This week, HairLocs International launched its nationwide campaign across nearly every Niche Media title, including Ocean Drive, LA Confidential, Gotham, Hamptons, and Vegas magazines. Through a good friend of mine, Lupe Ceballos, for whom I used to photograph recording artists, I was able to bring the campaign to SlickforceStudio. We handled everything from the production to the casting—which is why you may recognize some of your favorite Slickforce superstar models in the campaign.

The shoot was incredibly fun, especially for hair-stylist Al Ingram, because we got to experiment with many ways of making hair look exciting on camera—and you all know I love amazing hair. Slickforce lead make-up artist Gaby Ramos nailed every shot in this campaign, which is even more impressive given the full spectrum of model complexions that she worked on.

Thanks to HairLocs and to the incredible Slickforce team for helping to create a beautiful campaign!

MODELS (Left-to-right thumbs): Airess Padda, Nazanin Mandi, Ayanna Jordan, Jenifer Richardson, Remington Nelson

 

Though I certainly found my safari and my experience living with Maasai to be mind-blowing, I must confess that if I had to sum up my trip to Kenya in one word, it would be a very easy answer: monkeys.

My beach hut, though mere steps from the Indian Ocean, was surrounded by giant trees—palms, baobab, and mangrove—which were homes to families of monkeys. The monkeys were eerily intelligent, and they would watch you—study you—like cynical mini-humans, trying to determine if you were something to fear. Much to my surprise, I befriended a few of of the gray Sykes monkeys—the black-and-white Colobus monkeys didn’t care for me very much. By the end of my trip, I would walk out onto my porch, shout some wild animal call into the sky, and a half-dozen or so monkeys would literally drop out of the trees, hanging by their tails, and hop onto my front porch. There they sat, patiently waiting, like dogs without the barking, until I produced some fruit from a bag—which they took from my hand, and sat there quietly and ate. I had never seen anything like it. They happily ate my bananas, apples…even my cookies! The sheer interaction with the monkeys alone put my safari experience to shame.

I also made a point to visit Kaya Kinondo, one of the actual sacred forests that the forests in Avatar were based on. The trees were out of this world, with roots growing in all directions, even up. The forest contained medicinal trees, plants used for cooking and spices, and even some foliage reserved for rituals to the gods. It was a peaceful place, and I could see how generations of Digo tribes were able to find their spiritual center here.

When I returned home to my beach hut that night, I was shocked to find the place had been trashed—and I knew someone had broken in. Strangely, my camera and my laptop were untouched, but surrounding the overturned furniture there were banana peels everywhere. Who would break into my house, I thought, eat all of my bananas and leave my Canon 5D? Then it hit me: I had been robbed by monkeys.

INDEX:
Top Images: Kaya Kinondo, Sykes monkey eating my cookie
1-5: Kaya Kindondo, the sacred forest
6: My beach hut in Diani
7: Black-and-white colobus monkeys
8-14: My Sykes monkey friends, eating all of my food

 

 

It’s not everyday you get to work with someone you know is going to be big. I mean, it’s different if they’re already a star…but there’s a special energy that happens on a shoot when you know that one day people will be looking back at this shoot, to see where it all began.

Such luck smacked me across the face last week when Kris Jenner, mastermind and matriarch of the Kardashian clan, asked me to photograph her daughter, Kendall, for her Wilhelmina modeling book. She had been very happy with the shoots I’d given Kim, Khloé, and Kourtney, and she was hoping I could do the same with Kendall. The only catch, you see, is that she’s only 14-years old.

Kendall was a trooper right out of the gate. I asked her if she minded getting in the water, crawling on sharp rocks, etc., and she simply shook her head and said she’d do whatever it took to make art. Thanks to her sisters, I had Kendall’s trust. So, as I do with every model, I immediately got the hard stuff out of the way, because there’s never enough sunlight for a warmup period. I stuck Kendall on a rock in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, and she held her poses with incredible professionalism—and her faces with intensity—even as waves smacked her in the back of the head.

The rest of the shoot went much the same way, and Kendall’s learning curve was incredibly steep. I was continually impressed with how quickly she took what she learned from one setup and applied it onto the next one. By the time a girl is 21, which is the average age I photograph, I expect them to have had at least a few good years of checking themselves out in the mirror and working their poses. But for a 14-year-old with almost no experience (save her celebrity genes), Kendall hit this one right out of the park for sure.

I didn’t expect the controversy that this shoot generated—it’s already been featured on E! News, People, In Touch, Extra, and Access Hollywood. Apparently some thought the shoot was too provocative for such a young model (sample video here). But to be fair, we should make a distinction between fashion modeling and glamour modeling. If you look at the early work of Adriana Lima, Brooke Shields, Miranda Kerr—the list goes on—their books were filled with sensational-yet-hardly-conservative images that launched them into supermodel status before age 16. In my opinion, whether the model wears a sweater or a swimsuit bears little relevance, as long as the shoot is tastefully done. I made a concerted effort to keep this shoot a very healthy PG13.

I have to give special love to stylist Monica Rose on this shoot, who not only brought incredible wardrobe as she’s always done with Kim, and who sat by the laptop making sure every frame was perfect, but who also was waiting in tow with a robe and towel, ready to warm up Kendall each time she ran back shivering onto the beach. You’re the best! xo

Credits:
Wardrobe Styling: Monica Rose
Make-up: Joyce Bonelli
Hair: Rob Scheppy
Production Stills: Derek Eskridge & Christian Arias

 

It’s safe to say that the Kenyan coast is the closest thing I’ve found to paradise. After my excursions around Nairobi and inland, I decided to head to the coast for something a little more tranquil. I took an overnight train from Nairobi to Mombasa, which was awesome…one of those old rickety sleeper cars…I felt like I was on the Orient Express. I found Mombasa a bit too crowded and commercial for my taste, so I headed south to Diani beach, an hour or so away from the Tanzanian border. Once I arrived, I knew within minutes that I had found what I was looking for.

I rented a 2-bedroom beach hut, just steps from the Indian Ocean, for under $50/night. I couldn’t believe it. Every morning, a fisherman named Ali would come to my door and sell me fresh fish, and I bought fruits and vegetables from a local farmer. I’d never had passion fruit before, and it instantly became my favorite fruit ever. It was the healthiest menu I had ever eaten. Around Diani were many wildlife sanctuaries. Among them was Shimba Hills, where I spotted the rare sable antelope, only found two places in the world. I reminded myself, however, that I came here to relax, so I made a point not to burn myself out sightseeing.

The beaches were perfect, white sand as far as the eye could see, and not a soul on them, save a few trinket peddlers. The ocean was unbelievably warm, so when I wasn’t vegging out on the beach, I made sure to get in lots of scuba diving. I made friends easily in Diani—people were incredibly welcoming and sincere. I even managed to find a crew eerily similar to my friends back home, which made me often forget I was on the other side of the world.

There are no words to describe the nights on the coast. Just take a look at the pictures and you’ll understand why. Barely any light pollution allowed for the brightest stars and the most incredible astral photography. Every night I would stumble blindly from my hut to the beach in the pitch black, where I set up my camera for night shots. I couldn’t believe the exposures I was getting, and it further cemented my love for Kenya. Tutaonana, inshallah.

INDEX:
1-4: Night train to Mombasa, that #2 shot is a 30-second exposure at 3am.
5-8: Shimba Hills, grasshopper, sable antelope, elephants
9: My beach hut in Diani
10: The view from my beach house
11-15: My shade sanctuary, white sand beaches
16: My friends in Diani: Didi, Gitz, Sidney, Ali Khan
17-21: Nightfall on the Kenyan Coast

 

I can see it so clearly. I’m 8 years old, and I’m in the Pleasant Plains elementary school library. I’m looking through my first National Geographic, and that’s when I see it—my first African tribe. I knew it right then: I had to get there—I was going to go live with them, learn their language, dress in their clothes, and do my darndest to become one of them. That was my dream, anyway.

So last month, while I’m on safari in Kenya at the Masai Mara wildlife preserve, I ask my driver if he can put me in touch with a local village chief (mzeé). He thought I was a bit nuts, but he came through with flying colors. He found me a guide who not only lives in a nearby Maasai tribal village (manyatta), but actually speaks a bit of English thanks to working nights as a safari camp security guard. I meet my guide, Meingati, the next morning, and he introduces me to the son of the chief, Kamwana (the chief was visiting friends in another village). Kamwana gives me a price to hang out in the village for an hour and take pictures. I tell him politely, no thank you—I want the real deal. So he agrees to let me stay in the village for two days, and it only costs me a cow.

My new friends welcomed me to Oltepesi village. They introduced me to members of their tribe, and showed me the usual tourist displays, like how to make fire, and a few tribal dances, including the ceremonial jumping, where men compete for brides by seeing who can jump the highest (seriously). I finally convinced them they didn’t need to entertain me—I just wanted to kick it with them however they, well, kick it. So we went off into the bush, tracked antelope by their poop, brushed our teeth with frayed sticks, and sat in the shade dodging the heat of the sun and napping. Then, we went to the Maasai market, which only happens once a week—I considered my timing extremely lucky. Hundreds, if not thousands, of Maasai walk from villages as far as Tanzania, to barter, haggle, and shop for everything from goats and cows to weapons (daggers, staffs, bows and arrows, AWESOME! I felt like I was playing D&D). I met many of their friends, some from distant lands, and ALL extremely friendly. I used this as my opportunity to learn some of the local Maasai language (Ma), which is completely different from the Swahili spoken throughout Kenya. Among my favorites were “Ero Sopa” (a familiar ‘hello’), “Ashi ashi” (thank you), and “Olesére ölcheré” (goodbye friend).

When we got back to the village, I played with the children for nearly two hours. I was surprised that a few of them even understood a little English. I realized then that the indigenous tribes are in every bit as much danger of cultural extinction, perhaps more, than the animals in the neighboring plains are of a physical one. That night, I drank cow milk from a giant gourd, listened to tribal songs, and slept on a floating cowskin stretched between four poles—one of the best nights of sleep in my life. The dwelling I stayed in was incredibly well-constructed, built by the women in the village, who do all the construction and build the entire village themselves. I lay there on my cow-bed, in awe of the wonder of the world, and enamored with my surroundings. The cool cross-breezes put me to sleep in no time.

The next morning, Kamwana came to my dwelling. He had a noticeable confidence apart from the others in the village, one that can only come with knowing you’re going to be the next chief (and having five wives). He gave me a Maasai bracelet, beautifully and thoughtfully sewn together bead-by-bead, and a shúkà, the traditional cloth cape worn by the men. He also gave me a Maasai name: Sarúni, meaning ‘the helpful one.’ I left just before nightfall on the second day, thanking my friends and wishing them well—and hoping it would not be the last time I would see them. I didn’t take as many pictures as I thought I would have. I felt a barrage of photos would have turned my experience into little more than a circus, and I wanted to keep it as genuine as possible. Sometimes you just need to turn off the camera and actually live.

My time with the Maasai was a defining moment in my life, because it symbolized the completion of a childhood dream. I only hope that these tribes will still be around for future generations to dream about. Olesére, ölcheré.

INDEX:

TOP IMAGES: (1) Maasai boy in Oltepesi village, (2) my guide, Meingati

ROW 1
1: (left to right) Meingati, Kamwana, Yenku, unknown
2: Village girl and traditional Maasai home
3: Maasai women performing a ceremonial dance
4: Kamwana making fire
5: Looking to Tanzania
6: Welcoming me into the village
7: Inside Kamwana’s home (30 second exposure…it was pitch black until your eyes adjusted)

ROW 2
1: Drinking cow milk from a hollow gourd
2: Yenku
3: The future chief, Kamwana (right)
4-7: Oltepesi village children

 

Last Saturday, on May 22—36 hours after my return from Kenya—my brother Alex and best-friend-since-kindergarten/SlickforceStudio-Director-of-Operations Kevin Savarese put together the best birthday ever for me, gathering the fantastic family of friends, artists, and all-around wonderful people that we’ve been fortunate enough to work and play with over the years. There really aren’t words to describe the level of happiness that comes with being right where you want to be, with the realization that so many other amazing, intelligent people have helped you get there and want to share in that journey with you.

This was more than a birthday party. It was—and is—a collective celebration of life and how far we’ve come, shared with my favorite people on earth. I am surrounded by brilliant artists and amazing friends, and watching them chase their dreams everyday is like a shot of adrenaline right in the artery of life. I am humbled by their genius and their generosity—I am most certainly one of the luckiest people on earth.

Index (left to right):

TOP IMAGE: Chaos in the stairwell! Too many people to name, see below! :p

ROW 1
1: Retoucher to the stars Joyce Park, Slickforce photographer Cherry Gardner, SHOW Magazine CEO & publisher Sean Cummings, writer/director Stephanie Jones, me, Slickforce photographer Christian Arias, SlickforceStudio intern Asha Catling.
2: Celebrity Glam Squad — Makeup artist Gaby Ramos & fashion stylist Diana Chan
3: ModelKamp superstars Johari Johnson, Shayla Kelis, Jameka Carter, Sara Lydic
4: Christian Arias & model Sara Lydic
5: Art directors Clint Davis & Von Jackson
6: SlickforceStudio’s Joyce Park & Corey Stevenson
7: Alex Saglimbeni & Diana Chan

ROW 2
1: Choreographer Kimmie Morrow and hair stylist Tony Jones
2: SlickforceStudio’s Asha Catling & Cherry Gardner
3: Christian Arias, model Shayla Kelis, Cherry Gardner
4: Von Jackson, me, Cherry Gardner, Sean Cummings
5: Clint Davis & Joyce Park
6: SlickforceStudio assistant Derek Eskridge & Von Jackson
7: Gaby helps me translate a card in Español

ROW 3
1: Taking over downtown LA
2: Derek directs the crowd
3: Diana & Cherry practice their model poses
4: Me and my Boss ladies Christian & Joyce.
5: Slickforce SuperTeam: Cherry, me, Gaby, Kevin, Diana, Christian
6: Best friends since childhood: Triple-boarded surgeon Dr. Mort Rizvi & Slickforce Director of Operations Kevin Savarese
7: Me & the best brother in the world.

 

A few times a year, I force myself to leave the country. For me, it’s the four Rs: A chance to relax, reflect, refocus your energy, and remind yourself why you work so hard.

I spent a month in Kenya this spring, and two days after I hit the ground, I was on a bus to Masai Mara, the enormous wildlife reserve on the Kenya/Tanzania border. After all, what self-respecting photographer can pass up a chance to see the greatest animals on earth in their natural habitats?

I brought my Canon 5DII on this trip, as the Hassy proved much too bulky and inflexible for this scenario, and I was really happy with the Canon results on my Morocco trip last year. I was actually shocked to see that almost everyone on safari was shooting with small point-and-shoot digitals, save the always-prepared Japanese tourists.

My jeep driver, Lawi, was incredibly accommodating, and had an impeccable sense of timing. We spotted cheetahs chasing antelope, a family of lions taking down a buffalo, and huge, mind-blowing elephants—creatures so wildly beautiful the camera can’t even do them justice. Seeing a wild elephant up close (we were 6 ft away) makes you feel like you’re in Lord of the Rings…they are officially now my favorite animals on earth.

Index:
1: Storm on the Mara
3: Wildebeasts
8: Lilac-breasted Roller
11-13: Lions hunting & killing African buffalo
14: Masai Mara at sunset

 

 

I suppose it’s every photographer’s dream to travel the world and shoot someplace with crystal waters, perfect weather, and timeless architecture. So when the publisher of SHOW approached me about putting an international shoot together for rising-star-model Laura Doré, I was all too happy to suggest shooting in Italy.

I’ve found many excuses to travel to Italy over the last few years, starting with shooting Cities of the Underworld for History Channel in early 2008. Since then I’ve been back 6 times, and have made an effort to improve my Italian with each trip. Once the magazine concept was greenlit, I went immediately into producer mode.

The Amalfi Coast is world-famous for its scenic old-world ambiance as well as it’s breathtaking views. I knew we’d have no shortage of places to shoot, so I flew out a week before the rest of the team, scouted some hot spots, and secured lighting equipment in Rome (I was intent on re-creating a full-scale Slickforce-sized shoot, but there was no way I was going to bring all of my equipment from the US). Once the locations were secured, I flew out my best-of-the-best from LA, including make-up artist Gaby Ramos, hair stylist Al Ingram, lead assistant Christian Arias, and wardrobe stylist extraordinaire Diana Chan. I also hired assistants from Italy and London, all of whom I’d worked with on previous shoots in Europe, and a local driver complete with passenger van. We took over 7 cabanas in the small coastal town of Sorrento, where we lived for 5 days.

Once the massive logistics were out of the way, I could finally concentrate on the shoot. Since I had my usual gear, most of lighting setups didn’t vary much from the work I produce at home. What I’m most proud of, however, are the setups on the beaches of Capri. Capri is a small island—and there were no docks or piers to the beaches—so we put all the gear on motor-boats, and cruised as close as we could to the coast. Then we loaded the equipment onto inflatable rafts, jumped in the ocean, and literally towed the rafts to land, generators and all. This was simultaneously the hardest day we’ve ever had and the most fun and awe-inspiring shoot I’ve ever experienced.

And check out the setups. We had lights hanging off of rocks, ringflashes levitating over the sea, and even lit from moving boats! Christian knows I insist on shooting tethered (I loathe lighting to a camera LCD), so she developed rigs for floating my Firewire and laptop cables back to land, while we all did our jobs either perched on rocks or in the water. These shots make me laugh because my awesome crew is doing the same thing they do at home, only this time they’re in bathing suits and up to their navels in water. This is that shoot that every photographer lives for—the one you will never, ever forget.

Thanks to SHOW and Laura Doré for the opportunity of a lifetime, and to Christian Arias, Daniela Guerrero, Hayden Phoenix, Steven Feralio and J.P. Monittola for these amazing behind-the-scenes pics!

 

Kourtney and Khloé Kardashian recently asked me to photograph a new campaign for the re-launch of their DASH Miami boutique. They wanted something that would stop everybody in South Beach dead in their tracks. What better, I thought, than having them get naked?

Well, that’s not entirely true. I did suggest strategically painting the DASH Miami logo across their bodies, so as to keep the ad below porn-level. I wasn’t completely new to the body paint scene, as I got a lot of press for my Vida Guerra painted-as-a-tiger cover a few years back. But what I did remember was that THAT paint job took 3 hours for one model, and I knew we couldn’t burn that kind of time. So I called one of the best body paint artists in Miami, Keegan of Body Art by Keegan.

I flew to Miami and quickly assembled a clone version of SlickforceStudio, so the girls would feel right at home. They cast two of their very own DASH Dolls to join them in the campaign.  Once the ladies were all on set, we experimented with a few different poses and body positions, calculated logo placement, and then the fun really began.

Special thanks to SlickforceStudio assistant Gabe Parra for these awesome pics!

 

Last week we had the pleasure of being an exhibitor at PhotoshopWorld in Orlando, Florida. It was not the first time SlickforceStudio had a convention booth (our longtime Southern California fans may remember way back to ActorFest, Glamourcon, and the Sci-Fi Conventions at the Shrine), but it was certainly our largest public display to date, and our first convention foray on a national level. It was also an important convention because it marked the debut of the DVD box set of Mastering Retouching™.

It was a pleasure and an honor to meet so many masters of their craft, as well as the countless friends, customers, fans, and curious public that approached our booth. I, personally, got a chance to meet many people who I have known on-line for years but never met face-to-face.

I pulled together a power-team for this conference, including magazine covergirls Esther Hanuka and Erica Jackson, Mastering Retouching™ beta-tester Matt Timmons, and SlickforceStudio man-behind-the-curtain powerhouse Kevin Savarese.

I’m proud to say that Mastering Retouching was extremely well-received, so much so that we actually sold out our entire convention supply. Brand new Level 7 volume “Exotic Features” was also included in the series for the first time, and has now been added to all new orders.

We made many new friends, both professional an personal, including NAPP-founder Scott Kelby (photo 1), retouching-guru Dave Cuerdon, and best-selling author Matt Kloskowski (photo 2). We had a blast at PhotoshopWorld, and hope to see those of you we didn’t meet at PhotoshopWorld West in Vegas later this year!