New work w/ Ellie Rayne from Viva Las Vegas!

Good evening, Steemit. This is a late night, coming at the tail end of a long, long day. I’m tired. Myself, @vermillionfox, @guthrie and his brother all made an arduous trip through Minnesota construction and traffic to attend Free Comic Book Day at our local shop, DreamersVault. In addition to picking up more Dominaria cards, we all scored bags of free comics and met local artist and writers. It was a great day, even thought MNDOT really made us pay the price for enjoying our Saturday afternoon.

I’m sharing new work tonight, from one of my favorite shoots during Viva Las Vegas. You’ll all remember my shoot with Ellie Rayne in February. It was the last trip I’d make before @wcpublishing’s Dark Pinup book went to print. Ellie saved much of the book with the photos that came from that collaboration. She’d contacted me a few weeks before Viva and asked if I’d have time to shoot together again. In all honestly, I didn’t…but she’s become a fast friend and a special person to create memorable art with. With that, I found a few available hours just before the Dark Pinup release party.

She coordinated with the same hair and make-up team as our previous shoot. Carly Henschel for hair and Emily Caitlyn to do make-up, both brilliant brilliant beauty professionals. Ellie even sought out the services of my friend @vintagevandalizm for wardrobe and styling help. I pulled a few dresses and gowns from @michelinepitt’s company, La Femme En Noir as well. With all of that in place, we’d be shooting at The Artisan Hotel in Las Vegas. One of my favorite locations to capture dark pinup!

Ellie arrived on time, shoot ready and looked absolutely stunning. When we’d shot last time, I really didn’t know what to expect. She comes from an entirely different walk of life than the vintage/pinup scene. There’s always a feeling out process when working with new artists during a collaboration, but from the start, Ellie was down to earth and entirely professional about the shoot. This time, I felt we had more of friendship synergy. Genuinely happy to see one another again and excited about what we could create with a better understanding of what the other is capable of.

The clock was ticking down till when I had to get ready for the Dark Pinup party, but we made our rounds throughout several floors and the lobby of The Artisan. At one point, even prancing Ellie ass nude through the main lobby, which earned us raised eyebrows from some of the staff […or so @wcpublishing relayed to me the following day], even for a hotel that’s know for wild topless pool and fetish parties.

The images came out great. These are just the first few from the most recent shoot. Starting tomorrow, I have to get back to the remaining clients that’ve been patiently waiting since the fall and winter. Thanks for reading. For more photography, art, illustration and the stories behind the work, follow me here @kommienezuspadt!