collection of the new Ava Gray line!!!

There is beauty in simplicity!

Belinda in VICTOR de SOUZA

Model Belinda Baidoo of Ghana. Capricorn. She and I have worked together for years and randomly run into each other all over the city. Without a doubt, one of my favorite girls.
Her features are breathtaking, her body long, lean and toned, and her skin is absolutely flawless. This was an extreme exercise in pulling resources and collaborating last minute with zero production time or budget. Mercury's retrograde definitely affected communication that weekend, so here's proof that miracles can still happen.
Grace Jones meets Lady Gaga immersed in aluminum foil and metallic leathers, set design by Nesto Sutton. The effect is ice and diamonds with a little assistance from photoshop. Storm Pederson dressed Belinda in various pieces of the newest collection by designer Victor de Souza. Hair by Dante Blandshaw and make up by Kim Weber.
Special thanks to Sasha Wyroba for production assistance and my initial introduction to Storm Pederson, which led to this opportunity.

Promotionals and Marketing, A Tangible Souvenir

It's been a difficult year for e-mail campaign blasts, so I decided to order new cards and motivate myself with an old school traditional hard mail. I researched my target demographic which are celebrity clothing brands, record labels and ad agencies who handle movie posters and put together a very specific mailing list. Thanks to the love and support of my mom, immediately after Labor Day Weekend hundreds of cards were mailed via the US Postal Service. A mighty costly endeavor, but one filled with with promises and rewards. A tangible souvenir of sorts and one you hope the art buyers, creative directors and photo editors find pretty enough or strong enough visually, to post to their walls.
These are a few of my additional favorite images from the recent ad campaign of Kristinia Debarges for Babyphat / Teen Vogue.
Big shout out to the the crew over at Liquid Entertainment. They were kind enough to cut me an amazing promotional video of behind the scenes footage from this campaign as well as my past campaigns with Vanessa and Angela Simmons for Pastry.

http://www.liquident.net/uploads/wendyreel/behind the scenes Wendy Hope

HIGHLIGHTS MAGAZINE

Night Bubble Photo Shoot

Gotta love the Canon SD780 for all its amazing features....long exposure fill flash and fireworks!!
Maya and Shep Farrally Plourde July 4th 2009

Colleen at RED

Yet another fantastic journey into exploring new lighting with a fantastic model. Her skin became the concept. Colleen is 15 years old and stunning.
Kim Weber behind gorgous make-up AND hair! Shhhh...her hidden expertise is to
remain a secret...
As per tradition, our evening ended with red wine at the Hilton with the NAACP convention and hot secret service men. The icing on the cake...

PIECEBOOK

Custom piece by David Villorente for my copy of Piecebook!!!!! LOVE the pink drippy outline! Brilliant attention to detail in this book... the cover alone, the ink bleeding through the pages, blank pages left for other graffiti artists to work on, detail down to the smell of it. This book features the establishing artists from the inception of graffiti and is reproduced beautifully.

This book is inspiring a really elaborate collaborative multimedia project...I'm gaining clarity. here

CELEBRITY

Celebrity advertising portraits.
Not so often blogged about here, yet an equally exciting and quite lucrative aspect of my career as a photographer.

Supernovaslom was photographed almost a year ago, and now with the combined perfection in lighting and the illustrative genius of Carol at Digiwaxx, we have a beautifully designed album cover and package. The blue and the red is the artists symbolic and poetic way of unifying the ongoing war between Bloods and the Crips.

Christinia Debarges, daughter of the legendary Debarges family, was photographed for a Babyphat ad running in Teen Vogue this month. Production was pulled together in a 24 hour period and executed beautifully. She was an absolute sweetheart, highly professional and open and enthusiastic about all of my ideas. I even squeezed in a trampoline!

July 4th 2009 Portland Maine

Tarte Cheek Stain in Flush

Product obsession... LOVE this product! Blends well, wears well. Perfect day look, a slight flushed cheek accented with a glossy lip.

Studio Gear/ Ulta Cosmetics

Rather pleased with myself for having the foresight to cast appropriately. What began as a simple beauty test (actually it was more of a really elaborate production) evolved into a lucrative advertisement. Christina Ionno of Trump models, amazing face, sweet disposition.
I'm super excited that our water project was picked up by one of my favorite clients for an ad in In Style's Special Makeover Issue/ August 2009 with additional outtakes being used on the Studio Gear website as well.

Stay tuned to see some amazing footage and the debut of my directors reel...

The GIRLS who make it happen!!!

Roberto Dutesco and The Wild Horses of Sable Island

Never before have I become so obsessed, emotional, moved and touched by a body of work. I think that on some level every artist seeks out the idea of leaving behind a legacy of work deeper and more profound then the commercial work they are commissioned to do and that is the essence of this collection.
The images themselves are EXQUISITE and the story behind them simply amazing. The artist has hand written the latitude/ longitude as well as something enchanting, poetic and magical at the bottom of each print which I think adds a nice personal touch. Roberto Dutesco has captured the spirit of the animals and it is brilliant. I think its the first time I've ever met an artist who's soul seemed to be at peace.
And that's what moves me to tears.

Studio Gear Skin Care

Studio Gear Cosmetics have amazing skin care products. Here are some outtakes from my product shoot on Friday. The splashing water images below are running in In Styles Special Make Over Issue as an ad with Ulta Cosmetics.

VOL DE BIJOUX (this is not a love song)

This classic FILM NOIR shoot was a personal triumph in precise technical lighting. Hair, make up and props were delivered flawlessly by Kim Weber make up, Mako for hair and Cynthia Altoriso who is not only a FAB prop and wardrobe stylist, but an extremely well informed historian. Equipped with a selection of beautifully shot silent and classic NOIR films, (Great Expectations, Sunrise and Brief Encounter to name a few), we indulged in divine and opulent research and creative meetings, enjoying wine and outdoor gardens for film viewing. Our shots and storyline developed and became both marketable for beauty and visually intoxicating filled with shadows, silhouettes and a sense of mystery.

Sidenote: Sybarite, one who indulges in luxury and decadence.

Look at our gorgeous model Claudia Reba with Trump models at the beginning of our photo shoot! Wow the transformation never ceases to amaze me!


The notorious Femme Fatale sprays Chanel 22. Enchanted with her reflection, she silently embarks on her mission, steals the precious jewels, returns home and dramatically removes her disguise. (chapeau courtesy of moi ;) Glamorously, she smokes a cigarette after yet another successful jewelry heist. Vol de Bijoux en Francais. Oui, bien sur, smoking is no longer glamorous, as much as I still covet the idea. Our last shot is only reflective of the period in which it was. Inhale.....exhale.

Armour Beauty Rock n Roll Lip Gloss

Product obsession....The most kick ass line of glosses. My favorite is the hot pink one named Gazarri. Smells and feels amazing AND cruelty free! Oh and that's Theo above who co owns the line with Allison Burns.

CONCEPT, CAMERAWORK, LIGHTING AND POST PRODUCTION!!!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=teoSDTJDjF4&feature=related

LOVE STORY

LOVE STORY was initially created as a random concept of emotion by my agent and together we developed and elaborated upon it. The results varied as we worked the layout but in this version...
The Brunette sees the Blond, falls in love, dives into the relationship, there is tension and separation, angst and frustration and eventually the Brunette re-emerges saving her autonomy while the blond holds on to what's left of the relationship. The nudity is the vulnerability of love.

Phenomonal Pheats of Prestidigitation Phantastically Performed

A brilliant alliteration recently discovered in the book Grimus written by Salman Rushdie. Currently my favorite writer and my favorite quote. PRESTIDIGITATION means to conjure tricks, or to perform magic which conveniently describes both the transformation of a model in hair, makeup and lighting as well as the ability to continue to secure lucrative jobs while in an economic recession.
Also amusing to play upon the alliteration itself ie: Phenomonal Pheats of Procrastination Phantastically Performed refers nicely to taxes or other boring but necessary tasks.

whats your favorite color? "sparkle" of course

One of my recent favorites...the brilliant color palette, glitter and sequins were meticulously placed. Control was exercised, leaving the Vegas Showgirl look in Vegas. Make up artist and fellow Capricorn, Kim Weber shared a new concept with me... "organic" Ie: by allowing make up application to happen "organically" I was able to focus more on lighting and composition.

Can we also take a moment to appreciate Sonja of Q Models and her flawless skin and smile?!??!

Sonja's word on set all day was "LUSH". I believe that will become the title of our story!

Murakami/ Highlights Magazine

Color for me has always been a huge source of inspiration. Whether it's a display of make up and nail polish or a brightly lit candy store, or walking through Pearl Paint, the colors intoxicate me and often evolve into elaborate beauty concepts (which until recently, I visualized from the perspective of the makeup artist rather then the photographer)
The dynamic imagination of color, shape, swirls and patterns behind the characters in the paintings, figurines and sculptures of the Japanese artist Murakami is like an explosion of pop culture expression and energy. This is our Murakami inspired beauty story with model Kai Li. The characters and designs were hand painted cremes by Rebecca Casciano, and hair was brilliantly executed circular shapes by Lacy Redway. This story has been published in the most recent issue of Highlights Magazine, an Australian glossy which comes out twice a year and is well worth the wait for the prestige alone.

Hydrating Skin Care Project

These exciting images are finals from February's print and directorial debut by myself and camera operator Chris Raymond. Our concept was about "water and hydrating skin care products" with Studio Gear Cosmetics supplying us with a ton of amazing product to work with, and extra lip gloss for me :) The original inspiration behind this was a L'Oreal ad with water splashing up and down the wrists of Penelope Cruz. Rebecca Casciano (make up) and I obsessively studied this image, wondering how much happened in camera with water and special effects and how much was in post production and retouch. The obsession took on a life of its own and slowly evolved into this elaborate water in motion project. Christina Ionno of Trump Models was absolutely natural and beautiful with flawless skin, and Ling Nguyen did beautiful clean slickeded back hair. Super sweet and incredibly patient, Christina endured hours of hydrating water effects, bubble machines and tricks of the trade. This project took weeks of pre-production, castings, coordinating multiple schedules and pulling a plethora of favors, all of which we're all extremely grateful for! I'm so excited to see the final retouched images and the final spot once the editing process is complete.

Skin, Skin, Skin

This is my recent foundation and skin beauty story. It was a collaboration with make up artist Rebecca Casciano and model Lisa Marie. Our images were created using an assortment of neutral colored creams and powders, painting with various brushes and techniques. A bit of an exploration of different textures over a flawless canvas of clean skin. I used a flesh colored silk background to complement the skin tones of the model. We're all very happy with the results.

Glamorous Beauty Regiments

As a visual expression of our daily beauty regiments, we've glamorized ordinary tasks such as flossing teeth and Queen Helene's facials. Color cremes are brushed and painted on showing texture, design and a bit of attitude. Because we all perform these duties looking absolutely glamorous with flawless skin, long and bold lashes and a rich and decadent glossy red lip ;)