Dachs Thoughts

I got together with Jennifer Jones just before the end of the year for one more photoshoot. This was the fourth time we’ve worked together this year, and the second time at my house. We experimented with some holiday themed colors as well as incorporating some Christmas lights and my fireplace. We created a large variety of shots, and Jenn is always a stunning poser. This wraps up a year where I have had more one-on-one photoshoots (by 2) than in any previous year. I need a bit of a breather to catch up on my editing, but it has all been fun.

Winding towards the end of a year of an unprecedented number of one-on-one photoshoots I spent some time creating with local model Vivian Cove with whom I’ve shot with number of times this year, both one-on-one and on a couple of international photo retreats. We took this as an opportunity to explore some experimental ideas. Vivian has a background in dance and movement, so we again explored some shutter-drag type photos which have a more abstract feel. We did some shooting inside (with one of my new backdrops), and even though it was a pretty chilly day we spent some time in the garage trying some of the lower-key abstract shots. A very fun day during which we created a number of interesting images.

On a nice Fall day I had a chance to work with semi-local model Kisa Hues for the first time. She used to be based in Oakland but has relocated to further north in California. An interesting aspect is that she is deaf (not from birth), so she speaks normally, but she uses a real time voice translation app that allowed her to see what I was saying. When shooting with flash, she could tell when I was shooting, so if was virtually the same as working with a hearing model. When I wasn’t using flash, we had to find a rhythm where I would catch her in each pose. She is a very good model, and I hope to work with her again.

[More pictures on my Photo Blog]

Only a short two days after my last photo shoot I had another session with traveling model Liz Ashley, who is based in Houston. Liz is very experienced and has been broadly published. She tends to lean towards glamour work, but also does artistic. I was glad to make the connection. We were a bit too chatty and I took significantly less photos than during my previous session. Nevertheless, I think we managed to make some beautiful and interesting images. Now I’ve got a couple of weeks until my next shoot, which gives me a needed period to catch my breath.

I had a nice photo shoot at my house with traveling Czech model Barbora Aria. I was unaware of her until she reached out to me while I was traveling in Spain. Due to where she ended up staying in south SF she chose to take an Uber to me, which I think is a long Uber ride. I ended up taking a lot of pictures even though the weather wasn’t really cooperating and we stayed inside. A nice day to enjoy some creativity after my construction project was done.

I had a very nice photo shoot with well known freelance model Alice Antoinette, who is based in Miami. She mixes modeling, model training, a YouTube channel, and event planning. She traveled out from the city on BART, and I brought her out to the house. My house was in a major state of chaos due to some major construction happening on the outside of the house. I arranged for the work to only take place in the front and we were able to work inside and in the back yard. Luckily the demo on the outside hadn’t gotten to my window area, but the deck and covering in back were all gone. Nonetheless we were able to get some nice shots outside as well as inside and in the garage. I was glad to make the connection with her and hope to be able to work together in the future.

The last photo shoot of my mini-marathon was again at home with Austrailian/Polish model Poetic Minx (Aurora). I had know prior knowledge of her and she had reached out to me while I was in Spain. It turned out great. She was fun and creative and we work some of my standard locations much more heavily that usual. Even though this was only two days after my shoot with Jamie Lee Bauern I was very energized. We were having such success and getting interesting results we extended the shoot originally scheduled for 4 hours to 5 hours. We had started later than I usually do, so after the shoot we sent to dinner and then I returned her to her lodging in SF. She was great to work with and we had a lot of fun. She also runs events, so I’m interested in seeing what those might offer. Now I’m ready to take a breather and spend some time trying to finish my office update.

[More pictures on my Photo Blog]