Recent Work

Meiling's collection "Last Train to San Fernando"

Journalist Ira Mathur

Soowan Bramble

Ashley

The Abyss

Amy

Herlene

Ferrero Rocher fun

dress by Heidi Walcott

A long overdue update!

Hey people of the interwebs. I've neglected updating this for 3 months, but you can blame my Facebook Page for that.

I took a month off around January / February cause the year didn't start out too hott for me. Had a month-long flu that I thought I was cursed with for the rest of my life, and just didn't have the energy or motivation to work through it. Interacting with people, setting up shoots, setting up lights, editing, all that stuff takes energy so I just waved my hand at it and said "meh". So I opened my box of paints and starting creating traditional media portraits. Got so excited about it, and even submitted one of my pieces for a Carnival exhibition at Y Gallery, which to my delight, sold! As I got better, and as my need for photography punched me in the face, I can say that I'm happily back on point. All things happen for a reason I guess, and I'm glad I took a break and rediscovered the joys of painting.

Anyhoo, back in December I shot the Maroon 5 / Far East Movement concert in Trinidad. Got to run around the stage and I learnt alot about live event photography, something I've always dreaded. Turns out I love it, so I'll definitely do it again. Here are a few images from that concert. I have almost 1000 pics from it but I'm currently searching for the dvd with them. (so long ago that they've already been backed up)...will post more when I find it.

About two weeks ago I had a shoot with Pete Bethune. Pete is a badass , or a "terrorist" according to Japan. He was Trinidad collaborating with Trini Eco Warriors to bring attention to the endangered leather back turtle. For those not sure who he is but find the name familiar, his boat, the Ady Gil (formerly Earthrace), was pummeled by Japanese whaling vessel MV Shōnan Maru 2 (can be seen on Animal Planet's Whale Wars) and he was then arrested for boarding the ship. Have a look at what went down. Also have a look at Trini Eco Warriors Facebook Page. They're doing great things!

The shoot took place at Maqcueripe Bay and Bamboo Cathedral. I got soaked, sandy, and muddy from dodging waves and climbing rocks, but it was so much fun! I really should get a water-proof case for my camera....

Some recent portraits

Advanced Photoshop Magazine / new work

A few updates since I have slacked off on the posting here. I had a recent feature in Advanced Photoshop Magazine (see below) which was a lovely suprise jutting out of the mailbox when I got home one day. I have moved from Woodbrook into a nice quiet area away from noise, which is wonderful for concentrating on my work. I have set up a new studio space in Woodbrook and have been working non-stop. With my previous limited and awkward space, it was impossible to shoot as much as I wanted / needed to. Therefore, I have been on a shooting rampage, and do not intend to stop until Christmas.

Advanced Photoshop Magazine

Various pictures from projects, and private work



Various work

When Saris Explode / John Tesoro

Rosie is a pretty little lady with a pretty / pretty heavy sari that she wanted to capture during her photoshoot. So we ate some spinach, lifted up the sari, and crashed it on top her head. Ok it wasn't THAT heavy, but I'm sure the MUA (Gianna) had some aching muscles the next day. I just directed from behind the camera with my light-as-a-feather 50mm lens. I put two gelled lights onto the sari to pop the colours out a bit, using a blue and orangey/yellow tone, the same tones incorporated in the sari. Then out of no where, the sari exploded :O Good thing I was snapping away and captured it!

Jessica had no idea what she wanted to do for her manip piece. About 2 days before the shoot she texted me a cartoon version of Poison Ivy all up in Batman's face. So our themed changed from a very dark one, to a colourful comic book character, which I really preferred anyway. I love when clients practice in the mirror, and I love when they get so excited for a shoot that they go out and make a costume! The shoot was no more than 10 minutes, she knew exactly what she was doing way before she reached my house. God bless you Jessica, God bless ya.

I posted this piece and had no idea what to call it, until someone mentioned the upcoming movie "Black Swan". Well there you go, I've named you, my child.

The Rise and Fall of John Tesoro premiered last night in L.A., and I was so happy to hear from one of our team members that it was a great success! Here is Gerry Bednob (40 Year Old Virgin , Zack & Miri Make A Porno) expressing his excitement.

Please take a look at the following ad for Castara, and remember
VOTE JOHN TESORO!!!

Zombie lovin', Show &Tell , Digital Camera World magazine

I've been with my boyfriend for five years, and we've never done one of those "couple's portraits" where they're holding hands walking along the beach, or hugging up next to pretty flowers, orrrrrrrrrr wearing matching white shirts and blue jeans being caught in mid-laugh, or some other generic crap that doesn't come to mind right now. So a few weeks ago I thought about things that we both love, and it hit me - The Walking Dead! We are huge fans of that comic and are weeing ourselves waiting for the series to start soon. I scribbled a concept on one of my phone bill envelopes, and after a few weeks went by, I finally got the chance to do a quick shoot for this.

You know how they talk about undying love. This is Undead Love.

you always got my back babe....*crickets*

Yesterday I was a presenter at Above Group's 10th edition of Show & Tell. It was myself and Alan Davis, a surf board builder. Wish I got some pix of it but I forgot to tell someone to take a few shots during the presentation. Hopefully someone did , I'll add a pic or two if I come across any. I'm not a very outgoing super social gal (sans alcohol) , but it's so easy for me to go on and on about things that I love, and I love my job. Thanks to everyone who came out and supported Alan, myself, and Above Group.

I got a message from someone saying that they saw my work in Digital Camera World magazine this month, so that was a nice suprise. I completely forgot that something was going to be published there. I got my hands on a pdf of the mag, so here's a little screen shot of the feature.

Digital Camera World, August 2010 issue

Lost Friend, and other stories.....

I barely have any memories from my childhood. I'm not sure what all that is about, but last night I remembered something. I remembered being in primary school with my three friends, we were in the Botanical Gardens for P.E. , solving a crime. We were, after all, the Mysterious Four. We discovered an area with a shredded, polka-dotted, red and white dress after we drifted from the rest of the kids. We followed a trail that led us further away from our class. We came to a patch surrounded by bush and tall trees. We saw a foam mattress that was covering something. I picked up a long stick. I prodded the mattress. There was that torn dress everywhere. I jammed the stick under the mattress, turned it over quickly, and jumped back in horror as I saw....

more bush.

I've always had a big imagination, and I'd pull my friends into my world. I used to tell the kids at school about our mysteries that we were solving, and about the "red eyes" I would "see" under the main school building, revel in freaking out everybody. I was a weirdo with a destiny.

I'm horrible at keeping in touch with people, but thanks to Facebook, I had eventually reconnected with everyone from my childhood. Except one. She was that important best friend that you have when you're still in the single digit age. One day, Sachi disappeared. I couldn't understand what had happened back then, but throughout the years I would ask my mother if she knew anything. Was she kidnapped? was she dead? We had no answers. She was there one minute, and gone the next. I blinked and I grew up. I still thought about her, but my memories were fading. I imagined her being married with kids, if she were still alive. I thought about how nice it would be if she had a boy the same age as my son, what was his name, what did he look like. Was her husband hott - grats to her if he was. What happened to her mom, her aunt....the other people in her life that were also in mine. What if she never disappeared...would we still be friends.....

I'm checking my Facebook, and there it is. A friend's request from Sachi. My chest hits my brain. She's very much alive and living in the US. We reconnect, I get the MSN-chatty-version of what happened to her, but I know I have to hear it in person. Fast-forward to my Florida trip that I mentioned in my last post. I shop til my card cries, and get my thrills on front row Sheikra. My vacation is coming to an end , but Sachi lives in this State and I'm not going to leave without seeing her.

I call her , and I hear this...American voice. She's so excited to see not just me, but my mom. We plan to meet at Dadeland Mall in the food court. I'm sitting there nervously looking around. I can't remember if I saw her first or if she saw me (the blonde poof isn't hard to spot). We have a long hug, and I step back and take her in. This is really Sachi, back from the dead....or back from the UFO that took her. Memories unlock , things start coming back to me. She remembers all these hidden moments. As she talks about them, I light up, because it's all coming back to me. We are so alike, but our lives are very different. She loves fashion and credits my mother for that. So many things, it helped open up that horrible memory of mine.....it was....refreshing. In the end, we got the real story. Her mother kidnapped her, grabbed her one random day and flew her out of the country with nothing but the clothes on her back. Her family in Trinidad didn't know where she was for many years. She was afraid that no one would remember her.

I was waiting to dig up some old pictures of us before I posted this, but that'll take another lifetime to do, so I took the liberty of MS-painting a few memories that I have of us as kids.

Sachi and I playing Mario Bros. on her ginormous tv, it was a Sony or something.


The shady casino in St. James her mom used to take us to

Last memory of Sachi before she disappeared. We were playing with my then baby brother Brandon. You can thank me for the glowing tan later.

At Dadeland Mall where we met up

Sachi and I , 17 years later.

Who knows what the future holds for us, can't wait to see her again! Now for some work. When I did my shoot with Mckey Sullivan (ANTM), there was this mini-beauty onset named Jade. I took a few pictures of her between a wardrobe change but then completely forgot about them with all the new work I had to keep up with. A family member of hers passed away recently, and her uncle thought that one of the photos would cheer her up, since she's a big fan of fashion and ANTM. I sent them this one, and I was happy to hear that it put a smile on her face.

Some more recent work:

Hyperballad. Sarah was in Trinidad for a bit so we did a quick shoot before she left. The look of this one was fueled by lots of Pendulum and Bjork music.

Gypsy. From my shoot with Leah in Macurepe. Don't you love my wire-guys?

A self-portrait - needed an updated pic for Advanced Photoshop magazine

Cashell @ La Vega