iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Reposted by Sparkrocket

ExhibitPhotoPDX @exhibitphotopdx.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

I'm always so amazed at the innumerable and endless ways that a creative mind can find to present themselves. Hailey and I have had long conversations (which I must admit have deeply informed my thinking) in which I've been able to watch her turn an idea around...more in the alt-text.

Hailey never left an idea unmolested. I see the same trait in many of my model friends -- a tenacious desire to get the shot, to find a new pose, to draw energy and inspiration out of a new location. Over and over again I find myself thinking that providing a setting and maybe a mood is the photographers biggest job when it comes to turning a great model loose to play.

When I began, I'd review a shoot and see certain images that "worked" for me. A few years later I returned to the archives and would find totally different images that suddenly held more meaning and depth. When I open them up now I see the way the model works to the light, maneuvers with or against my movements. I see the determination.

It's also cool to see how different models handle the same set -- I've returned to a handful of ideas over time and even something as simple as a particular rock can evoke so many different moods. This shoot, inspired by murky lighting from the top of the box truck and a free roadside piano, didn't need anything else but the slickness of the coconut oil gave it a weird twist. I ran it twice with two fantastic models and each veered into their own interpretation, each fantastic. You can find more from this in the summer '24 issue of ION-Magazine (which I highly recommend -- a labor of love for figurative art that is well worth checking out!).

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