Model: Alexia Rae Castillo | @alexiaraecastillo
Shot for Arsenic
Model: Alexia Rae Castillo | @alexiaraecastillo
Shot for Arsenic
An interesting day at the salon.
Models: Chanon Finley & Ana Chentsova
I've been really busy working on other projects and traveling so I haven't posted anything in quite awhile. I was just browsing through some old shoots and stumbled up this image of Chanon from a shoot for Arsenic Magazine in Beverly Hills a few years ago. I'm moving back to LA in two weeks so I hope to shoot more while I'm there.
I thought I'd share this video to motivate anyone who hasn't been following the World Cup. This was filmed awhile back by Jim Dziura & Mike Brillantes during a shoot by Ben Watts for Treats! Magazine. The models featured in the video are Audra Marie, Ayla Parker, Heidi Edwards, Lindsey Byard, and Marie-Charlotte Mahul.
This short film by Rob Whitworth is awesome! It was shot using only Nikon cameras and lenses.
1. They see challenges as opportunities
Most people interpret fears as obstacles and tend to run away from them. People who live their purpose successfully have developed the capacity to see fear as a sign of what they really need to go for and put all their courage and energy into it.
2. They see life as a game.
Having this vision of life opens up space for playfulness and creativity instead of limitation. This also cultivates qualities of resilience, problem solving and confidence that helps them take risks to get to the next big place.
3. Living the life they want is the only option.
They’re so committed to making their dreams a reality that they banish any possibility of a backup plan whatsoever from their mind. They don’t think things like, “If it doesn’t work, I’ll just go get a job.”
4. They always speak their truth.
They’re able to speak it because they make a conscious effort to connect to their truest desires, their inner voice, and their spirituality without fear of judgment. This connection is typically fostered through meditation, journaling, being mentored and being surrounded by like minded-people.
I used to post something to My Model Wish List once a week, but I've been so busy lately I haven't had a chance to keep up with it. Anyway, the person being added to the list this week is the beautiful Italian model Bianca Balti. She's been in numerous publications such like Vogue and Esquire and was featured in Playboy France back in 2009 and is currently in the June/July Issue of Playboy US.
Enjoy spectacular results even on the most challenging assignments. The D810 delivers incomparable image quality with its 36.3 Megapixel FX-format CMOS sensor and EXPEED 4-image processor. 51-point AF with Group-area AF mode allows faster subject acquisition and highly accurate focusing, while extendable ISO coverage from 32 all the way up to ISO 51200 gives unparalleled low light performance. Top it off with Full HD 1080/60p video recording for the ultimate in professional, broadcast quality results.
My cousin sent this link to me a little while ago and I thought I'd share it here. Now I'm not one to give advice on how to pose models, in fact on my shoots I let the models handle the initial poses and I might have them make minor adjustments from there. If they're good professional models they tend to have an idea of what looks natural and comfortable. Anyway, the only advice I would give is to NOT pose your models like this:
Some old shots I did with Jana a.k.a Eufrat:
Check out some of Clark Little's amazing shorebreak photography.
I just stumbled upon this while browsing through reddit.
A few selections from a shoot I did with Alyssa Julya Smith last year for Arsenic Magazine.
This is a great article my sister posted on Facebook. It's written by Paul Hudson for elitedaily.com, but upon reading it, it sounds exactly like what I tell people when they ask me how I live my life.
Surprise, surprise… happy people live their lives differently. They don’t have different lives. They just do a better job at living them than those who are unhappy.
Happiness is the result of subjective interpretation of perception. Of course, what we perceive isn’t always done so by choice — life does throw things our way.
However, most of the time, we find ourselves in the situations we are in because of actions we took and decisions we made. It’s the way that you live your life that largely decides whether or not you will live happily.
They like themselves and they are the only people they ever answer to. You could like them. You could hate them. You could pay them no mind whatsoever — doesn’t make a difference to them.
They do what they do because they decided to do it. They aren’t trying to gain your approval or acceptance. They don’t want to be part of your team — they’re a team of their own. They live their lives the way they see fit and if you like them for it, great. If not… then so be it.
They don’t believe they have to do anything. Other than pay taxes and die of course — everything else is a decision followed by deliberate action. If they are doing something, going somewhere, participating in something, it’s because that is exactly what it is that they want to be doing.
No one coerced them or tricked them into doing it because they value their opinion above everyone else’s. They do what they believe is right and don’t bother to ask for permission — they just do it.
Friends are tricky because they aren’t really yours, are they? You don’t own them. They are their own people who have their own wants and needs — people who will always put themselves ahead of you and your goals. Friends are great to have, but relying on them too heavily will leave you disappointed.
Those who live happy lives have very close friends, but they keep their independence in order to avoid those moments. It’s the lack of independence and over-reliance that often comes to ruin friendships — all relationships for that matter.
They tell you about the things they are doing with their lives — the places they have visited and are planning on visiting. The projects they are starting or part of. The problems they are working towards solving and the communities they are working with to get those problems solved.
When you ask them what they do, they respond with what they do in their lives, not what work they do in order to pay for the lives they want to one day be living. The real trick is that these individuals know better than to wait to live the lives they want to live. You live life whether you accept or ignore the fact, how you live it in the moment determines how happy you are.
Happy people tend to move around a bit. Maybe it’s because traveling does the soul good. Maybe it’s because the stagnancy of staying in one place their whole lives bores them.
Maybe it’s because they love meeting new people and having new experiences. Maybe it’s because they haven’t found the right place to settle down just yet. You see, these individuals see the world as their home — no single country or city. If you ask them where they live, then they’d answer “earth” if they wouldn’t come off sounding highfalutin.
You don’t need a book to tell you how you ought to live your life. You can live your life by whatever philosophy you wish — as long as you found truths that satisfy you. They have a strong grasp of right and wrong and are their own judges.
They know they’re only mortal — having this knowledge and accepting it fuels their every step. You will do. Why? Because it is inevitable. There is no way of avoiding it, only dealing with the fact.
The happiest of people don’t fear death. They don’t do their best to avoid it. They see it as the inevitability that it is in and live their lives by their terms. They may not be able to control death, but they know they sure as hell can control their own personal lives.
They don’t believe there is a single way that the world is — a single reality that exists. Instead, they believe themselves to be the originators of their reality.
They believe they have full control over how they interpret what they perceive. They see the world the way they choose to see it because they understand the power such a skill has. We all live in a reality of our own construction. Some of us just construct our realities better than others.
Happy people have hopes, dreams and goals. They have wants and aspirations, but they don’t allow themselves to get caught up and lost in them. There isn’t so much a time and place for dreaming as there is a maximum allotted amount recommended.
You can’t live life doing nothing more than looking towards the future because you’ll miss the only time that things actually matter or exist: the present. The present, the immediate moment is the only moment that you can actually live in. The rest is only an illusion.
Devoting your energy to changing other people is a waste of it. People do change, but they only do so on their own accord. They have to decide to change themselves and that only happens in time — you can’t push and force because it doesn’t work.
On the contrary, it often does the opposite of what is intended. Instead of wasting time and energy trying to do the impossible, why not do the next best thing? Learn to deal with people as they are in order to get the result you desire. If you can’t change them, then guide them to do as you wish. Otherwise, let them go.
My beautiful friend and amazing model Gabriella just launched her new website www.fallinlust.com. If you like great photography and appreciate beauty then you should definitely check out her site. Gaby and I have shot a few times and have become great friends over the years and I'm really happy to see her website come to life because I know how much work she's put into it. Check it out!
Model: Cynthia Chavez | instagram.com/missbolivia20 | twitter.com/MissChavez20
Photographer: Steven Williams | instagram | twitter | facebook | tumblr
Here's random sunset shot from the other day when I was hanging out in Santa Monica.
I was able to snap a few shots with the models sporting the very awesome William Painter's during yesterday's shoot for Arsenic Magazine.
Models: Jesse Golden & Cynthia Chavez
I was in LA yesterday taking photos for Arsenic Magazine's "Spring Fling" photo shoot. This shoot was more fun than usual because my good friend/photographer Janet Vuong was hanging out on set shooting some behind the scenes stuff. She also let me borrow her Nikon D800 and play around with some of her lenses as well. I'm definitely feeling the need to upgrade soon. Here are some of the behind the scenes shots, I was able to snap a few of Janet as well.
Models: Jesse Golden & Cynthia Chavez
MUA: Daniela Grasso | www.danielamgrasso.com