markvelasquez

Kalani with Fire, Pt. 12

Kalani continues to get more and more tattoos, and though I don't have an issue with them personally, for images I think they pose a bit of a distraction, especially when trying to create an image tha...

Kalani with Fire, Pt. 11

"Shit, I'm colder out of the water than in it!" She finally said after a few minutes, which unfortunately is always the case. Still, she never stopped doing what she was doing, occasionally stopping t...

Kalani with Fire, Pt. 10

With the torch doused, Kalani just walked around in the water, exploring what was under the water at night while I tried to adjust the flash to the moment. Capturing the brightness of her skin against...

Kalani with Fire, Pt. 9

Eventually the torch started coming apart and going wild, so she dunked the whole thing and I tossed the branch on shore while we continued to shoot. 

It was a simple yet magical moment, wi...

Kalani with Fire, Pt. 8

As she was splashing around, I took this shot accidentally using my flash, which I had thought was turned off. I rarely get excited about my images or can stare at them for long periods, but this is a...

Kalani with Fire, Pt. 7

Surprisingly, the water wasn't terribly cold, either. She enjoyed splashing around in it a bit and had no issue staying in as long as was necessary. The torch, made poorly and haphazardly, lasted long...

Kalani with Fire, Pt. 6

Finally it was time to get in the water. With our observers finally out of the way, Kalani stopped hiding when possible and dove right in, with me right behind. I never ask a model to do anything I wo...

Kalani with Fire, Pt. 5

Though I know her to be a complicated person, constantly struggling internally with her life options and choices, Kalani has a way of wounding you with her eye, of staring not at you, but through you....

Kalani with Fire, Pt. 4

Despite the occasional public complainer, the night was perfect. The clouds were overcast, keeping the warm air in, for the most part, and Kalani, a nudist at heart, enjoyed the freedom that the weath...

Kalani with Fire, Pt. 3

Of course no beach is really public, at least not the ones I'm willing to get to, so we would occasionally hear people screaming at us to put the fire out. Now as an Eagle Scout, I'm more than aware o...

Kalani with Fire, Pt. 2

I love her. Kalani is the most chill, easy-going and open-minded model I've worked with. She may not be overt or easy to read at times, but I don't think I've ever heard her be reluctant or say 'no' t...

Kalani with Fire, Pt. 1

On a warm night two summers ago, Kalani and I drove out to the beach to play with sparklers and fire, but really just needed a few hours away from reality.

The wind was stronger than expected, b...

January 2016 patron supported

Thank you so much for the support this month!

Miss Mary Angel, Pt. 2

I think Mary is beautiful. Her skin is like porcelain, clear and pale with a hint of freckles sprinkled around like rose petals on a bedspread. 

She brought this top that I had mixed feelin...

Dreaming of Summer

With the snow storm raging in the east, I send this image out to you all suffering and dreaming of warmer weather and better days...

Miss Mary Angel

I had a visit from webcam model Miss Mary Angel yesterday morning, honored that she would drive the three hours up from LA to work with me. She is tinier than I had anticipated, being maybe five feet ...

Erika in the Sand, Pt. 13

With the emotional stuff out of the way, we decided to wrap up our shoot. However, as is often the case, she looked so astounding in the light, I couldn't help but keep asking her for "one more shot,"...

Erika in the Sand, Pt. 12

This is a great example of how even the simplest thing, like her walking nervously up one of the dunes, could look magical in the proper light. I also recall that immediately after this shot was taken...

Erika in the Sand, Pt. 11

Erika also really enjoyed the baby oil I asked her to put on. not only did she like how moisturized she felt, but the textures that it provided after rolling around in the sand made her squeal with de...

Erika in the Sand, Pt. 10

Towards the end of the shoot, as she was sitting  down for this specific shot, she began talking about the things she is missing in life. We talked for almost half an hour, her nude in the sand, ...

Erika in the Sand, Pt. 9

Rarely do i catch Erika's true nature, her silly, self-conscious, nervous side. She doubts so much of what she does, which of course is unnecessary. She can be so bubbly and full of awe and excitement...

Erika in the Sand, Pt. 8

This was the other successful double exposure from that afternoon. This is definitely not a bodysuit I would have picked, since I have never had an interest in a lot of lace or obvious "sexy lingerie"...

Erika in the Sand, Pt. 7

Another thing we played with was the double exposure feature on my camera, which I have really learned to appreciate since reluctantly having to downgrade to this camera. 

(I had a wonderfu...

Erika in the Sand, Pt. 6

Thankfully, though we've had a horrendous drought here in California, we had just had a bit of rain the day before, so the sky, often a flat, calm blue, had some lush clouds present. Since I had been ...

Erika in the Sand, Pt. 5

This particular outfit was left at my house by traveling model Roarie Yum, who apparently had made it by cutting a one-piece bodysuit into a very revealing two-piece. The bottoms, having no elastic of...

Erika in the Sand, Pt. 4

I've only really used a 40 or 50mm lens when shooting models the last few years, preferring to challenge myself with the lighting and angles and situations over using an array of equipment. On this da...

Erika in the Sand, Pt. 3

Other thing that's great about Erika is that she doesn't fully understand just how attractive she is. On the street she appears young, friendly, a little dowdy. But in lingerie or less, she reveals a ...

Erika in the Sand, Pt. 2

One of the main things I love about Erika is her general goofiness and sweet nature. The term "sweet" is overused these days, the same way "amazing" and "awkward" is, but Erika is truly sweet. She's n...

Erika in the Sand, Pt. 1

I was contacted by Erika two years ago on Instagram, saying she was a fan and wanted to work together. I've gotten fairly selective about who I work with in my local community due to most women not be...

Laserbeams with Gwyn, Pt. 6

I am so used to having hundreds of images to sort through at the end of the shoot that I enjoyed the process of using long exposures. It allowed for far less actual images to edit through, a much more...