Porcelain dark beauty and 360º VR ballet video!

Good evening, Steemians! As you can imagine, in a year of posting here, I’ve shared a lot of my favorite work. Some days, I do find myself looking in to the obscure shoots from a couple years ago; other times I’m beside myself that I’ve somehow missed my absolute favorites! This is one of those shoots!

In February of last year, I worked with an incredibly talented, beautiful Minnesota model named Maria. She’s incredible gifted in dance and contortionism, which started turning my gears for a shoot concept. I have another friend in the Twin Cities named Abbie; a gorgeous model and a classically trained ballerina. I began concocting this idea of two ballerinas in a desolate and abandoned place. They’d look like porcelain dolls, beautiful and sad, sharing an outdoor picnic.

I rarely have a chance to do shoots of my own concept. I’m a full-time freelance artist, so I produce the work that the client requires. Fortunately, in my line of editorial fashion, most of my clients trust my judgement and taste. These kind of shoots, though, only happen once or twice a year. In the industry, they’re called “TF”, or “trade for”, shoots. They’re artistic collaborations for the sole sake of art […and expanding our portfolios or bringing a concept to life]. 

The team was Abbie and Maria, and my good friend Kira McCarty of On Site Muse. We we’re able to pull props for the picnic scene from OnSolidGround, a vintage rental house that specializing in weddings. Other friends chipped in with baskets and blankets. I scouted locations around Minneapolis and found an abandoned park hidden from the freeway, complete with overgrown rocks and stone benches.

Kira did an unbelievable job with hair and make-up and brought the porcelain doll look to life. Abbie and Maria’s hair even had lengths of raw cotton woven in to the braids! At the zero hour, I was able to connect with my friend Joy of Joynöelle and borrow sample wedding gowns from her boutique. Rarely, shoots like this just fall in to place, but this was one of them.

One of the most exciting parts of this shoot was that I had a chance to test my new THEAT S 360º VR camera! I mounted the camera on a monopod in the middle of the picnic and directed both models from behind a rock, connected to a live display on my phone via WiFI, so that I could see them but wouldn’t appear in the shot. Absolutely crazy technology. It was mind bending for a guy that has spent the last 20 years shooting still photography and traditional video.

*Requires compatible browser or phone to view in 360º

The girls are total pros and we captured some breathtaking photos. These are the kind of shoots that reaffirm I was in fact, meant to be a visual artist. It satisfied my need to express and execute a concept, create images that will last long after I’m gone, and experiment with new technology and how it can be applied to art and fashion. 

Thanks for reading! Follow me at @kommienezuspadt for more art, photography, writings and thoughts.