The official start of anything seems daunting. The so called blank canvas, as painters would call it. The blank page for writers.
I suppose photography isn’t any different.
I didn’t want “Impermanence” to be the standard girl-gets-naked, strikes-a-sexy-pose, turns-you-on kind of photoshoot. I wanted this to be art. I wanted it to illicit a deeper sense, something that made you pause and appreciate not just the beauty, but a deeper meaning. I needed to find a courageous, adventurous model, someone who was into the arts and wasn’t afraid to push the envelope.
Enter Grace. While perusing Instagram, I came across Grace Neilson (@grxyrose), who had just done an edgy Christmas shoot. It was rather avant-garde and I felt like her unique look was a great choice to inaugurate the “Impermanence” series.
I shared with her a creative treatment, spoke on the phone and scheduled a time to shoot. We met in the Moab area, opting for February to avoid the crowds and work with low-light midday sun. We were to take a gamble for warm weather.
The whole idea behind “Impermanence” is the balance between an impermanent landscape and the impermanent beauty of the female form. I am drawn to places of extreme, surreal and colossal landscapes; landscapes that would provide a contrast and juxtaposition that could impress all lovers of landscape photography, as well as lovers of the female form.
The main shot I wanted was one showing empowerment. A naked woman embracing the elements – wind, sun, earth – all very exposed. I had Grace pose nude above 300-foot cliffs, in 40-mph winds and hold strong. I needed her to look comfortable, powerful, fight through her shivering urges. Grace has a sexuality to her that is just so raw and natural. I could tell, she wanted to express this sexuality, so we started playing with that edge as well, and what we captured was raw, powerful, and speaks to a deeper, primal nature that as humans, we all have.
This project in a way is meant to show the world that the more raw we can be, the more beautiful we are.
—— Click here to view the COMPLETE series of “IMPERMANENCE I” ——