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” <--