Top 5(ish) Photos of 2020 - (As If We Needed to Be Reminded).

December 28, 2020

You know…it’s almost as if there was something that happened this year that just sucked all of the joy and energy out of the air, but I just can’t put my finger on it.

Normally I’m pretty excited about these roundup posts. I typically like going back and remembering all of the fun times on set, and reviewing old images that had been delivered, and picking out the forgotten gems that didn’t make the original cut. But this year I have struggled with making this roundup and have put it off about as long as I could possibly justify.

I still think that there were some great memories this year, even if I have to force myself to find the positivity in the process.

The year started off with an immediate trip to Europe. I had just started a new job and spent the first weeks of the year training and getting into the swing of what my days would be filled with.

Having worked for an EU based company for the last several years, I’m no stranger to flying for business. However Copenhagen was its own experience all together. I am so not used to the idea of a Nordic winter where things start to get dark around 3pm and by the time you are done for the day there is almost no daylight left.

I think this was one of the first times I got to get out and really use the Sony A7RIV I bought at the end of 2019. Shooting at extremely high resolution at night is not as easy as you would think! But I still was able to capture some of my “traditional” images of Europe’s various bikes and street art.

When it came time to start shooting portraits again, I had the end of 2019 fresh in my mind and wanted to continue a trend of very minimalist photos that I had been working on.

On my birthday I had the chance to work again with the wonderful Nina La Voix during a trip to New York City. I had planned on being in NY a lot this year (Ha), but even if that didn’t happen I always enjoy my time with Nina and hope to be able to work with her and her circle again soon.

My “home studio” also got a good bit of work at the beginning of the year when I had sessions with Ruby Marx, Gideon Hodge, Jack Calico, and Magenta Marie in what felt like back to back to back bookings

And then, “IT” happened. We had heard rumblings of some sort of illness that was circulating abroad, but it never seemed to be THAT bad. I personally didn’t know what to think or believe until I was in the Atlanta airport and saw the breaking news that the US/Canada border was closed until further notice.

To be honest I think I was more frustrated that my trip to Canada the next week would need to be rescheduled, but then I noticed how empty the Atlanta airport was, and thats when things got a little scary.

I’ve made the joke several times this year, but I’ll say it again. It’s very hard to be a portrait photographer when it’s not a responsible choice to be around other people. So I quickly found out I needed to buckle down and find other ways to get my creativity into the world, and take the time to add some new tools to my photographer’s tool kit.

I hope that in 2021 I’ll be able to actually show the many hours of work that went into this project. But until then enjoy these recreations of some comic book logos.

Additionally I did some work creating some other vector art pieces for myself and for friends of the blog The Fandom Nerdlesque.

(Psssst, If you want to see the photos we originally created for this show you can find them here).

Additionally to learning vector art, I wanted to get into some other arts as well. I managed to snatch up a decent microphone setup before COVID made them almost impossible to purchase:

In this episode your host learns the hard way that podcasting isn't as easy as it looks while trying to explain why we are all here spending this time together. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast.

Blake sits down virtually with Comedian and Podcast Host, Rivers Langley to talk Headshots, Comedy, Podcasting, and some experiments with long gone Polaroid film. To see the photos talked about in this episode, make sure to visit the blog at: UNEXphotography.com/news/2020/7/19/rivers-langely-2020.

In this episode, Blake describes a new project that he is starting and sits down with some of the first friends he made after moving to Atlanta a decade ago to talk about one of the things he loves most in the world...cats.

I’ll be honest that this particular project didn’t exactly take off as much as I’d like for it to have, but I wouldn’t consider this to be dead just yet.

It wasn’t all bad though. I started a new project “The Cats Who Live with my Friends” where I bother my friends to let me take photos of their cats…

Church Bishop Nathan Sara 080220200070.jpg

I need to re-visit this project with some vigor next year and get some more entries lined up and in the can.

Ruby Marx asked me to photograph some non-traditional graduation photos of herself:

And my friends Cody and Tegan asked me to capture one of their most important days:

Devyn was recommended to me by her sister (and no stranger to this blog CharLee):

And now for some photos I’ve been holding on to specifically for this entry, the two sisters demanded that I took some photos of the two of them just being sisters and having a completely un-staged pillow fight. Really…this wasn’t staged at all…nope…not at all ;).

I also want to give a big shout out to Tom and Michelle from Apocalypse in Review for finding me interesting enough to have me on twice this year!

While all of the movies we've featured on our podcast have fetching titles in regards to the dumpster fire that is 2020, this one seems especially fitting. Doomsday (2008) is an action-packed hodgepodge of everything you'd want in an action movie: beautiful ass-kicking woman protagonist, great action sequences, gruesome deaths, and crazy cannibals.

We're so excited to have our friend and portrait photographer, Blake Griffin, back on our show! We watched Akira, the anime movie of all time. We discussed some trivia and Blake through out some cool facts about how Akira created a shift in action movies and became the movie that brought anime into Western culture.

Also please be on the lookout next year as Michelle and I are in the beginning phases of having some episodes of Let Me Take Your Picture where we discuss the art of portrait photography from both a beginner and professional POV.

I think it’s only fitting that I end this entry with a photo of a plague doctor. All things considered I guess I came out ok. I still have my health (mostly) and have been extremely fortunate to keep stable employment through this rollercoaster of a year. I can hope that next year will slowly begin to get more and more “normal” again and maybe by 2022 we will enter a new renaissance of the arts (a boy can dream anyway).

I’m trying not to get too ahead of myself because there is still a lot of bridges to cross, but I have some plans of what I’d like to accomplish in 2021. I want to do what I can to get some more content in the can before I launch it though. I hope to reconnect with some former regulars here on the blog, and continue to create content that is enjoyable (for both me and all of you) and back a little closer to my “roots”.

We’ll get the band back together in due time ;).

Until then, have a wonderful (and safe) new year. Wash your hands, Wear your mask, Get Vaccinated, and don’t gather in large crowds. We’ll get through this together. See you on the other side!

Nina La Voix - 2020.

February 16, 2020

So one thing about my new day job is I am traveling much more these days.

I found myself in New York earlier this week (which just so also happened to be my birthday) and was excited to hear that my first NY client, Nina La Voix, was open and wanted to spend some time shooting.

Nina and I first met a few years ago when I found myself traveling to NY. The last time we worked together we turned a small hotel room into some vintage goodness, and this time was no different.

Believe it or not, we shot these in her apartment, with some simple blackout curtains lending themselves as a background (It’s almost like I know what I’m doing sometimes).

If you ever find yourself in The Big Apple, make sure you track down Nina and show her all of the love she deserves. Her schedule can be found on her website (conveniently located at the bottom of this post).

See more of Nina live in New York City or at her website www.ninalavoix.com

Top Photos of 2018 - An UNEXPhotography year in review!

December 26, 2018

So here we are, it’s that time again. Another year has almost come and passed. 2017 was a HUGE year of firsts for me (I mean, you can see that here if you like, just make sure you come back), and even if 2018 wasn’t as huge, I still accomplished several new things.

Unlike last year, I only averaged a shoot every 1.85 weeks this year, but I still was able to create some quality work and capture some quality times from my friends and clients.

The year started almost immediately, I was at a company meeting for my day job and was challenged with a team of my peers to make a series of images. I’m not sure if I ever actually shared this with anyone since most of my work is portraits and not abstract works, but I still liked how this one turned out.

I was hired to shoot some photos for one of my cosplay clients, and after wrapping I just wasn’t done yet. I had built a very simple and basic lighting setup against a blank wall and asked Kat to step in for a few shots after she finished with a shoot of her own.

I still love how these turned out, and I’m not ashamed to admit I’ve ripped myself off with a similar lighting plan on several shoots after this one.

It also just occurred to me that I never posted any of the final images from the shoot I was hired for. Unless one or two made it to Instagram.

The final images that were delivered to the client were drastically different than this one, mostly because their vision was something very specific (even if it wasn’t really my cup of tea in the end). But I’m still very thankful that I was allowed to experiment on some final images after we shot what was needed.

A short time later I had the chance to shoot New York Burlesque Royalty Nina La Voix while on a business trip. I was happy that she took the time to respond, and actually took a chance to meet up with me in my hotel room for a shoot. We captured a couple of different set-ups that day, but I still love how this image came out.

Zachary reached out to me again to document some photos for what would become the second of his Talon’s Grasp series. We shot this book cover almost exactly one year to the day that we shot his last cover in 2017.

And of course it wouldn’t be a shoot that involves Zak without some out of context snaps that actually end up looking pretty good.

Where would I be without Dom inviting me to shoot concerts that he books when they come through town. I didn’t get to be at as many as I would have liked to this year, but I still love the photo of JD from Grendel as well as the below photos of Ghostfeeder’s guitar player (I never did catch his name) and Peter Turns Pirate frontman Neil.

I need to partner with Dom and make sure I can schedule my time around more of his shows. They are always a good time.

Around this same time I was given the chance to work with Tru Facade and take some of her first burlesque performer photos. She has grown so much over this last year, and I am so happy that I was able to be there at the literal beginning.

In a first in a LONG time I was invited to be a part of a few different art shows. Kate AKA Artetak did a great job at stoking my ego by actually wanting me to be a part of some of the great shows she has held this year.

But of course where would I be without my subjects. Big shout out to Roux for playing ghost in my entry to the “Occult” themed show, and Kali Fornication for being willing to be tied up by a bunch of random cables for my “Sci-Fi” entry.

Put on your best “monster truck voice” because, Sunday, Sunday, Sunday. I met Sunday when she came along for a birthday brunch of mine this year, and knew that at some point we had to work together. Sunday has a great look, and I’m so happy of the work we made together. Can’t wait to shoot more.

I’d be completely lost if I didn’t mention my local Atlanta burlesque family, I didn’t do as much work for them this year as I would have liked to, but that doesn’t mean that 2019 won’t be different. I’m working on a few special things…so stay tuned.

I spent a week in Germany this year for Photokina. This is the second time I’ve been out of the country, but I am already seeing a trend. When in a place where I don’t speak the language I seem to let street art speak to me on behalf of the people who live there.

Sometime I’d love to spend a period of time in Europe just walking around taking photos of stickers and spray paint. Maybe the occasional bicycle as well.

I had one of my blog posts picked up by two international photography blogs (so you don’t have to). I’m still riding the waves of this since it hit me basically out of nowhere. I’m so entirely thankful that two publications thought so highly of me, and I hope that I can leverage some of the contacts I made during this process to get the opportunity to try and review more products next year.

Also (and I’m sure I’ll be posting about it later) keep your ears open to hear my goofy voice on a podcast in early January.

For Halloween I partnered with Courtney from Courtney Walters Makeup to turn her partner Taylor into a spooky skeleton. I loved this shoot, it was so simple yet so expressive. And of course I love how excited people get when I turn their living room into a makeshift studio.

Courtney and I will be collaborating on a few different projects in 2019, so please stay tuned for that.

Keep your eyes peeled for a stand-alone blog post of this gentleman right here. LA Comedian and Podcast host Rivers Langley.

We squeaked in this shoot on the friday before Christmas and I was able to finalize everything while I had some downtime at home. I should be getting that post up pretty soon, so I’ll save my comments for then.

And of course, where would I be without my friends who love the work I do so much that they ask me to be a key part of their special moments:

Jessica and Thomas

Erin and Preston

Jesse and Rachel

I want to make sure that I give a big Thank You to everyone I have worked with or have talked about working with this year. And also a huge thank you to all of you who follow this blog (or at the very least catch updates as they come through your social media feeds).

I don’t want to put the cart before the horse but I’d like to say that big things are coming in 2019 one way or another, and as always I’d love to see you all there for the ride.

From me to all of you and yours, Happy Holidays and a beautiful new year!

Nina La Voix - 2018.

February 02, 2018

Nina La Voix is a burlesque performer and producer based out of Brooklyn, New York. Her performance style is hard-hitting yet strikingly sensual. With a heavy classic and street dance background, Nina's style often blends the classic structures of burlesque with modern/neo twists. She has graced international stages including Paris and Amsterdam.

I got to work with Nina almost by accident, and I certainly wasn't aware of her celebrity status. While on business in NYC, I reached out to a few different models, and Nina was the one that responded the most positively. It's not every day that a stranger reaches out and invites you to his hotel room for a photoshoot. Nina was completely cool with working through some ideas and we both were super excited with the results.

Nina is a completely awesome individual, and you should not miss tracking her down if you are in the big city.

The Below Images are NSFW

See the rest of this set and so much more by becoming a subscriber to Nina's Patreon and check out her website for the latest calendar of where you can see her perform in person.