When I go into a shoot, I have learned to drop all ideas of what I had planned, and leave what comes next as an open slate for magic. It usually works out pretty good because expectations can lead to stress and ignoring the flow. When capturing souls that’s not too smart, if you ask me. Alex Mei (prev shoots, soundcloud, fb) didn’t disappoint me. I love going into people’s homes to shoot them because when you’re in your own home you have so much more of a wardrobe to pull from.

I realize that the next step of my evolution as a photographer is to start working with more of a team. People to help me see the things that I miss and help in ways that I am not so strong. I had a stylish friend lined up to help me out with this casual shoot, hoping we could play off one another and find common ground, but an unfortunate series of events led me once again to show up by myself. However, Alex had a friend who prided himself as a particularly stylish fellow, and also a chef, so things worked out alright I’d say. Though I must admit, it’s not too hard to put me in a good mood with olives and cider. It was a bit funny for me since I don’t eat animal based foods anymore (not because I do not like animal based foods), because when I showed up, he was making two huge plates of deli meats and cheese. It was hard for me to stare such delicatessens in the face.

Alex is a musician who regularly kills it in clubs and at festivals. After the shoot we jumped in her car to head to the liquor store and everywhere I looked inside the car was some kind of sticker from a festival she’d played at. She said sorry about the mess and told me how she had just returned from a festival a few days earlier and her car had basically been her living room for a few days. I know it’s hard after festivals like that to return back to city life, the beat of festival life still coming in waves.

tech specs // sony a7 / super takumar 55mm f1.8 / super multi-coated takumar 28mm f3.5

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