In the Neighborhood

People always say that New York will change you but I've always felt that New York would be the one place that I didn't have to change a thing about me. I could wear my bright yellow pants with a pink fox fur hanging off the side and it would be totally acceptable. Not even that but no on would even flinch or make strange faces as I walk past them with my head held high. Well I have officially lived in New York for a week now and I was completely right although I have not worn my bright yellow pants and fox fur tail yet but that will soon change, in fact I'm going to put it on right now. I haven't gotten the chance to really get lost in the city yet but I have been browsing my neighborhood every chance I get. This is my first time ever being in Brooklyn and I absolutely love it! Everyone is around my age and if they aren't an artist then they hang out with artists which is just as good to me. I will admit on the topic of clothing that 75% of the people are all wearing black and muted colors (myself included until I get the rest of my wardrobe shipped to me) but it's really that 25% of people that make this neighborhood so interesting and exciting. It's as though every corner you turn there is a new discovery to behold, a new muse to take in, an adventure to be explored and I can't help myself from exploring more and more even when the rain is pouring down and my feet hurt so much I can no longer wiggle my toes from numb-ness. There will be much much more on my feelings of the city and it's effects on my personal style as time goes on but for now here are some snaps of other people's style. I do need to create a new FIU Style Sightings but for New York, any suggestions for names?

DAFUQ

Today I graduate from college after 5 grueling years. I don't really know what to say about it since I don't actually walk down the aisle of the basketball stadium to get my diploma for a few more hours so in the meantime I will discuss what I have been up to in my final days in Miami. Every day has been spent doing photo shoots with new and old friends and packing at night. Though there will be more photos from my last days in this city later this week for now I wanted to share a rather random but still awesome one-look photo shoot I did with my favorite makeup extraordinaire Kayla Carcone. I met Kayla during my first year at school and if you go back to my blog 2 years ago you will find looks that we did together when I was still trying to figure out what the hell this thing was all about.

For this look in particular we wanted to do something mad, crazy and beautiful that had some sort of symbolism about the transition that we have gone through as artists from when we first came to Miami and where we are today, thus why half of my face is painted white and the other half au natural. While we were brainstorming some sort of text to put under my eye for the "where I am today" face I noticed a tattoo on Kayla's wrist that said DAFUQ. At first I thought it was hilarious but the more thought I gave to it I fell in love with it. It's straight-forward, honest, humorous and relevant to how I have often felt in reaction to many of the things I have experienced here in Miami. 

My best friend Alex Jaramillo joined us for this shoot and was gracious enough to photograph it. It was so wonderful getting to spend time with these two very special women in my life and though I will miss them beyond what words can say I know that our paths will cross again and for now I will look very forward to that day while I cherish the experiences we have already had together. I love you two girls, thank you for everything, you each have a very special place in my heart. 

Artistic Collaboration {Behind the Scenes}

Before jumping into this post today you may notice a complete re-design to the blog. As I mentioned awhile back it was time for me to accept the white background as black simply wasn't doing my photos or content justice. This is a temporary re-design until I have more time and help to polish it up but for now I hope you enjoy the new look, if not let me know why. 

After my whole rant about stylized reality a few weeks ago this post probably can't get anymore stylized - a perfect example of my attempt to escape my reality. A few week's ago I collaborated on an incredible project with makeup artist, emphasize the artist, Kayla Carcone. Kayla had randomly sent me a text one day that she was going to have some spare time later in the week and if I had any projects I needed a makeup artist then she would love to help out. I didn't have anything planned but after working with Kayla on the Sea Punk shoot and being aware of her other creative work I knew that I definitely wanted to take advantage of this opportunity and do something insane with her. Trust me ladies and gentleman when I say that what we did was quite insane. 

I just got the wonderful news that this beauty story will be published very soon in a print magazine and I wanted to share a few behind the scenes because I always find it interesting to see how a conceptual and creative shoot is created. I was the model and photographer while Kayla was in charge of hair and makeup. I would say that we were both the creative directors since we pretty much just passed ideas back and forth while playing around with the materials that Kayla had brought with her. The results were quite astounding and something that I am dying to share this very moment but must restrain myself. Let these i-phone pictures suffice you all for now.

Here are two shots that didn't make the cut that I am still absolutely obsessed with. 

Like I said, Kayla is truly an artist.