This shoot took place in Green-Wood Cemetery during the midst of Mercury retrograde. Dani wanted to try a new direction with her look, so she brought this incredible red 80s jacket with major shoulderpads. I had a fun old church lady fascinator I’d picked up at Marshall’s a few years ago that ended up looking perfect when we paired it together. The look was stunning and retro, but still managing to feel futuristic.
Author: Alice Teeple
Niabi
PortraitsNiabi’s friend Ivy styles these gorgeous wigs to order, and we decided to go do an Artemis-themed shoot in Astoria Park one evening. Niabi miraculously procured a bow and arrow and we photographed these under the Hell Gate Bridge.
Gemma
PortraitsMy friend Gemma has been working on a long term performance art/poetry/music project involving Jean-Michel Basquiat. Her stunning performance a few years ago about him still sends chills down my spine. This summer Gemma came over from the UK for another brief residency and we went to Basquiat’s studio to do a few portraits. It was quite a stunning experience to witness her actually in his space for the first time.
Lauren
PortraitsLauren is a singer-songwriter from North Carolina who was in town doing a music project with some mutual friends. She came over to my old apartment studio and we walked around Harlem and did some portraits in Trinity Cemetery as well. She was a delight to work with and we all had a blast that chilly day!
Cabaret
PortraitsI often work with a theatre in Park Slope called The Gallery Players. They hire me occasionally to do PR portraits and dress rehearsals. Cabaret was especially exciting for me because of the crazy talented and diverse cast. The whole thing took less than an hour but it remains one of my favourite theatre shoots.
Sara Maraffino
PortraitsSara and I are extremely close friends but amazingly have only ever really met each other twice in person. She’s like a sister to me in many ways. During one of her visits on the East Coast we met up in the Hudson Valley and did a shoot together with her nana’s spectacular fur coat. She had been extremely close to her grandmother so it was a very poignant moment to photograph. We rode around places that were very special to Sara’s childhood and took in the scenery and the energy surrounding them.
Virginia Marcs
PortraitsI did these portraits in Astoria Park under the Hell Gate Bridge. We went full goth on this one, folks. And then we got outgothed…by a group of people who decided to also spend the afternoon under the bridge spreading someone’s ashes. It was a memorable shoot, to be sure…and the SECOND one I’ve done now involving human cremains.
Wesley
PortraitsThis past summer I did another series of my old roommate Wesley, this time dancing in Prospect Park. He’s an extraordinary athlete and such a graceful, creative dancer to capture. I am so proud of all he’s done and accomplished.
Oliver Trevena
PortraitsI did a series of portraits of actor/TV host Oliver Trevena for Downtown Magazine this summer. What a nice guy, and what a lot of fun we had in TriBeCa doing this shoot. It was a spontaneous decision but we came up with some fun portraits.
Taylor
PortraitsTaylor and I spent a fun and chilly afternoon running around the East Village doing head shot portraits for one of her plays.
Nate Smith
PortraitsNate is such a great, supportive friend. He’s someone I can always count on for a solid second creative opinion. Nate works as an actor and is a fellow alum of UCB. You may recognise him as one of the writers in the room on 30 Rock, but he’s done tons of other stuff and he’s great in all of it! I did some portraits of him when he visited NYC this spring. We wandered around Central Park for a bit and had some coffee, and then some man behind us had a whole flock of pigeons land near him, so we documented that. Good times!
Trish
PortraitsTrish and I had a mutual friend and met during a showing of 1973 version of The Wicker Man, which is my favourite movie (and as it turned out, also completely apropos). Trish is a writer so we made use of my ostrich quill after deciding to do a shoot in the East Village. We shot around Rivington for this series and it ended up being a lot of fun!
