Last blog post here at Vhoton Images, I told you of John and Audrey VanHorne, of VanHorne and VanHorne Architects. I hope you had a chance to visit the John VanHorne gallery here at Vhoton Images, where you’ll discover samples of the warm, quiet, peacefulness of John’s work. The experience of learning about John and meeting Audrey was one of great pleasure for me. Making a new friend in Audrey has been an honor, and I wish her happy birthday today, which is not actually her birthday. LOL! I had the joy of offering my happy birthday wish in person, already. However, I’d like to share with you readers, that Audrey has reached her 93rd year, and is one of the most vibrant beings I know. She's told me that she has plans for a happy birthday with family, and I couldn’t be happier for her. When we last spoke I regaled her with stories of my recent activities, and I’d like to share them with you too.

Audrey and myself have a mutual friend in Gardner Maurice Frazier. He calls himself a gardener, but that’s really his Clark Kent disguise. He’s actually a Horticulturalist, a darned good one too. His gardens are lush and bold. Full of texture, and scents to tantalize the nose and mind. It was Audrey’s idea to produce a book to display Maurice’s gardens, for which I was happy to do the photography. I anticipate the display of those photos after the completion of the book.

Let’s talk Cosplay. I find it interesting having been introduced to what feels like a new world to me. I’m personally an anime, superhero, pop TV SCI FI, fan but I’ve never entered the world of becoming the characters I admire or enjoy in the stories. Well, that’s not exactly true. I did dress up as a character from a book one year for Halloween. A dark and all-powerful wizard with golden skin and, hourglass eyes. That was participation in a culturally customary practice. I’ve come to learn the Cosplay world is a rich custom all it’s own. The first thing I learned about was how photographers and Coplayers interact based upon the exchange in the activity. Cosplayers are models. Wanting to work with people who use the characters they portray in their own photographic artwork. Photographers who work with Cosplay models are typically creating their own artwork or looking to market themselves. My experience thus far has been with Cosplay groups that offer a bartering exchange of modeling for sharable images. It’s been quite the fun experience!

Imagine wading through the massive crowd of colorful costumes and characters from comic books, manga mags, or anime TV shows. Each one unique, yet all homogenous in spirit and fun. I saw people dressed as characters from D.C and Marvel comics plus others dressed as characters from the ever-expanding world of Japanese comics and cartoons. There were a lot of photographers out on the same endeavor as myself. Lots of competition! But, also lots of opportunity. I’ve worked with Characters like Wolverine, Tinkerbell, and Dragon Ball Z’s Fageta. In doings so, I”ve learned that Cosplay models are more than just models.

I think it was the third floor of the Seattle Convention center, where I found myself photographing Spiderman in front of one the large windows that wrap the building. We’d met before, earlier in the day. I took the opportunity to photograph the model as himself, the guy behind the mask. It was this guy’s lips moving behind the Spiderman mask as I photographed. He shared with me details of his family relationships, friendships and even his personal goals. This young man was very open, trusting and generous. I was very surprised by this as I’d not expected this level of conversation. I felt privileged that he would share such aspects of his life with me. As we were chatting and photographing, a little boy, his fraternal twin toddler siblings, along with Mom and Dad came to ask for a selfie with Spiderman. The joy and excitement Spiderman expressed in this moment was not only infectious, but insightful. When Spiderman’s attention returned to me I was told of the gratification he gets out being a hero for the young ones, of the fulfillment received from the warmth and openness others show him as Spiderman and other characters he plays. I came to realize that despite my inclination to say that the many masks I'd encountered that day were hiding the personalities of those who donned them, the masks may actually be that one portal to accessing the liberty of being their true selves. The faces of birth may be the true masks. Cosplayers are rich in genuineness, exuberance, and warmth. I was welcomed into their folds without hesitation or judgement. I’m glad to have made friends with several of them.

Cosplayers are also very dedicated to their craft. Craft is a good word for it too, as they are often creating their own costumes, investing hours even weeks toward creating the best rendition of their characters. One Cosplayer just LOVES to jump and will jump and, jump and, jump as many times as needed to get the best photograph possible. It’s always a pleasure to work with people are serious about their craft and want to be the best at it. You can see some of what we’ve produce here in the Vhoton Images Cosplay gallery.

I’ve also spent time working with Evolved Clothing Co., a new line of hoodies and Tees produced by an ex coworker, now turned fellow entrepreneur. Evolved Clothing Co’s designs were originally intended to highlight the spirit of being in the Northwest. Their logo is a raindrop, a perfect representation of the wet life we live up here in the Evergreen State. They’ve come to expand beyond this simple yet, regionally appropriate concept and now have several different and unique designs. All of which I encourage you, reader to check out at https://www.evolvedclothingco.com.

Evolved Clothing Co and myself gathered together a cadre of young pretty faces who served as our models for this project. One of whom is my cousin, and another my niece. Both of which did a wonderful job, especially considering that neither they or any of the others had ever modeled before! Working with fledgling models was a growth experience not only for them, but me as well. There is a skill and a talent involved in posing one’s self so that the viewer sees posture that expresses confidence, beauty, comfort, or even happiness. The challenge as a photographer was communicating the differences as I saw them. Asking a model to lift their chin so they look confident or place their weight on one leg more than the other to appear comfortable in their stance. The models were very excited to be involved, and very "gung ho" about taking direction, working to produce quality work. Here too I feel as if I made new friends, as the models were all good people with kind personalities and were prone to merry making. Lot’s of laughs and funny jokes!

We photographed at the Chambers Bay golf course in Tacoma, WA., on Alki beach, and along the Tacoma Waterfront. Each place gave us wonderful locations to use as backdrops. My favorite was the golf course, as it was not only a beautiful park, but too the ruins of the old rock quarry that used to be there add just a bit of wonder and curiosity to the surroundings. Chambers Bay golf course park also has a bridge that leads down to the waterfront, along which people have placed padlocks carved with the names or initials of love bound couples from all over. The second day of shooting there, we discovered that we had just missed a proposal upon that very bridge. Rose petals strewn along the bridge were our first clue. Yet what sealed it in our minds was the ‘Will You Marry Me?” written along the stony shore with rocks. Sadly though, we’ll never know what the answer was. I’d like to believe there were tears and joy and a wholehearted yes.

We took LOTS of photos, which was quite a load placed upon my desk. This project particularly has kept me rather busy and will be an ongoing thing as Evolved Clothing Co. would like new photos on a regular basis. Though, we’ve strategized a way to keep the work load manageable. Working with Evolved Clothing Co has also been a joy because of the growth I see them experiencing as a new business, learning about legalities of working with models, navigating the process of organizing a shoot, and developing their own add campaign. It’s a struggle out there for the small business looking to make traction in their industry. Trust me, I’m among them.

I’ve also had the pleasure of working with a lovely family on their Family portrait. My client came to me with a vision. Which turned out to be a great idea, as I think the images turned out really quite well! We shot in the WA Arboretum, which offered lively, natural backdrops and plenty of sun and shade. We waited for nearly a month to have that sun and shade. Hoping each rainy weekend for a sunnier one to come along. We were well rewarded with a gorgeously warm and breezy day. We met at the north end of the Arboretum, at the Wilcox Footbridge where we clogged traffic a bit, but made the best of our time there. With the help the Staging and Design Network, we were able to execute my client’s vision of an outdoor shoot, with a touch of the indoors manifest by a tufted black leather chair. My client’s family were a brilliant spot in the day, as they were full of joy and in the case of the smallest, energy. Their personalities produced some wonderfully heartwarming images that I was happily privileged to capture.

It’s amazing how time flies by when having fun. I’m very grateful to have been inspired to pursue my photography passions, as it has lead me toward opportunity to make new friends, to help people with their projects, to execute their visions. I couldn’t be more fortunate. Doing good work with and for good people. Perhaps sometime it'll be you and me producing images that make you happy. I'm game!

Good Work, With and For Good People.