Week 16/52 - Carefree Prismatic
It gives me great pleasure to share a friend I haven't seen in three years. Give it up for Melody as the 16th portrait of the Week! To be honest, I almost didn't have anyone set for a photoshoot. Things came up for them and had to get delayed into May. To have Melody for this week photo shoot was a shocker to the both of us. Wednesday night, I went to Foundation nightclub to support a friend opening on his debut night. Within the first hour, I ventured my way in the dance floor not only to see a familiar face spinning on deck, but to see Melody and Josh, week 13 portrait, coming out, too! It's crazy how small this world is.
This photo shoot is split into two way. The first part is an intimate one-on-one shoot between me and Melody. The second part is between me, Melody, and her son Jude. Within the parts, you will read about our experience together, a bit about Melody, and what the future has in store for her. Let's get this going!
As I mentioned earlier, the last time we saw each other was from Lucky 2013. My my, that's three years too long. Ever since then, what I known about Melody were from Facebook and Instagram. She loves to share her life online. Carefree is one of the personality that best fits her.
I had the opportunity to see her tattoos up close and learned what they symbolized. I noticed majority of her tattoos is marked with her left arm. Although she does have more on other parts of her body. There are two distinctive tattoo designs with the following quotes that Melody lives by. "Lies will lock you up with truth the only key" and "I, myself, entirely made of flaws, stitched together with good intention". Including the whole perfume bottle piece represents her love for her family. The flowers and bottle for the women, the cards for her dad, and the raven for herself. Everything else is a combination of love for others or a reminder to love her. With our time together, I learned about the hardship she has gone through. I am amazed how mature she is and what she's brought upon for her life. Beyond her tattoos, how she appears speaks true about herself.
To embrace life with others, she's into music festivals. The festivals she's into are much different than the ones I associate. She and her small family will attend Shambhala and Oregon Eclipse this august. When she told me her previous experience with the festivals mentioned, I was delighted to hear how the festival allowed her to enjoy the music, immerse spiritually with others, and being present.
I'm super excited to talk about the second part of the photo shoot. This special shoot has a spot for her son Jude. FYI on the timeline of the day, we did this photo shoot in the beginning. I wanted to present her alone to fit the narrative. Moving on!
This wasn't my first time meeting Jude. Josh, who I photograph for week 13, is the co-parent for Jude. Jude sure is a talkative boy as well as being cheerful, curious, and carefree. She picked the beach for our destination location because she loves the beach. She isn't from Washington state, but grew in the mid west at Indianapolis. To learn our birthday is a one day apart, it's cool we are both Cancer-Leo cuff! It's no wonder she comes to the beach! Being near the water bring calamity and peacefulness for her, bringing her son adds value to the experience.
As you can see, the weather doesn't look friendly. The gloomy cloud with fast large rain coming down, it didn't stop us from having fun. The outfit between the both of them helped stood out from the ugly gray color and unnatural green bushes. Their color draws attention to their natural being, making it an enjoyable playtime for them.
Before I wrap this up, the chemistry between her and Jude is incredible. To photograph a mother and son for my project I'm honored. It's different than shooting a single portrait who interacts with me and the environment. This particular session was between the three of us. Nothing was a dull moment. We made use of our environment well.
Melody, thank you so much for being in my project! To give me the opportunity to photograph you and your son felt honorable because I cared about capturing the joy and love you have for your son. I hope I did justice with our time together. Please share with your loved ones. Enjoy!
Week 17 I have already finished my photo shoot yesterday. My hopes is to publish online soon by this Saturday. Thank you for tuning in. :)
- Sally