Black Prom Dress Deborah

1. There's an interesting story behind this shoot. 

When Deborah arrived, she laid out her wardrobe where I instantly took a liking to her big poofy prom dress. Explaining that it as so new, she hadn't had time to get the darn thing tailored. 

I'm like, "I do have safety wire & we can synch you up that way." Yes, it would be a one outfit type shoot but whatever."

To my surprise, she's as nutty as I was & agreed. So I synched her up. Did some stuff on the Boston fire escape, did some stuff riding-but-not-riding a moped, playing hop-scotch (all not seen here btw), & typical-me windowlit stuff.

Below is the remastered version of her playing in the apartment windowsill, having a grand ol' time.

"Remastered" because I edited it many years later. My know-how had grown considerably since we originally shot.

& yes to get her out, I had to use my handy wire cutters.

2. I'm currently selling my work. If anything particular shot, any model, or any set interests you, please email me at farenell.photography@gmail.com.

Just tell me what interests you & I'll see what I can do. I try to work within people's budgets but I'm also not going to like give them away for pennies on the US dollar.

Avid Reader Jenna Q

1. The following recent shot reminds me a quaint incident I had with my first shoot with Jenna Q.

It was her 2nd semester at the local college & replied to an online ad I posted for a project that I either soon petered out or wasn't in the direction I was hoping for.

But whatever.

We kicked around other ideas & among those many emails she mentioned that she was an avid reader, with her favorite author being Kurt Vonnegut. So much so, she got "And So It Goes" tattooed along her ribcage. For those not in the know, its a frequent refrain in one of his most famous works.

Vonnegut is one of the most strangest authors I've ever encountered not because of his subject matter but his writing style. 

What do I mean? 

If you read multiple things from the same author, their flow & cadence is similar enough where you can kinda tell its from them. Its akin to a painter's brush stroke or a photographer's compositional eye or editing style. To the keen eye, you can tell its from the same creator.

However in the 5 of books I've read from Vonnegut; Slaughterhouse Five, Cat's Cradle, Breakfast of Champions, Player's Piano, & Timequake; that isn't REMOTELY the case. S5 is different from Cat, Cat is different from Breakfast & so on while no of those 5 have remotely the same flow read as any of the others.

But I digress.

In our preshoot conversations, Jenna mentioned that "Slaughterhouse Five" was her favorite book & she didn't have her own copy & was bummed  because if she wanted to reread it, she'd have to borrow it from the local library.

As a fellow book lover, I vowed to put a stop to that problem & purchased said copy.

At the end of our shoot, I gave & she opened the wrapped present & squealed with delight & jumped up & down with excitement. Seeing how happy the gift made her, brought a slight smile to my stoic face.

I don't care what people say, being nice matters. Kindness especially when there's nothing to be gained by the act, is a strength not a weakness.

I don't remotely pretend that I'm good at living up to those lofty ideals but it happened that day with Jenna.

2. Currently selling my work. If anything particular shot, any model, or any set interests you, please email me at farenell.photography@gmail.com. 

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.

Breast Cancer Awareness with Ann & Ashley

1. What y'all are seeing is a Breast Cancer Awareness shoot w/ Ashley & her mom Ann. The original intent was to make it as simple as I could get - a black & white rendering with only the pink ribbon (or the tatoo) being the only thing in color. 

I put out a casting on one of the many social media sites I used at the time & Ashley responded & her mom, a Breast Cancer survivor tagged along. I did a number of shots of Ashley & asked if her mom if wanted to participate herself despite being 2 weeks post-op from a double mastectomy. She was all for it.

We were both in the moment. Anne doing her thing, me focusing on camera setting & composition & simply trying to stay focused (no pun intended). At one point, she was about to showcase her still visible sutures & me about to shoot her when her daughter put a stop to it. It was probably for the best.

With the exception of documenting Ground Zero less than 2 months after the attacks, this remains one of my most emotionally grueling shoots. 

Hope you enjoy.

2. I'm currently selling my work. If anything particular shot, any model, or any set interests you, please email me at farenell.photography@gmail.com.

Just tell me what interests you & I'll see what I can do. I try to work within people's budgets but I'm also not going to like give them away for pennies on the US dollar.