Explorer
A princess sits atop her castle. The giant windows cast a soft light onto the side of her face and the dark worn down brick hides her shadow. The silhouette of her dress has the shape of royalty. Her crown sits on top of her head and her elegant and proud poses tell me that this is an important moment for her. At one point she put her leg up on the window sill to show me how she would do ballet if she were wearing the right shoes of course. Eventually as I i observe, an agnst begins to build. She becomes more restless and urged to move elsewhere. She changes clothes and travels away from her castle.
This series of photos did not have any connection with each other, but after sharing the final product with Cyontaisha, she was telling me about how she can see this series coming together as a cohesive story. When I first began editing, I saw the princess immediately and as the editing process went on, the story unfolded.
The princess travels to an old abandoned school. Maybe the school she used to study at. Now the school is in total ruin. Office supplies, broken glass, and fallen lockers litter the ground as we walk by pain-ridden walls. As she walks through the school, her mind is taken to an unfamiliar place. It seems like she almost feels at home in these ruins. You can tell from the slight smirk she gives every now and then. What's going through her mind?
I remember the first time I saw the photos of Cyontaisha posing with the lockers, I thought this looked like it came right out of the 80’s. The grain from the high ISO and the harsh red over the dull brown gave these photos such a retro vibe. In the context of the story I am writing, the photos have a very different meaning. It's almost like I am viewing the princess looking into herself for something else. Her expression is much harsher than before. I bet she's thinking about running away.
As she walks through the school I see her becoming much more confident. She's looking around corners, opening doors, picking things up and exploring. I try to capture as much as I can, but this is her experience. Eventually she takes off her cape and puts on an unraveling coat. Her garments symbolize her walk away from royalty as I see her make herself at home in these ruins. I watch her stomp and kick dirt as the tassels of her coat sweep the ground through old and colored chalk. She's not the same person. There's more power and total confidence. The wonder and amazement of exploring something new, but old is still there as before. I try to capture it.
As Cyontaisha and I were going deeper into the school, we came across a very colorful room. There was a huge piece on the wall that read NERO. I've seen the name in other parts of the school, so they must be a local artist that frequented the abandoned site. The only piece bigger than the one on the wall, was the one on the floor. The room looked like it had been the scene for a colorful smoke bomb party. There was chalk all over the floor making a giant cloud of color or a giant action painting inspired by Pollack himself. I knew we had to use this spot for the sake of the brand. I had one particular shot in mind: I saw Cyontaisha sitting in a chair sprawled out with her arms hanging down. The cloud of color all around her as I shoot her from a conveniently placed abandon step ladder. I got the shot, but a different photo from this area caught my eye.
Her position reminds me of an explorer overlooking the sea at the helm of a ship. I am looking down from above so I see the entire landscape. Behind her is the colorless land she once reigned over and in front of her is a colorful sea she is heading into. Of course she is protected by her familiar colorless coat as she departs for the journey. The confidence and independence in her expression told me this was it. This is her journey and there were no plans to return.