Hey, Steemit! I’m waiting at our gate in Las Vegas, about to fly home. With the exception of a three day break after driving back from the east coast, this’ll be the first time we’ll be home in exactly one month. I never saw myself as someone that travels this much. I certainly didn’t see myself as someone that was able to do it with a family. I have to say, though. It’s been really nice. I’m lucky that I have the kind of job that I can split my work and family time while on the road, seeing cool places together. I’m definitely at the point that I’m ready to be home and sleep in my own bed.
I was shocked when I saw that it’d be over a week since I last made a post on Steemit. Between the shoots and the breakneck pace we’ve been keeping while visiting friends and seeing sights, the days passed in the blink of an eye. I’m trying to make up for that by fitting a second post in before we board our plane. I’ve been all over, from Times Square to Santa Monica Pier, and the images I want to share tonight are from a shoot with fashion blogger, Allie McGevna in Central Park, just about two weeks ago.
Allie found me through Instagram, just about a week before I flew in to the east coast. I was immediately impressed by her social media following and body of work. She had clear ideas of what she wanted to shoot. We had a brief discussion on the phone and she said “…urban fashion with elements of nature.”. At first, if I’m being honest, I wasn’t totally sold. That seemed like contrasting themes in my head. Allie had so much confidence in her concepts, though, I went with it. After some discussion, “urban fashion with elements of nature” seemed to be a perfect fit for Central Park.
We arrived in the afternoon on a hot July day. I’d already had a few days in New York City. My feet had blisters. I was wearing the same clothes for a week straight. The downswings of living as a traveling artist for hire. As soon as I met Allie and her assistant, Shamika, I was reinvigorated. Allie looked stunning. She had several outfits meticulously thought out. We began walking finding interesting places as we went. The first few photos, I had an artist adrenaline rush that lasted the rest of the day.
We made our way to one of the ponds on the upper east side. A friend had told me about an area that you could rent row boats for $20/hr. We eventually found it. There was a line. We waited and finished the shoot in the middle of this small body of water, reaching deep down in to my childhood memories, trying to remember how to row a boat. There were at least 50 boats on the water. All New Yorkers with virtually no idea what they were doing. We avoided a collision […just barely]. We got some outstanding photos. I’ll be sharing the boat shots soon.
Thanks for reading. We’re about to board our plane. I’ll be posting daily as soon as I’m back in Minneapolis tomorrow. For more photography, art, illustration and the stories behind the work, follow me here !