Sneak peek of java kai art show pics

       I cannot tell you how excited I am to have my photography up in a shop! This business has me doing so many different things that I didn't think of when I started. I've always had fun taking pictures, but this will be the first time my pics will be displayed in public. I enjoy the photo shoots almost as much as the bikini designing...such a pleasant surprise. There will be 11 photos total, and they are all being printed on canvas and enlarged. 


       The prints will go up in Java Kai in Kapaa on January 2nd and remain up for the month. The art walk will be on January 7th from 5 to 8pm. My girlfriend, Andrea is fire dancing, and my friend Zaq is going to DJ. The canvas prints will be for sale, but anything that is left over, i'll be more than happy to take home myself! We'll have hats, posters and calendars too. Would love for you to join us... 

I need a shot

      
      This was my first shoot with three girls and I kind of winged it...next time I'm going to have a plan of attack. As we drove closer and closer to the westside of Kauai, the sky got grayer and grayer- which, if you know Kauai at all, usually the further west you go the MORE sun there is! By the time we got to Polihale, it was totally overcast, it was chilly and the wind was blasting. Perfect for a bikini shoot right? We did have one thing going for us though: not a soul on the beach. 


       The girls arrived and I did everyone's make-up, got them accessorized and had them throw on bikinis. They were great- when we first got started, hair was flying everywhere, but we soon got the hang of it: always face the wind and try not to look cold! There would be little bursts of sun here and there and Tyler would be ready to grab any sunbeams he could with the reflector. Somehow, we got the shots. 


        Now here's the part where I wish I had a better plan of attack: it's really hard to get all three girls looking right at the same time. Sometimes two of them are looking great and one just isn't at the right angle or for whatever reason, isn't making the right face...or two are smiling and one isn't...or one is just rocking it and the other two just aren't at the moment. There were times when I wanted to tell one or two of the girls to step out of the shot for a moment, but didn't want there to be any hurt feelings, and tried to make the shot work anyway. A couple times, it did end up working out, but after going through nearly 700- yes, 700 shots- I need to learn how to get the shots I need sooner. Having modeled a little myself, I want to be careful about making the model think she was doing something wrong, or looked weird or something. I know I would have felt a tiny twang of "uh oh, was I making a funny face? What was she doing that I wasn't?" if I had been asked to step aside. Cuz let's face it, you have to be feeling good about yourself to be able to stand in front of a camera in an itty-bitty bikini...the last thing you need is someone telling you to get the hell out of the shot. No, no, no, we want the girls to feel very good about themselves so they feel comfortable and give us the shots we need! 


     Plan of attack for the next time I use more than one model? My friend Kristen actually suggested this to me, and I thought it was a great idea: Lay it all out for them at the start. Explain that while I'm shooting I may ask one or two to leave the shot for a moment, but not because you look bad or are doing anything wrong, but because I see something working and need to go with it. The other suggestion my friend had, was make sure I have someone helping me. I have to admit, it was pretty hard to keep track of under boob popping out, hair being in the right place, lighting being good and taking the actual photo. 


     All in all, I think everyone had fun, we worked with the elements and the photo shoot was a complete success. The girls were absolutely amazing to work with and I learned a lot.

Bikinis help in so many ways

       I love up-cycling or repurposing unwanted items. Especially when they come from such a great place. I found the dresses I used for these collections at Ho'omana, a local thrift store that has a youth program where kids are taught simple tasks such as sweeping, mopping and customer service skills. They are also taught the importance of positive attitudes, self-motivation and the ability to work with little or no supervision. For every hour participants volunteer, they earn "Makana Money" which can be used to purchase merchandise in the store. They took the program a step further in 2010 and implemented the Financial Literacy Skills program where participants open their own bank accounts and learn how to write checks and create a budget based on their "needs" not "wants".  Ho'omana is also a community partner with adult, teen, and drug courts enabling offenders to perform their required community service to complete their sentences. And as if all that isn't enough, they work with other community agencies to donate clothing and household items to people in need. 

       After learning all this I figure why limit myself to just dresses? Let's buy more from Ho'omana! How bout bikinis made from vintage silk shirts? Men's dress shirts? Anything is game. All I need is unique pattern and Im sold. 

      

Which collection do you like best? The Becca (mustard colored) or the Peacock...and what about it do you like?