Iva Sakarova, the gorgeous girl from Bulgaria of Fame Management was my last shoot in Bangkok. Only 16 and an intelligent budding philosopher, she is the total opposite of what you’d expect of a model. With big doe eyes and flawless skin, easy to work with and extremely accommodating, we hit the challenging, bustling streets of Khao San. Doing a shoot in middle of a backpacker’s district is tough with so many people around, insane heat and lack of ‘amenities’ but we managed to get through it.
We were so drained after the shoot that we could barely speak. All we wanted to do was have a shower and rehydrate!
Getting hair and makeup done at one of the street-side watering holes.
We did get a lot of curious spectators (as usual) trying to pose with Iva, asking us about the shoot, what it was for. It was amusing but also a little annoying at the same time because the heat was starting to get to us. Either way, we still came out alive and got some pretty good shots.
Gotta love Bangkok for it’s colourful nightlife and insanely fun times!
My second shoot in Bangkok was with the gorgeous Australian Kaspar Hebblewhite from Fame Model Management. He is a part time model who is actually an offshore engineer, you know the kind that works on oil rigs in the middle of the ocean/nowhere. Amazing, I know.
When I first saw his photos, I thought of Abercrombie & Fitch right there and then. It was just the two of us at Lumpini Park on a blistering hot Sunday so what more of a better excuse than to photograph him with his shirt off!
My job is so awesome sometimes
Definitely my favourite photo of the day.
This is my money shot.
It was time to put some clothes on at least.
Because the pigeons were getting too ‘curious’.
Besides melting to death and losing all forms of bodily fluids along the way, it was a great day. I think anybody who knows Kaspar can also attest to him being the party animal. He has quite the crazy life and the one to go to if you want to have a good time. So ladies, don’t take too long now.
Much of the preparation for this shoot was the styling which both Nareez and I did. With Andrea Fonseka as the face of Malaysian International Week 2009, we wanted to go with a few grand, over the top outfits, and some equally as glamorous but much more wearable day to day. Just going from one designer to another took two full days with the insane KL traffic and everything. Obviously we got snap happy and recorded our days in photos.
My planner at the start of the week. The two pages were completely filled by the end of the week.
Nareez, totally stressed out coordinating all the shoots and meetings.
First stop, Sonny Sun for Eclipse.
Shoes, shoes, shoes!
Pickup from Tangoo to Jovian Mandagie.
Close-up of the shoes. <3<3<3 Only one pair created specially for the runway show.
Gallo.
Teresa, the designer for Gallo had her 18 month old daughter in the studio that day. When I first saw the adorable girl, I thought she looked like she was wearing designer baby clothes. After a while I realized that Teresa actually made her a baby version of the collection for Autumn/Winter 09! How cool is that? I doubt the baby versions are for sale though.
Our third visit to Eric Choong in a week.
The car by the end of the day.
Altogether we collected over twenty outfits but used about fifteen. The back seat was filled with so many clothes to the point of not being able to see the rear window. The total value of everything was probably more than the car itself! And this is only one of the very few things we do with much more to come…
I wanted very much to celebrate my birthday each year in a foreign country but unfortunately that was not possible this time. Instead I got one of the wackiest, craziest nights to remember. I didn’t plan to do anything but work the whole day away so Nadia and Co. took me out to dinner on the eve before to Citron at KL Tower but the fun really began back at my place later on. All we needed for a good time was a little imagination and a lot of random creativity, as the photos and video will attest to.
Lamphead the silent killer.
Lamphead the failed rocker.
The polaroids begin.
My ‘worshipers’. No shit, bitches.
Trademark poser pose, always necessary.
Polaroid memories are my birthday tradition.
The best part of the night, our music video you definitely MUST watch.
2008 was quite a year. It was the year I decided to do photography full-time, the year I embarked on my traveling journeys, the year I got my first credit card (which is now cancelled by the bank. Whoops), the year I partied too hard, the year that started my experiences.
Here are some of my favourite portraits taken in that year including those that I have not been shown before.
Getting hair and makeup done at one of the street-side watering holes.
A very sweaty me and Iva.
Definitely my favourite photo of the day.
This is my money shot.
It was time to put some clothes on at least.
Because the pigeons were getting too ‘curious’.
Kaspar & Me on the BTS.
My planner at the start of the week. The two pages were completely filled by the end of the week.
Nareez, totally stressed out coordinating all the shoots and meetings.
First stop, Sonny Sun for Eclipse.
Shoes, shoes, shoes!
Pickup from Tangoo to Jovian Mandagie.
Close-up of the shoes. <3<3<3 Only one pair created specially for the runway show.
Gallo.
Our third visit to Eric Choong in a week.
The car by the end of the day.
Lamphead the silent killer.
Lamphead the failed rocker.
The polaroids begin.
My ‘worshipers’. No shit, bitches.
Trademark poser pose, always necessary.
Polaroid memories are my birthday tradition.
Michele loves Nadia, Ray, Jon & Ash! <3<3<3
Tim Wetzel, Kuala Lumpur
Thomas Pullar, Melbourne
Natascha Verkaik, Melbourne
David Maher, Melbourne
Rhiannon Hough, Melbourne
Elke Bonner, Brisbane
Sharon Smith, Brisbane
Annalyn King, Singapore
Vishnu Bala, Singapore
Rokshana Aitken, Melbourne
David Paris, Sydney
Brendan Maclean, Sydney