A few months ago, Olga and I were in the East Village looking for props for our DragonChik body art photo session. It was then that we walked into an astonishing boutique, Gothic Renaissance, and met two managers, Laramie and Stitch. Word by word, we ended up talking about a joint project, portraying them in a unique environment, or so we hoped for.
After a concept meeting, we came up with a couple of locations, and I started working on them. One, unfortunately, fell through, but I was able to secure the other, even more grandiose… the entire theater, along with the stage, curtains, lights, and a lighting technician! Doreen, the executive director, was just a pleasure to deal with!
More concept meetings have followed, lots of thought have been put into planning for two months, and finally, the day has come.
The Friday morning was spent on last-minute shopping, and the minivan loaded with a pile of props, clothing, people, a ferret, and a parking ticket, slowly made its way to Staten Island, impatiently awaited by the make-up artist, hair stylist, and a supporting model. The preparations began.
Laramie and Stitch, in the hands of the talented professionals, built up their characters while the model was getting her body painted. Olga and I were setting up the scenes and lighting. It wasn’t until 5 PM (!) when we finally started to shoot. Admittedly, we underestimated one step that caused a delay and, as a result, cut our session in half… Nonetheless, we were able to work on three scenes, and here are some of the results.
I got home past midnight, exhausted, regretting the lost opportunities, yet happy with what we managed to squeeze out. To make it clear – I will not be entirely happy until we make it up so the project lives on!
Credits:
– Ed Hafizov – photography, production, and post-production
– Olga Mironova – photography, styling, and assisting
– Laramie Wilcox, Stitch Azintime, Tatiana – models
– Jessica Jade Jacob – makeup and FX effects
– Tayla Yafit Israel – hair styling
– Anastasia Durasova – body art
– David Cruz – theatrical lighting and special effects, St. George Theatre
– Doreen Cugno – Executive Director, St. George Theatre
3 Comments
and where is awesome wideangles? please,please when you”ll have time . And Thanks again for everybody for being great team .
Usually Gothic images are cold and scary, this one is worm, very strong, seductive and magical
These are amazing pics….it was worth all the planning and labor. Please post more pics soon!