markvelasquez

Kalani with Fire, Pt. 12

Kalani continues to get more and more tattoos, and though I don't have an issue with them personally, for images I think they pose a bit of a distraction, especially when trying to create an image that transcends a distinct time period. Still, I'd rather shoot around them than not work with her, I enjoy the experience far too much.

Kalani with Fire, Pt. 11

"Shit, I'm colder out of the water than in it!" She finally said after a few minutes, which unfortunately is always the case. Still, she never stopped doing what she was doing, occasionally stopping to listen for the elephant seals that were just offshore.

Kalani with Fire, Pt. 10

With the torch doused, Kalani just walked around in the water, exploring what was under the water at night while I tried to adjust the flash to the moment. Capturing the brightness of her skin against the darkness of the water and sky was an unexpected treat, especially when I started to notice the reflections on the waves.

Kalani with Fire, Pt. 9

Eventually the torch started coming apart and going wild, so she dunked the whole thing and I tossed the branch on shore while we continued to shoot. 

It was a simple yet magical moment, with almost no breeze blowing anymore and the two of us sitting alone in the ocean, surrounded by the night sounds echoing off the large rocks near by. It was peaceful and beautiful, and apart from a fe...

Kalani with Fire, Pt. 8

As she was splashing around, I took this shot accidentally using my flash, which I had thought was turned off. I rarely get excited about my images or can stare at them for long periods, but this is a rare image that makes me want to explore all the details of.

Kalani with Fire, Pt. 7

Surprisingly, the water wasn't terribly cold, either. She enjoyed splashing around in it a bit and had no issue staying in as long as was necessary. The torch, made poorly and haphazardly, lasted longer than I anticipated, though parts of it kept burning off and flying to the heavens.

All the while, Kalani amused herself, just enjoying the moment as she often does, never thinking about what ...

Kalani with Fire, Pt. 6

Finally it was time to get in the water. With our observers finally out of the way, Kalani stopped hiding when possible and dove right in, with me right behind. I never ask a model to do anything I wouldn't do, aside from taking my clothes off, so I got into the cold water with her for both a sign of solidarity and to light the torch I had made for her earlier that day.

Kalani with Fire, Pt. 5

Though I know her to be a complicated person, constantly struggling internally with her life options and choices, Kalani has a way of wounding you with her eye, of staring not at you, but through you. Sometimes this can be an attractive quality, sometimes it can be an intimidating one, but either way, you can never look away.

Kalani with Fire, Pt. 4

Despite the occasional public complainer, the night was perfect. The clouds were overcast, keeping the warm air in, for the most part, and Kalani, a nudist at heart, enjoyed the freedom that the weather provided.

Kalani with Fire, Pt. 3

Of course no beach is really public, at least not the ones I'm willing to get to, so we would occasionally hear people screaming at us to put the fire out. Now as an Eagle Scout, I'm more than aware of the dangers of fire in a dry environment, especially in our area where the drought has been going on for years. However, I've never really understood why people would be uptight about having fire ne...

Kalani with Fire, Pt. 2

I love her. Kalani is the most chill, easy-going and open-minded model I've worked with. She may not be overt or easy to read at times, but I don't think I've ever heard her be reluctant or say 'no' to anything I've proposed. Plus, being a bit of a stoner and pyromaniac, this particular shoot was right up her alley.

Kalani with Fire, Pt. 1

On a warm night two summers ago, Kalani and I drove out to the beach to play with sparklers and fire, but really just needed a few hours away from reality.

The wind was stronger than expected, but thankfully the air was only pleasant and cool instead of biting. Quickly she began taking her clothes off, which is standard in these situations, and we set about lighting as many things on fire as...

January 2016 patron supported

Thank you so much for the support this month!

Miss Mary Angel, Pt. 2

I think Mary is beautiful. Her skin is like porcelain, clear and pale with a hint of freckles sprinkled around like rose petals on a bedspread. 

She brought this top that I had mixed feelings about, a loose, lacy thing that didn't go with anything else she brought. Still, we threw it in our collection of bags and took it with us. When we were finally shooting on the sand, we began looki...

Dreaming of Summer

With the snow storm raging in the east, I send this image out to you all suffering and dreaming of warmer weather and better days...

Miss Mary Angel

I had a visit from webcam model Miss Mary Angel yesterday morning, honored that she would drive the three hours up from LA to work with me. She is tinier than I had anticipated, being maybe five feet tall, but her strength and beauty was exactly what people see in her images.

She brought a friend along who helped advise outfits and styling when appropriate, and who also helped with the refle...

Erika in the Sand, Pt. 13

With the emotional stuff out of the way, we decided to wrap up our shoot. However, as is often the case, she looked so astounding in the light, I couldn't help but keep asking her for "one more shot," promising "this is the last one" for another half hour. 

Finally, though I could continue shooting her endlessly, I stopped and said we were done. As we walked back to where we had put...

Erika in the Sand, Pt. 12

This is a great example of how even the simplest thing, like her walking nervously up one of the dunes, could look magical in the proper light. I also recall that immediately after this shot was taken her loose bottoms slid down to her knees and she immediately turned around to look at me, laughing and embarrassed.

Erika in the Sand, Pt. 11

Erika also really enjoyed the baby oil I asked her to put on. not only did she like how moisturized she felt, but the textures that it provided after rolling around in the sand made her squeal with delight. It was like wearing a second skin.

Erika in the Sand, Pt. 10

Towards the end of the shoot, as she was sitting  down for this specific shot, she began talking about the things she is missing in life. We talked for almost half an hour, her nude in the sand, me camera in hand, and had the kind of honest, frank conversation that only true honesty and vulnerability can provide. Over the course of the talk we laughed and cried and she hugged me several times...

Erika in the Sand, Pt. 9

Rarely do i catch Erika's true nature, her silly, self-conscious, nervous side. She doubts so much of what she does, which of course is unnecessary. She can be so bubbly and full of awe and excitement and wonder about things, it's quite infectious.

But as I often do with models, Erika and I have talked on countless occasions about the things that hold her back, her talents and limitations, h...

Erika in the Sand, Pt. 8

This was the other successful double exposure from that afternoon. This is definitely not a bodysuit I would have picked, since I have never had an interest in a lot of lace or obvious "sexy lingerie" type designs. Perhaps I watched too much of Madonna wearing lingerie as clothing and writhing around unnecessarily on stages when I was a child.

Still, with her eye for 1980 designs, I'm glad s...

Erika in the Sand, Pt. 7

Another thing we played with was the double exposure feature on my camera, which I have really learned to appreciate since reluctantly having to downgrade to this camera. 

(I had a wonderful 5D mkII, but unfortunately it went for a swim two years ago. With no real funds, I could only afford to replace it with the 6D, which is inferior to the 5-Series in so many ways. The only bright spo...

Erika in the Sand, Pt. 6

Thankfully, though we've had a horrendous drought here in California, we had just had a bit of rain the day before, so the sky, often a flat, calm blue, had some lush clouds present. Since I had been typically vague about what outfits to bring, she had brought along this scarf, not really sure what she'd be doing with it. I'm glad it worked out well as a prop.

The crocheted bikini used for t...

Erika in the Sand, Pt. 5

This particular outfit was left at my house by traveling model Roarie Yum, who apparently had made it by cutting a one-piece bodysuit into a very revealing two-piece. The bottoms, having no elastic of any kind, nor a waste band, had nothing to hold it up beside Erika's sheer will alone. She was constantly squeezing her thighs together, forcing it to stay in place. The moment she took a step it beg...

Erika in the Sand, Pt. 4

I've only really used a 40 or 50mm lens when shooting models the last few years, preferring to challenge myself with the lighting and angles and situations over using an array of equipment. On this day I casually decided to throw a 24-200mm zoom lens I had found collecting dust on the back of a shelf, not thinking I'd have much use for it. However, since Erika trusted me and we had no real ideas i...

Erika in the Sand, Pt. 3

Other thing that's great about Erika is that she doesn't fully understand just how attractive she is. On the street she appears young, friendly, a little dowdy. But in lingerie or less, she reveals a body that few people thinks actually exists in nature.

Though she enjoys the music and energy of attending dance parties and raves, she's inherently quite shy. When she first showed my the crazy...

Erika in the Sand, Pt. 2

One of the main things I love about Erika is her general goofiness and sweet nature. The term "sweet" is overused these days, the same way "amazing" and "awkward" is, but Erika is truly sweet. She's no naive or ignorant, she just genuinely wants and hopes for the best for people, can't understand negativity and drama, and lives her life to be as helpful and positive as is possible.

Erika in the Sand, Pt. 1

I was contacted by Erika two years ago on Instagram, saying she was a fan and wanted to work together. I've gotten fairly selective about who I work with in my local community due to most women not being serious about modeling and just wanting to essentially plug themselves into soft, pretty images they've found online that seem somewhat generic and boring to me. But Erika was different.

Eri...

Laserbeams with Gwyn, Pt. 6

I am so used to having hundreds of images to sort through at the end of the shoot that I enjoyed the process of using long exposures. It allowed for far less actual images to edit through, a much more focused and deliberate process.

As usual, Gwyn was open to all ideas and, apart from being a little cold now and again, never complained once. We were both quite proud of the end result and loo...