What a Muddy Mess!

Normally, the idea of having dirt all over our body doesn't sit well, but for this shoot we embraced the idea of being covered in mud from head to toe. There are always a few individuals that always ask  "Why did I do this? It feels disgusting, and it smells like crap!"  Ultimately they are so excited at the end of the shoot, and anxious to see the end result. 
The very first shoot was with Solomon Phillips, Terrance as I know him. A model I had been interested in working with for some time. Terrance was very quiet, didn't say much of anything, but had no problem having his, what looked to be new name brand jeans, and boot covered in mud from the creek. As we began the photo shoot I was enjoying what Terrance, and I were creating.  The images looked very gritty, his facial expressions were on point, and the location worked out perfectly. We decided to changed the scenery, walking to the creek, we began shooting again, but this time he changed into some black swim wear. This set the stage the rest of the series, giving a more  natural feel that fit in with the landscape. Stripped down to the bare skin, covering important body parts so no one is ticketed or in the back of a police car, we went for a feeling of an animal in the landscape, very National Geographic. The Photographer is somewhere in the trees or landscape photographing the individuals in their natural surrounding without being noticed. That was our goal, that was the vision. 
Every model gave a different look and feeling to the series. The models and I tried to take advantage of the landscape, trying not to use the same location more than once, though that did not work being some location were just amazing. There were days when I had three shoots a day at various times of the day, and that dictated where the shoots would take place. If it was in the early morning we used the tree filled landscapes that would allow rays of light to shine onto the model. During afternoon we used the creek, since it was mostly shaded by canopy of trees, plus it kept the models cool. As the sun would start to set, the open grass, and creek gave off beautiful light with a warm etherial glow to the models, and because of that I tried to have all the sessions between 5-6 pm. Ultimately the light would define the look of the shoot. With the warm summer session coming to an end, and the cool Colorado evening starting to roll in, this series is going to have to be put on hold till next year. I intend to continue the Muddy Mess series for as long as possibly. I think there is still so much I can do, but you never know I may have my last three photo session of the year and feel it is complete. 

This has been a very fun, and successful series with almost a dozen images excepted on Vogue.it, Vogue Italia's website. I have worked with some amazing models on this project, some have become great friends. This has been one of the very first photo shoots where I have not tried to turn it into something with a fashion inspired look, though there are some that say it does look and feel very like a fashion shoot. Whatever the case may be, I love this series, and can't wait to finish the Muddy Mess series up for the season, and start up again next year.