I originally entered the world of photography in the 80’s as a fashion editor and stylist and was lucky enough to work with some of most iconic fashion photographers of the time. Bert Stern, Albert Watson, Dennis Piehl, Dustin Pittman, Horst, Herb Ritts and countless others. This was what I considered my learning years. Sometimes I got to conceive ideas with them and other times I was nothing more than a go-for their whims but I always watched them carefully on-set.  I learned to be prepared for the unexpected and everything is a collaboration. Ultimately when I picked up my own camera I chose real people as I really like the extra dimension of adding soul to my work. Professional fashion models just don’t let you past the glare and I believe real people add just a touch more vulnerability to my imagery. This hauntingly beautiful girl is a local hairstylist that I photographed one lazy day at lunch time. We seriously had not planned anything other than I would eventually shoot her for a series I am doing on color and hair. I embraced the midday sun with no diffusion in the local auto repair junkyard.  It enhanced her alabaster skin and stark blue/black hair creating an eerie intense setting for this portrait. As she stares through my lens with her tough girl demeanor you can see how sweet and innocent she really is. I am like a visual messenger with this image, delivering the viewer a piece of her soul.