*(Quasi) Naked Goddess*
Canon 7D
Model: Emilie
There is an important figure in the Unknown Armies mythos called the Naked Goddess. The book being a US publication, it was clear that nakedness in illustration was not on the agenda, so I tried to go for sensual without any frontal nudity. I love the softness and slight smile of Emilie’s expression in this shot. A fun edit (with her hands and face blurred, but not her breasts) was used in Book 2 p. 73.
*Yellow and Blue*
Canon 7D
Model: Vanessa
I don’t rely on professional models for my shoots, but rather a group of friends and acquaintances who like to participate in what is quite often a fun shared moment. For the Unknown Armies shoots however I had to warn them that I would likely distort and transform their looks, so that they might not come out looking amazing. A variant of this shot made it into Unknown Armies Book 3 p. 57. I used a filter from Analog Efex 2 to achieve this consistently golden skin.
*Slow River*
Canon 7D
Downstream from the Waiau Falls in Coromandel, I climbed down the banks to try and capture the flow of the water. I normally don’t expose for too long when it comes to streams, but in this particular case I quite liked the effects. Would have been nicer on a sunnier day, but hey…
*Early Bird*
Canon 7D
I remember shooting this photo very early in the morning, as an afterthought of sorts: I hoped the bird (a sort of cormorant if memory serves me correctly) would stand still long enough to not show up as an indistinct blur on the final shot. I got my wish (although there were four or five attempts).
*Inner Vertigo*
Canon 7D
Some of the hotels in Luijazui is Shanghai are downright crazy. This one is inside the Jin Mao tower, which is only the third highest tower in Shanghai. There’s an inner shaft, and from the 80th floor, this is what it looks like (the lobby is only the 35th or 40th, can’t remember exactly.
*Marcel’s Gospel*
Canon 7D
A few years ago, I had the opportunity to see the Palata Singers in a small provincial Church. They’re a gospel quartet from Congo, singing in their native Kicongo. I’m not a religious man, but there is something in Gospel that is inexplicably moving to me. I liked this photo of Marcel Boungou backlit by the modern stained glass and protecting his eyes from the light, as if a metaphor for his own belief in the Lord.
*The Iron Lady*
Canon 7D
By sharing this photo I may be doing something illegal. Because of intellectual property rules (that I frankly consider stupid) the night lights of the Eiffel Towers are IP protected. That’s correct, not the tower itself, but the lights. Oh well, that won’t stop me from taking shots of the tower and sharing them (at least until they sue me…)
*Waiau Falls*
Canon 7D
I love waterfalls, and the first time I managed to traipse around New Zealand, I made sure to go to Waiau Falls in Coromandel. The place is magical, very few people there (at least in early spring when I went) and a great scenic view. This was my best shot.
*Bosphorus*
Canon 7D
Most of the time when I travel for work, I travel light. That means a small camera (usually my x100f these days), and even if I take the mirrorless, I only take one or two lenses. But occasionally, I’ll go crazy and take the big zoom lens with me, as I did this one time in Istanbul. And boy was I happy that I did. This shot was the best to come out of a morning of strolling around the sites, making the most of the compression of the zoom for (I think) great effect.
*Squared and Rounded*
Canon 7D
La Villette in Paris is a great parc, very modern, with industrial buildings including La Géode, this spherical cinema that is all shiny from the outside. The main building reflections into it in a really interesting way.
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