Spanish sunset and seductive shadows w/ Lupé!

Good evening to some, good morning to others. I’m checking the last of my “to-do” boxes, getting a Steemit post made before bed. I’m still seeing so much pessimism. I’ve experimented with @onosocial, the EOS Chinese DAC, and read this morning about yet another blockchain drama, firing all super partners because of a few bad actors. On principle, I won’t be posting there, but on top of the crushing pressures of Steemit’s own existential crisis, and the hemorrhaging market over all, there isn’t much to feel good about right now. Thankfully, I beat @tarotbyfergus in several unanswered rounds of Magic: The Gathering tonight. Silver lining, I guess.

I’m going to try and keep this post relatively short because my Trail by Comics: Exposé interview with Thomas Nachlik had me up till almost 4:00a.m. I’ve been dragging all day, so I’m going to get to the new photography while I still have a few ounces of consciousness. All new work from Los Angeles in August during the coast to coast photography tour/family vacation with @vermillionfox and @guthrie. The client’s name is Lupé and I had the pleasure of shooting with her once before. Lupé won a free session during the first NOIR I LA event, all the way back in 2015.

That ended up becoming an emotional moment for all of us. Lupé had recently undergone a massive weight loss. The kind that reshapes your entire body and personal image. Winning the session for this event meant that she only had to show up. Hair, make-up, wardrobe and a four star hotel for the location were all included. When the make-up artist turned Lupé to look in the mirror, she immediately burst in to tears. She was overwhelmed with how beautiful she looked, and all of us, the beauty team and myself in the room, looked at one another. We were all reminded how lucky we are to have this job.

Lupé and I stayed in touch. She’s an artist, illustrator and punk rock enthusiast, so we had a lot in common. Before the trip to LA in August, she contacted me about booking a private session. She placed her deposit and she arrived the day of at the massive vintage estate outside of Los Angeles. She brought two incredible outfits. One representing her Mexican heritage, and a second, sexy black femme fatale lingerie look. The space was perfect and we were able to shoot Pasadena City Hall just as the sun was going down. The second look was throughout the halls of the mansion at night.

More from this shoot to come. Believe it or not, these are the first images I’ve had a chance to get to, so they’re as new for me as they are for you. I remember the first year or so of Steemit, I was digging in to the archives for old work to share. Honestly, for more than a year, almost everything I’ve shared on Steemit has been new work. I have no shortage of that to get through, so once my edits are done, Steemit is the first place it goes to hit the internet. Thanks for reading and supporting. For more photography, art, illustration and the stories behind the work, follow me here @kommienezuspadt!