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Meet Elem! She’s my favorite make-up artist. I have the absolute pleasure to call this young lady my friend.
And I’m fortunate to work with her on many of my photography projects. She lifts my work to an higher level. She has worked with me on so many occasions, all it takes is a few words, a quick look at the model’s outfits and a little mood board for her to know exactly what it takes. I entrust her with the whole make-up and hair thing on set. What ever she comes up with always turns out great.
You’re amazing Elem! Thank you!
MLB brought major league baseball to Europe for the very 1st time ever. There was a rumor floating around for quite some time: the New York Yankees would play the Boston Red Sox in London in an official MLB game. As long time Yankees fans, that had my best friend and I pretty exited. So when the official announcement came, we bought a pair of tickets to one of the games and set sail to London. Better yet, we boarded an Eurostar train for London.
We had tickets for Saturday’s night game. So after checking in to the Marriott hotel and doin’ some shopping, we headed down to the London Stadium, formerly the Olympic Stadium for the 2012 Olympic and now home to West Ham United. Found our seats, grabbed a bite to eat, made friends with the Dutch and English setting next to us and go all psyched up for the game.
After an exiting 1st inning, the score was tied at 6 – 6. That hadn’t happened in MLB history for more than 30 years. 4 hours and 42 minutes later our team came out on top: Yankees 17, Red Sox 13! Yankees win! Yankees win! Yankees win!
The air show of the Royal Dutch Air Force are always something to look forward to. Their Luchtmachtdagen are a perfect organization and usually have a great line up.
This year was particularly exciting as it was the 1st air show since the Dutch brought the F-35 into service. I had high hopes that they would display their newest birds. And I was not disappointed. Not only did they display their F-35, they also put together a fighter heritage flight with a Spitfire, an F-16 and the new F-35.
Here’s a little impression with the best of the rest:
I know my favorite model Shannety needs no more introduction. Anytime I have her on my set, I am certain we’ll produce beautiful images. I would like to introduce you to the work of Shannety’s friend Britt.
On our latest collaboration, Shannety asked if she could bring Britt to do her make-up. I was not disappointed! Britt did an amazing job. These 2 portraits really show case her work. And on top of being a very good make-up artist, she a very cool young lady. It was really fun to have her on set. I hope work with her again some time soon.
She has her own blog too: brittboeckx.com. Go check it out.
A couple of weeks ago, I shot my 1st project for 2019. It was quite a big production involving 5 models and 2 make-up artists, in a studio that wasn’t my own. So it was quite a challenge to get it all arranged. But I think I pulled it off nicely. At least judging from the reactions, we have produced a couple of nice pics.
After presenting these 5 lovely ladies in lingerie in an earlier post, today I have a more casual look to share with you.
I am not used to running big productions like these. I could not have done it without the generous help of my friends Michel & Karen. Thank you guys! Fortunately, I did not have to worry about make-up on this production. The very talented make-up artist Elem and her friend Manouche had that covered. And they handled it beautifully!
And a very big thank you to all 5 models off course: Elise, Liesbet, Sharon, Cindy and Caroline.
OK, I admit: it ain’t even close to black & white. These pics are pretty much done in technicolor. They’re lit wit 3 Elinchrom with Lee Filters color gels which turned my white background into a bright pink.
But lovely Lynn is wearing black and white latex by William Wilde and matching ballet by Kassiopeya heels though. So does that count as back and white?
I recently bought a Falcon Eyes FLC-65 ring light. A make-up artist I worked with last year, uses it to light up the model’s face while she applies make-up. I was quite impressed with the output of the light. As the light was not too expensive, I decided to have a go at it.
My beautiful friend Romi was kind enough to sit down with me for a 1st test of the light. She’s used to model for me. She knows to be a little patient with me when I want to test new gear or new setups. She’s also confident that something good will come out of those little test sessions.
It took me a little getting used to shooting with continuous light, an ISO over 100 and have my lens wide open. But once I got the hang of it, we produced a few nice portraits.
I have been working with plus-size models from long before it became fashionable to grace their curvy beauty on the cover of magazines like Sports Illustrated or on the catwalks of NY Fashion Week. Long before the hashtag #PlusIsEqual was ever invented. I honestly believe women are beautiful, no matter their size.
Riding the coattails of the hype, I started working on my own #PlusIsEqual production. It seemed the appropriate time to gather a few of my favorite curvy models and show you all how beautiful they are.
Last weekend, I had the pleasure of having these 5 beauties in a studio.
A big thank you to the models. Caroline, Sharon, Liesbet, Elise and Cindy: you are amazingly beautiful ladies and it was an honor and a pleasure to work with you!
But this pic wouldn’t be anything without excellent work of Elem and Manouche–the 2 make-up artists of the day– and the help of my friends Michel & Karen who were kind enough to let me use their studio for the shoot. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!
Lynn is my 1st model for 2019 and she’s also my 1st new face for the year. I prepared an all white set to match that beautiful white latex skater dress and boots with ballet heels. As she zips up her boots, I guess it is time for: “Lights! Camera! Action!”
I don’t get to do photo shoots as often as I would like. So I tend to work with experienced models I know to get the most out of every photo shoot. But a few times a year, I offer my studio to an aspiring model. Usually someone I’ve never worked with.
Pakitha is one of these young ladies that had asked me if I would want to work with her. She had never modeled before, but she was an absolute charm to work with. Once she got the hang of it and flashed her natural smile, she just shone like the brightest star you’ve ever seen.
Billy Joel’s Blond Over Blue from his 1993 album River of Dreams would be the perfect soundtrack for these pics. It was the song that got stuck in my head all trough the shoot.