happy valenitine's day!

my "lost in love" editorial in february issue of ROUGE magazine. more on my website.

dream catcher

our coat story in december "holiday" issue of ROUGE magazine:

stylist: ursula agurto
make-up: anetta klemens
hair: daniel santos
photo assistants: aric gutnick and zoe roman
fashion assistant: evan narvaez
models: zenia sevastianova & caroline de marqui @ major model management NYC

lie sang bong

today i've attended press show of lie sang bong at blank space. his 2010 S/S collection is literally out of this world: something between neo-romantic star-wars and alice in wonderland; with dominating colors of shimmering silver and black, sheer white and quasi-translucede nude; strong geometric shapes with over-sized romantic ornaments.

my favorite pieces from the collection:

united nude

absolutely in love with this "lo-res" shoes by united nude

InFashion bridal

this saturday my team and i were shooting a bridal story for InFashion magazine with beautiful redhead alison hamilton from FORD models.

except for the gold copper of alison's hair (by dj riggs) and soft rosy color of her cheekbones (by anetta klemens) we kept the story monochromatic, adding a little bit definition and depth to the set by using crumpled paper and white branches.

the story features 7 gorgeous wedding gowns styled by urusla agurto.

soon at the newstands!

frying pan

and yet another re-make (that location is so worth it!) shot at a chelsea secret gem and one of my favorite spots in NY - lightship "frying pan". this time my prop stylist veronika ossi dressed the boat in black velvet and blue silk, and decorated its interior with antique mirrors, dry flowers, stuffed birds, and empty picture frames to create a dreamy and mysterious mood.

our model was norvegian blond nina from muse models. rebecca casciano added a touch of fuchsia to nina's eyes and defined her eyebrows with dramatic black;

dj riggs created a tall platinum blond hairstyle inspired by marie antoinette;

on top of it all ursula agurto styled nina in surreal latex gown, metal mask with horns, kinky chain top, etc.

team of 9 people, we took over the boat and had so much fun exploring its rooms filled with weird objects and pieces of furniture. (an old wooden pianio on the first floor, a creepy dentist chair in the wheelhouse, a vintage typewriter, old suitcases, and even a small cabinet of curiosities) each of us had a chance to contribute to the outcome - even though i had it all pre-panned i was trying to be flexible and closely followed my team's suggestions about good angles & photogenic spots each of us was finding around. thanks to them (and especially my assistant aric gutnick) i also ended up having a pretty good backstage reportage.

in the woods

despite of non-cooperative new york weather yesterday we finally managed to do our fashion shoot in the woods, and use that dull sky and flat light as our advantage to turn the story into a mysterious fairy tale. that wouldn't be possible without my good friend anetta klemens who this time apart from doing make-up and manicure was also a producer of the shoot - she put together an amazing team (stylist ursula agurto & hairstylist ianthe foushee), organized location scouting (forest park), as well as she provided her beautiful place for us to prep for the shoot before going in the woods.

it was my second time working with jae brickman from major. (you might remember this "blond fatale" from the beauty story "dreamers"). i am in love with this girl! amazing face and great personality. i knew she would be a perfect candidate for the role of the "woods spirit", and i was right. jae was gracefully balancing on her high heels on top of sleepery tree trunks, without a second thought laying down at dusk in the midst of ferns, and bravely ignoring all the bugs and mosqitos even after 6 hours of shooting.

and of course this shoot wouldn't be possile without my assistant aric gutnick who was the one responsible for creating misterious fog (aka "dog", aka "vogue" according to my tired & sloppy pronuciation of the word during the whole day of the shoot) around our model.

look out for this editorial on NY newstands very soon!

mood indigo

style: dina yassin
make-up: anetta klemens
hair: caroline prince (creative management NYC)
set design: angela campos (creative management NYC)
model: camille (NY models)

mood indigo

it is probably one of my favorite shoots so far.. it happens when all elements fall into place harmonically and - as if - magically. camille (beautiful redhead from NY models i wrote about before) was even more stunning in person then on pictures - 6ft. tall, porcelain skin, pale blue eyes of a 15y.o. beauty, and the most incredible hair running down up to hips level in a heavy copper stream. we had 2 new people in the team - caroline prince was the one taking care of the beautiful golden fleece of camille's hair, and angela campos was creating unique sets to create the right mood on set.

the mood was of a color of indigo. very simple and thoughtful, portrait-like and a little dreamy. black and white clothes chosen for this shoot by dina yassin were a perfect match. anetta klemens created an amazing nude look with a little bit of definition for the eyes emphasizing camille's natural beauty.

it all made my task real easy - i just needed to compose all the elements in my viewfinder and press the shutter release button. such a great way to spend a saturday!

newton creek

today we've successfully launched location photography season 2009!

despite of the gloomy weather forecast we decided to take the risk. location was chosen more then a year ago and carefully preserved until the right moment.. right moment was created by my beautiful girls - dina (wardrobe) and anetta (make-up&hair), as well as by gorgeous lisa jackson (you probably saw her at american next top model show) from major models.

our location was a hidden greenpoint's gem (so hidden that i managed to get lost driving everybody there), newton creek park at the far east end of box street. it charmed me with its minimal concrete walls of organic shapes - an unexpected piece of architectural design in the middle of nowhere. it was the perfect background to our fashion - minimal clothes of unusual shapes and neutral colors that look stunning on our 6"0 tall jamaican beauty. overcasted sky made me a big favor by serving as an oversized softbox giving the most amazing even lighting while not being too flat.

we finished just on time (again, a record - 7 looks within 3 hours) - at 4pm the downpour started, but we were already driving back to my studio to have delicious polish food bought for all of us by anetta. a little bit of red wine, a friendly chat & laughs about our adventures today, and we are all saying goodbye to get some rest before tomorrow's shoot.. but that will be another story.

astali guns&bullets

sunday was a pleasant day to do jewelry shopping in soho - i started at sample sale of dinasaur jewelry (we just shot a beauty story using their colorful beads and bangles), then walked along street vendors with their hidden gems, and ended up at young designers market on mulberry. there i met shannon de jong, astali jewlery designer who's creating bold stylish pieces using toy guns and bullets casings. i couldn't resist and got myself the whole set - two necklaces that can be layered together and a chunky bracelet. LOVE it! hope to use their designs in my upcoming fashion shoots.

"alice in w" editorial (ROUGE magazine, april 2009)

and another april editorial - my "alice in wonderland" story published in ROUGE magazine.

it was a day full of adventures in my friend's (veronika ossi) beautiful loft in greenpoint. we were making the model (martina from MC2) climb the ladder and hang from the chandelier, play chess and have a crazy tea party with invisible guests, and listen to the songs of encaged red roses... everything how it is supposed to be on "the other side of the world" - upside down, with a twist!

full story can be viewed at: www.nymfea.com

summer fashion

when i think "summer" i think "color", "energy", "freedom". all these we tried to show in our summer 2009 fashion editorial with beautiful marija from major model management. the story was clean and edgy - with lots of movement and expression. dina yassin who was styling the shoot pulled vibrant, playful clothes from amazing designers - manish aurora, PORTS 1961, cerpico, yeholee, irregular choice, juju, among others. bright, three-dimensional make-up by anetta klemens complimented the look. marija's hair were pulled up in a sleek yet unusual style (by jamal hodges), with a twisted braid and excuisite moon-shape hair piece.

there was so much of positive energy in my studio during this shoot that we managed to finish all 9 looks within 6 hours! time always flies in a great company.

"kat woman" editorial feat. russian top-model & emerging fashion designer katerena alkhimova

it was definitely a fun shoot and dream come true! my team (dina yassin [wardrobe], aldys minaya [make-up], sato taeko [ hair]) and i were shooting beautiful katerena alkhimova (muse of john galliano; face of jil sander, versus, keneth cole; face you saw on the covers of vogue and l'officiel, as well as editorials by steven meisel, peter lindberg, paolo roversi - among others) for her cover feature in ROUGE magazine as a russian top model and emerging fashion designer.
katerena recently started her fashion line - kat basics [http://www.katbasics.com]; her first collection consisted of two simple yet irresistably sexy pieces - skin tight black dress and body suit with transparent stripes. we were using both pieces - combined with current FW2009 fashion - to create 6 unique fashion looks and show katerena's inner women: seductive, romantic, glamourous, edgy, boyish, extravagant, and fatal. it was incredible to see all the transformation live! it felt like doing 6 different stories with one incredible beauty - as a photographer i could hardly ask for more.

for now just a sneak pick of the polaroids; full story to come shortly.