Beach Bummy
Living on the East Coast, it’s truly hard to develop a true love and appreciation for the Beach. Don’t get me wrong, the beach has always been a place of peace for me - waves crashing, the soft sand beneath your toes, the intensity of the sun refreshing your skin but the water on the East Coast doesn’t allow you to fully engulf yourself in the experience (outside of South Florida). But the West Coast is a different beast and I didn’t realize how different until I arrived in Malibu to shoot with Vanessa (@overstandi).
Malibu is fucking beautiful and you know it’s real because the day we actually was shot was beyond overcast and cold but still, all I could do was stand in wonder at how the universe presented itself. What probably helped was Vanessa and her energy. We rode up from The Valley because I scooped her on the way from Koreatown, so we got to vibe out a little prior to the camera coming out. And that piece is understated in the creative process when it comes to photography. Musicians give themselves the time and space to really connect with each other before creating and so do many other mediums of artists but when it comes to editorial and fashion photography, that piece is often missing.
This much needed step in our process this time created an alluring experience for all of us. Not only did Vanessa give me so much to work with during the shoot but me, Jaz & her all left after a couple hours really enjoying each other’s company. She has a pure energy that translates so well to performance. As we have both mentioned to each other, our next shoot with each other is going to be crazy and I can’t wait for the reconnect so that we can.
