PHOTOvintageSHOP

When photographer Darren Stone approached me to collaborate on a series of photos I had no choice but to say yes. I had previously worked with Darren a couple years ago to gather original material for promotion purposes and was excited to find a photographer interested in shooting vintage inspired scenes that were not the stereotypical retro pin-up girl. I had a vision of strong, self sufficient, powerful women that could kick your ass. Women who were real, and sexy because the possessed these qualities. I wanted the anti-pin up to showcase Mavens fashions, no victory rolls, no lingerie and no scenarios that played down a woman's intelligence. The woman in the shoot are friends of mine. Real ladies that want to make a real difference in their community and in the world. Ladies that stand up for human rights, political change and what they believe in. Ladies that organize opportunities for musicians, writers, photographers, performers and artists of all kinds to showcase their talents and receive recognition from their community. They inspire and nurture youth in these areas as well, creating a new generation to follow in their footsteps. They are the woman that I wanted to be the faces of Mavens. Now with this creative melting pot of people everything came together pretty naturally, even with the spontaneous down pour, we all adapted and were quite happy with the end results.

So back to present time. Darren asked if I would like to collaborate again, this time with a new model and neither of us really had an idea with what sort of direction we wanted the photos to take. We decided to just wing it and see what inspired us the day we would shoot and build from there. It was a whirlwind, from myself meeting our model for the first time, to dressing her, to photographing her, all within hours.

It's always a pleasure working with Darren and I look forward to seeing what we can come up with in the future!