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I was recently commissioned to take portraits of Jeff Boss for his upcoming book Navigating Chaos. Jeff is a former Navy Seal with an impressive resume, both mission and education based. He is using that experience to help coach others on "the need to adapt to a changing environment."
We spent about an hour or so at the National Gallery of Art chatting and shooting various portraits. Below are just a few of the favorites of the day.
Happy 4th of July weekend everyone!
Ramona is a force to be reckoned with! From SolidCore, to boxing, to neuroscience and a plethora of other amazing attributes, shes an all-around badass. My approach to this shoot was a combo of portraits and photojournalism of her as she really trained. I asked for her input about her passion and here are her words.
"When Lionel and I first discussed doing a shoot together, he told me he wanted to do a shoot with me doing something that I love. Immediately, I said boxing, because though I've only been doing it for a couple of years, it has become a huge part of my life and how I identify myself. I came to boxing on a whim - I was a triathlete and was looking for something new to learn and to add variety to my workouts. Friends told me I would probably like it, so I looked around for someplace that would teach beginners and found Downtown Boxing Club - online reviews made it sound like just the kind of old school gym that boxing movies are made of. It was all that and more. The owner Dave White, is a fascinating character who has taught me so much more than just how to throw a great jab. The other boxers at the club come from all over the city and from all backgrounds, but everyone has one thing in common - we all love that feeling of our gloves making that perfect contact with something. Over the last two years, the gym has become one of those places in my life that makes me happy, no matter what.
Dave was kind enough to let us shoot at the gym one afternoon, which made this session all the more special to me because this isn't just a boxing gym, it's MY gym. Lionel did an amazing job of capturing the essence of it with phenomenal lighting and angles, and did an incredible job of capturing the focus I feel when I'm hitting the bags, but could never see for myself. This shoot was incredibly special to me, and it was an honor to get to work with a talent like Lionel (for the second time!) I hope you enjoy the results."
Sidenote: I took a SolidCore class on Saturday and talk about a challenge. I am sore all over!
I haven't shot any seniors sessions to date. And while this still doesn't count as a senior session, Geneva is in high-school so it somewhat classifies under it. I've known Geneva's mother for a few years and even photographed her once. This time she reached out to me to photograph her daughter.
We shot a little bit in my home studio the, headed out to Brookside Gardens and finished off in an urban setting. Geneva told me she doesn't like to smile so we worked on getting some cool non-smiley pictures she liked. The smiling ones were all natural, captured during conversation.
I think Geneva rocked it!
Thanks to Christin Michelle for doing hair & makeup.
Below are just a few favorites from the day.
