This shoot began with the premise of a pastel theme. Alas, pastel tones and bright colors are very much not my style; and so it was a struggle. I failed this shoot, in truth. The results are not anything near what I had envisioned, but that’s a step in progression. The important thing is always to pick up a camera and keep shooting…and to sit back and enjoy it.

This shoot was done primarily on my Meike 35mm F/1.7, with a few shots taken on the Sirui 50mm F/1.8. I kept the Fuji X-T30 set to jpg + raw with my film sim set to overexposed Fuji Pro400H. This gave me a pink hue in-camera as a guide for the end goal. The day of the shoot was not the smoothest, as it turned out a farmer’s market was set up in the location that is normally empty in the morning. We were vastly limited from my original plans of utilizing the area; I made this shoot happen without really moving the car much at all. A rare overcast day was also unexpected. I was hoping for some blue skies to pair with the pink hues and outfit, but it is important to be able to improvise and adapt. Cancelling a shoot because I don’t have the stars aligning is just cowardice in art.

The concept of cute girl/cool car is nothing so novel, but it is timeless and appealing nonetheless. I typically shoot cosplays with these cars, but decided to open the space to fashion concepts to expand my opportunities. Pastel is the first concept, while I have “90’s Anime”, “Synthwave” and other concepts in my pocket. Some of these will be digital, while most will likely be on film and/or video.

While this shoot did not go as planned on several levels, I am grateful to Aaron for bringing out the RX-7 and for Audrey putting together a cute outfit. The shoot overall was a great learning experience and will assist in my growth as an artist. There is progression even in regression, if you let it be so. Art often grows when it is constrained and does not conform to conventional principles.

FD RX-7

Hotels.

Senjougahara