Staying social in LA and new work w/ Cindy!

Good day, from sunny Burbank, California, Steemit! Hope you’re all doing well. I’m navigating the last few days of this west coast trip. It has not been what I expected. I wrote in both of my earlier freewrites that I set a goal to return all of the work I owed from 2018 to my clients. That’s not going to happen, unfortunately. Not a bad problem to have, but I have far too big of a social circle here in LA. Because I don’t live here, I feel compelled to see my friends and that’s been cutting in to much of my work time.

I did carve out a few hours last night at Library Coffee Shop in Long Beach. It’s as close to @caffetto in LA as I’ve found. Dusty old books and old leather furniture. Good coffee and the same tribe of artists/students that camp out on work for half of the night on interesting projects. I got caught in the middle of open mic comedy Wednesday’s, which was weird and a little distracting, but during that time I did manage to finish three edits of Cindy; a beautiful LA based pinup that I photographed in November of last year.

As far as I know, Cindy has only shot professionally once or twice before. Meeting her, I felt like we had creative chemistry from the moment she arrived. Her shoot was in the middle of a busy day […I remember having three shoots, which is the maximum I’ll book for a single day]. Once we were inside the estate, I walked her through the endless Victorian rooms. She was curious about the history, and completely ready to shoot together. Once she changed in to her first look, we made our way to the study.

The shoot was an exploration of the space, the lighting I found in each room, and herself. Cindy had a deadly gown as her first look, and an incredible lingerie set. I found ways to manipulate the light, while still keeping my signature dark pinup esthetic in tact. As the sun set, I was even able to hardness the final moments of a cool mood as it slipped away through the windows. We managed to wrap just at the 90 minute mark, then revel in the high from a remarkably satisfying artistic collaboration.

Thanks for reading! The following few days are going to be the busiest of this trip. I have three shoots tomorrow, one Saturday and then that night, I’ll be catching a red eye back to Minneapolis. So many things I want to get done. A little frustrated that there just aren’t enough hours in the day, but as go, I’ll be making posts here on Steemit. Really excited to see all the development and growth here on our little corner of the blockchain. For more photography, art, illustration and the stories behind the work, follow me here @kommienezuspadt!