I happened upon an encampment of WWI re-enactors on Governor’s Island one afternoon. I thought it would be fun to do portraits of them in a tintype app. The results were quite stunning. These caught the eye of Jerry Saltz on Instagram!
retro
Winter & Bella
PortraitsMy cousins Winter and Bella modelled for me in their backyard in south Philadelphia a couple of years ago. We had a lot of fun playing dress up and I let them use their imaginations to play pretend. They were such amazing little models. These were all shot on iPhone.
Heather
PortraitsAnother group of fun images from my old Harlem apartment. The previous tenant left all her knickknacks when she passed away, and I used them extensively as props. She even had a collection of liquour that was pretty ancient. Heather, who is a comedian, came over with her amazing collection of darling 1950s dresses. The bizarre knickknacks accentuated her look perfectly!
Shelley
PortraitsWhen I was a college student, most of my clothing money went to thrift shops in town. The best vintage clothing came from The Rag and Bone, run by Shelley. I first met her in high school, and came to become friends and eventually worked at the shop for a few years here and there.
Shelly taught me a lot about vintage clothing and how to date it. Many of her customers were local theatre groups and yes, cosplayers. One day we decided to do a series at the local bookstore where we made her look like the era of the clothes in her collection. I love the portrait of us side by side, we look like ghost sisters.
On The Waterfront
PortraitsMy friend Rhiannon is one of my go-to models when I have an art idea. She has a great look that transcends time and she’s always open for interesting ideas. We shot this series in Gantry Park, Queens, along the East River. The old Pepsi-Cola sign threw off an amazing neon red light, and with her 1940s clothes we managed to throw together a fun modern film noir vibe. I love shooting mini stories like this, especially with actors, and would like to explore more of it.
