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Cheyne’s Photo Blog

Anecdotes from a curious photographer

Arabian Prince

   

I never like to do the obvious, so when I was contemplating a theme for South American model Marcos, I immediately discounted doing a "Futbol"-themed shoot; Sports is not my thing. I wanted something that would showcase his exotic looks (and impressive physique) and also my signature vintage style.

It dawned on me to take a trip to the Middle East and re-create an Arabian Nights theme. After some research, I had a better understanding of Arabic & Middle-Eastern styles of garments and how I can reproduce them on a budget. I lucked out and found some great harem pants on sale at the local Goodwill. Paired with layers of costume jewelry and a gold vest I already had, the outfit was complete - except for the headgear.

I own an actual Fez (a souvenir from my friend's trip to Egypt) and a muslim knit cap, but they still didn't look right to me. Well, as you can tell from the 2nd photo, the solution was staring me right in the face, so I went with it. Yes, I used the same window curtain that I used for the Matador shoot. It was the perfect color & texture, so how could I refuse? Wrapped around his head and accented with a gold brooch I got from Japan, the look was complete!

You heard it here first, people, the stylist who refuses to use the same outfit twice did it this time. The lesson here is one of re-invention: view an object as something else, re-purpose it, and it will ensure you stay under budget and will flex your creative muscles.

 

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Filed under  //   abs   arabian   arabic   brazilian   chest   cheyne   DIY photography   fashion   fitness   gallarde   hawaii   male   model   natatorium   photographer   photography   retro   sexy   shirtless   strobist   theme   vintage   waikiki  
Posted July 7, 2009
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El Matador

       

This series was inspired by the matadors and bullfighters of Spain. I've always admired the beautiful costumes and statuesque poses of the matadors, so I was thrilled to finally start working towards achieving that vision.
 
The perfect model for the job was Winfield Kelly. Winfield is very professional and though this was our first project together, I knew I could trust him to get the job done. His latin looks combined with his professionalism made Winfield a joy to work with.
 
Besides my great model, one of the other elements that really sells the idea and completes it is the matador outfit. Built from a variety of thrift store finds (for under $25.00), this budget bullfighter outfit was actually part of a 2-piece dress which probably belonged to some old Filipino lady with an obvious flair for style.
 
Here's a behind the scenes video on the styling for this shoot:

 
Hawaii residents should recognize the backdrop as the famous Natatorium, the War Memorial. In it's heyday, the Natatorium was an olympic-sized seawater swimming pool which housed swim meets. This dilapidated structure was recently renovated with the hopes of re-opening it, but it has since been neglected and is in dire need of maintenance again. Unfortunately, the maintenance costs are not in the budget and there is talk of tearing it down. It saddens me to hear of these decisions, but I am very glad to have captured it before its demise. Fans of my work will notice that it's as much about the location as it is about the model. I put lots of thought into where I shoot and I am honored to shoot at famous Hawaii landmarks. It is my way of preserving them forever.

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Filed under  //   cheyne   fashion   hawaii   male model   matador   nataotorium   photo   photoshoot   retro   spanish   vintage   waikiki  
Posted May 4, 2009
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The great stock adventure

Having tackled Food, Fashion, Live Events, Weddings and Family photography, I figured it was time I try my hand at Stock Photography.
 
I was excited to shoot stock photography because it would be an opportunity to shoot using natural light, which meant I didn't have to lug around any lighting equipment. Boy, was I wrong! Instead of lightstands, we wound up carrying around dozens of props, sunglasses, and my regular assortment of lenses (just in case!). What seemed like a lightweight shoot turned out to be quite a nomadic adventure!
 
Besides lighting and composition, I also had to remember to shoot a horizontal and a vertical (or landscape and portrait for those in the know) version of each pose. This not only added more time, but took up more space on my memory card that I didn't factor in. By the time we were done with the first location, my memory card (2 GB) was more than half full - and we still had three more locations to go! Needless to say, I was chimping away like crazy!
 
My models, the talented Brandon Marc Higa and the newcomer to the modeling world Julia Gold, were great sports about it all and humored me with my ridiculous requests to "Back up and walk towards me again, except much slower," or "Look excited, like it's your first time eating Shaved Ice!" They were real troopers -- and they looked great on camera too!
 
I believe that better planning on my end would have resulted in a more streamlined shoot. Now that I've got my feet wet with stock photography, I'm looking forward to diving back in!

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Filed under  //   asian   brandon marc   couple   funny   hawaii   japanese   julia   shave ice   stock photography   tourist   vacation   waikiki  
Posted March 23, 2009
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