Alexis

t's been a long time since I posted up a strict "studio set" but here's a little collection of images that I enjoyed making last week, playing with light and creative concepts with a great creative team (in the new studio!)

Subject: Alexis Anne Rashed

Hair styling: Sharon Keller

Styling: Kimberly Rayner Rashed

Lighting: A whole whack of Strobepro equipment.

Any questions on this set, let me know!

2024 - A Year In Review

Going to keep the words to a minimum, here. So many images from the past year, and really no time to share them all. So here is a compilation of some of my favourite images from 2024 (colour, that is…for my black and white body of work, check out this recent blog post.

I am a visual storyteller. Here’s my stories from the year that’s been. I hope you enjoy!

2024 Recap: Black and White

It’s always an enjoyable time, as a photographic artist, to be able to “look back”. Often, you’re looking forward - in the “present” sense. Looking out at the world in front of you, and trying to interpret it the best you can. Those rare moments, though, that you find to look through a project, a month, or a year that’s been and re-live everything? Gold.

I seem to find fewer and fewer of those moments as I age; not because I can’t find the time (although that’s part of the reason); it’s moreso that I dislike more and more being stuck to a computer. I want to be “out there”. Watching the world go by, and leaping in, here and there, as life happens. Both with a camera and otherwise.

Here’s a few black and white images that I enjoyed from the year that’s been. I’ve been fortunate to see and witness a lot this year, as my work took me far beyond the borders of home and to cultures and vistas far beyond my childhood dreams. I don’t take these opportunities lightly, and just try to do them justice.

These are my visual stories. I hope they connect.

PS - stay tuned for some of my colour faves from 2024 in the weeks to come.

Notes From Namibia

November, every two to three years in my world, is three weeks of Namibian heat, dust, sweat, tears and an incredible array of natural and human-strewn perfection.

Namibia has long been known to photographers and wanderlusters alike as a destination like no other. The hospitality of the Namibians is legendary, and this sparsely populated country offers such a diversity of light, form, and experience.

I have now been to Namibia four times, co-leading photography workshops for OFFBEAT, and every time I return, I know I’m in for a journey that’s equally exhausting and elational. This most recent trip was no exception: over the course of 3 weeks I drove over 4500KM with an incredible team of fellow photographers, combining rooftop camping with hotels and taking in a myriad of locations.

Quiver trees. Stars. The ghost town of Kolmanskop. Deadvlei. Sossusvlei. Etosha. Flamingos. Decay. Life. Spitzkoppe. The hunt. Shadows. Sand. The vastness.

PS - Endless thanks to my co-leaders on this on, Kahli April, Sara Kempner, Aaron von Hagen, and Lee Nordbye. You all made this so so much more enjoyable.

Note: all of the above images were taken in 2024 using a combination of my new Fuji GFX 100s II and my trusty Sigma lenses.

The below images are a smattering of favourites from past trips:

Mongolian Colour

The other day, I posted up a black and white collection of recent images photographed in Mongolia. Monochrome work forms a big chunk of what I’m drawn to these days, but the way my brain works - in the field - is that a scene is almost immediately a “black and white” scene, or it’s a colour scene. I’m constantly flipping my camera back and forth between these modes; yes, I know you can shoot in one and convert to the other in post-processing, but I like to “see” in a choosen medium while I’m out there in the thick of it.

Some scenes simply, to me, don’t work in black and white. Or colour becomes more the star of the show. Here, then, are my “colour stars” from close to a month in Mongolia. Just little postcards from a place that’s incredibly meaningful to me…I hope these images can give you a little peak into this beautiful country.