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Night Adventure in Seattle

Urban, LifestyleConnor SurdiComment

It's been a while since I have gone out for the pure fun of shooting at night...I think it's been because I've been in a slight funk with my photography and personal life but tonight was definitely needed. But I saw a quote the other day that said... "The only way out is through." and that really struck home for me.

I recently just sold my 5D3 and upgraded to a Sony A7Rii and I think tonight was a good test run. Lots of shadows, lots of highlights, levitating photos, etc. And to sum it all up, it did the job quite well! It's a big change coming from using Canon for 7 years. The buttons are very different and menus are way different. It's a learning curve but the only way to learn is to keep shooting! 

Rachel joined me and was my model for the night. Being as she's behind the camera 99% of the time...I think she did a pretty damn good job.

Nocturne with Paris Call

LifestyleSilas SaoComment

One of my favorite aspects about photography is human connection. Being able to come together with another person, or even multiple, and create something is very gratifying. Paris is a traveling model from southern Oregon who consistently shoots here in Portland. She reached out to me a couple months before writing this post wanting to shoot. I was in Chicago at the time, but made a point to contact her when I arrived back home. With our matched love for dark beauty and moody portraiture, I couldn't let this opportunity pass. We set a date for middle of November.

Fast forward two weeks, she contacted me on a Thursday night telling me she would be in town the next day. This was about a month or so earlier than we had scheduled. She asked if I would be down for a last minute shoot since she'd already be in town. I wasn't busy that day and everything kind of just fell into place. We linked up in the afternoon, grabbed a quick snack then headed to my apartment to look through some photo props. At home, I have a box of stuff for photo shoots. Anytime I'm looking to involve something extra for a shoot, I go to the box. I had never shot with body paint before and neither had Paris. We both decided it would be fun to try out. We grabbed some black body paint and headed to the forest.

I love using my friends and strangers as subjects, but working with experienced models is totally different. They've done this before. They know how to pose, they know when to switch poses and they know what works best for them. They have a confidence in front of the camera that is very admirable. It allows for more photos (and more keepers) to be taken away in the same amount of time or less. After a couple hours of shooting we called it a wrap.

Paris and I are scheduled to shoot again in a few weeks. You can expect to see more work with her and myself. Until then, please enjoy this set I've put together.

You can find Paris on Instagram via @paris_call

I have put other photos from this set on my website.

Hope you enjoyed reading :)