Art and friendship w/ Hayley in Minneapolis!

Hi, Steemit! I’m not sure if I should say “good evening”, or “good morning” at this hour, really. Eh. We’re all over the time zone map so who cares. I’m up late tonight, making this post at 1:30a.m. I’m wearing a lot of hats at the moment. Spending all day with @guthrie at home […currently boycotting this heatwave in doors], working on illustration for a wine bottle label job […I’ll probably share that when it’s finished], catching up on edits for clients and of course, blogging about them […that’s the now part]. All of that usually means getting to sleep close to 2:00a.m. or later.

Tonight’s photography are a series of captures of my good friend, Hayley. I’ve known this sweet girl for years. We’d met shortly after I’d moved to Minneapolis and those friends will always have a special place in my heart. She’s stood by me through some of the worst times of my life and more recently, been able to celebrate the best of times of my life. She’s featured in @wcpublishing’s Dark Pinup book and as of tonight, I have a few new photos of her to share with Steemit.

 This shoot almost didn’t happen. I was overcome with a horrible flu and just at the tail end of that illness last November, I was finally starting to feel like I could stand getting out of bed. I did, and fortunately, she lives down the road from me. Dwella is a local Twin Cities make-up artist and model that came on for this shoot. When I arrived, Hayley was hair and make-up ready. We took a few minutes to catch up over fancy hippy tea […something Hayley knows everything about], the set off throughout her place finding suitable locations to shoot.

Like many of the NE Minneapolis condos and artist lofts, it’s a unique cross-pollination of industrial and residential. Some of the newer apartments are old warehouses that’ve been converted in to luxury living areas. The insides of Hayley’s apartment had beautiful open windows and exposed brick. As a photographer, you couldn’t ask for me…except there was more!

In the common room on the higher floors, there was a giant open space with beautiful furniture and a contained, brushed metal gas fireplace. As a photographer that’s known for my use of low light, I immediately had Hayley huddle up on the floor next to the orange flames. We also had access to the rooftop which made for a beautiful […albeit cold] photo with the Minneapolis skyline in the background. It was one of my most enjoyable shoots of the year. Finishing these images up for Hayley is such a great feeling. I applaud and appreciate her patience. Such a great model and such a great friend.

Thanks for reading. For more photography, art, illustration and the stories behind the work […which are often told late, late at night], follow me here @kommienezuspadt!