Monday, September 30, 2013

Sweetpea and me.

Sometimes in life you come across people who are special.  People who have an aura about them. You know the type:  they always command attention when they enter a room, always look fantastic, are successful and always have lots of friends and things going on.

Back in high school, I knew this guy Eric. My friends and I called him the Golden Boy. He had natural good looks, perfect grades, the attention of throngs of girls, and always did well at anything he tried. It would've been downright annoying if he wasn't such a nice, cool guy. But he was. The awesome times I had with him are too numerous to count.

A few months ago, I was at a friend's birthday party when I ran into another Special Person. She had a small, unintentional entourage around her. I say unintentional because I could tell she hadn't arranged for it to be that way, it just was that way. The way she looked and carried herself made me stop and stare -- beauty and confidence command anyone's attention.

Eventually, after what seemed like a fortnight, she and I got around to chatting. I learned the following things about her, in order of importance:  1. She's not single. (Dammit.) 2. Her name is Tawnya Konobeck. 3. She performs all over the US as an incredible burlesque dancer named Sweetpea.  

A few days later, we connected via Facebook and I learned that she works with a lot of photographers and is very photogenic. I told her that if she ever wanted to work together, I'd be game. She replied in the affirmative and invited me to an event she was hosting later that week. I went with a friend and we were both BLOWN AWAY.

Seriously, I knew she would be good, but she was beyond good. It was a Saturday night show at a popular club in downtown Minneapolis and the place was packed. When she took the stage, my friend and I exchanged astonished looks. "That's the gal you were telling me about?" my friend asked. All I could do is nod and grin.

The next day, I wrote her again and pretty much demanded that we shoot together, and soon. After seeing her on stage, I just knew we could make some very strong images. Long story short:  she agreed and we did.

Below are some images from our first couple of shoots. We have more shoots planned, so check my Facebook page for updates. And, if you haven't LIKED my FB page or Sweetpea's FB page yet, please do! Every little bit helps. ^_^

P.S. Yes, I still have lots of good ol' nature images coming down the pipeline. I'll be shooting in the southwest US the entire month of November with my good friend and world renowned landscape photographer Marc Adamus. Stay tuned and take care.