For those who find reading a computer screen to be tedious. . .

We made you a video.

In this project, we turn Ashley into a Samurai warrior and place her amongst the cherry blossoms of Colorado. Telephoto lenses and thrift store shopping come together to make these images enter a whole new world of imagination.

Join us as we explore natural light for portrait photography and create a series of images which celebrates the meticulous beauty of Japan.

ASHLEY FAY
MODEL

LEWIS CARLYLE
PHOTOGRAPHER

Silk. Steel. And style. In this little adventure, we raid the costume box once again and turn Ashley into a samurai….. warrior….. geisha…. approximation.…..

In an era where cultural appropriation is at the top of the trigger list for people who simply cannot wait for something to come along and offend them, we fly in the face of adversity, let creativity take the reins and do our best to celebrate the meticulous precision of Japanese culture.

Mother Nature provides a setting of spring cherry blossoms and perfect light. It would be a shame to let this immaculate setting go by the wayside and so we SPRING…. Ha! Get it…..  into action for a new series of natural light portraits.

Let us…. Begin…..

I like to think of portrait photography as an endless treasure trove of possibilities. You can be anyone you want to be on any given day. In the instance of the cherry blossoms, the imagination tends to wander in the direction of feudal Japan. The time of the samurai. A warrior class with unrivaled skill.

The only problem with this little bit of cosplay is that we don’t exactly have a closet full of authentic Japanese kimonos. And so, like any good comedy crew, we improvise. The costume box reveals a Jedi cloak, a bit of red fabric, an old house robe and a few yards of bandages. 

Our first location is here in the neighborhood. A row of white crabapple trees will serve as our environment.

And here’s where things get tricky. My intention is to create an endless sea of white blossoms.

And this means we need to play the angle game. 

Now, as much as I would love to have movie set wardrobe for every shoot, sadly, our costume box can only take us so far.

Fortunately, with a little bit of Photoshop magic, we can peel off a little slice of imagination to take these images across the finish line.

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