It is with a heavy heart that Jillian Durgin, sometimes freelance model & founder of Ritual Fashion, was in a tragic car accident outside her home in Rome, GA on 26 Aug, 2023.
When I first heard the news, I didn't believe it. I knew she was going throughthe usual BS most public personalities have with online a**holes so I called her number & left a voicemail asking her to call me, hoping what I'd heard was a different Jillian. Came inside, Googled her name while I waited, & was devastated to read the first entry was an outside news report of the car accident. This was later confirmed when her family & company's Instagram spread the same news.
The news link is here: https://www.wrganews.com/2023/08/26/rome-man-killed-in-chattooga-county-wreck/
Here is also a link the the remembrance page her family setup: https://www.masonfuneralhome.com/obituary/MsJillian-Durgin
Jillian came onto my radar back during the LiveJournal blogging days (2005'ish?) when she'd post both her modeling pictures as well as her unique fashion pieces & was captivated by her command presence.
We parted ways as so often happens in the age of social media til I found her again on yet another platform. Posted a throwaway comment not thinking anything would come of it since we were literally on opposite sides of the country, only to find out a couple weeks later she was trekking to the area.
"Do you still want to work together?" she basically asked.
I'm like (eff) yeah! Figured out a place & time & went with it.
Shoot day was a complete cluster(eff). It had more to do with it being literally the 1st nice day AFTER New York City loosened their Covid restrictions. Us Upstaters were already accustomed to the relatively loose restriction because of our rural culture but the location being an hour or two outside of NYC meant they all flocked to the lower Hudson Valley at the same time.
Tried doing Plan A but that failed because of people. Then B, C, D, E & F. Please understand it was originally supposed to be a "nudes in nature" shoot but there was a crazy amount of people around, I'm not the type of photographer to push a model do something that "I" am uncomfortable having them do. The situation just sucked.
I was going to call it quits, more disgusted at the circumstance we found ourselves in until she pulls out one of her fashion pieces out of a giant duffel bag that probably about half her 3/4 o her bodyweight. In the back of my mind, I'm like "May as well!" LOL
Migrated to a yet another part of the park again, to many people. So we continued to do clothed work. Tried the "nudes in nature" again & no joy. Taking that it was a sign from the Art Gods to go where the art flow is taking you, we continued to do more clothed stuff until the good light finally dictated we call it.
We have since produced more interesting stuff but I here are a couple that fondly bring me back to that day.
Jillian Ann Durgin, you will be missed.
2. Currently selling my work. If anything particular shot, any model, or any set interests you, please email me here.
Just tell me what interests you & I'll see what I can do. I try to work within budgets but I'm also not going to like give them away for pennies on the US dollar.
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