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Hello! Inspiration and motivation have been very fleeting these days, so when I was actually inspired to take pictures for the first time in 39487 years, I asked Jam if she could drop by before her show for a few quick and simple portraits. Also, LOOK AT HER NEW HAIR. This is what self-care looks like.

Thanks for making time for me, Jam.

Internet Friends

Some old work that never saw the light of day until now because I kept putting it off because wHo KnOWS really. As evidenced by Lianne's hair, these were shot waaay back in 2016. The illustrations, by Diigii, were also done that same year. Sorry for the delay, guys, BUT THANKS FOR STILL BEING MY FRIENDS ANYWAY (?????)

Model: Lianne Fondevilla / loskatt

Illustrations: Diigii Daguna

Special thanks to Jam Alas

Lonely Hearts

First shoot of the year! Thank you to Alex for letting me photograph you as usual, and to Janelle and Beau for being my (ghetto) ~*~lighting crew~*~ Dunno what I'd do without y'all!

2016 was weird. I may or may not make a recap on it. (For my own sake, I prolly should.) It was a curious feeling, losing all motivation and inspiration to shoot ANYTHING towards the end of the year. As much as I had wanted to continue shooting and attempt to pull off a proper one-shoot-per-month thing, I really couldn't bring myself to force it. I could hardly even bring myself to pick up my camera.

I don't know what my plans are -- photography-wise -- for this year. Do I try shooting once per month again? Or do I keep it casual and simple, like I did with Lonely Hearts? I don't know. Let's see where 2017 will take me.

Beneath the Sheets

Alternatively known as: Project Bedsheets. Or: Tintin and the Sampayans.

All jokes aside, I do believe this marks my first time actually photographing Tintin for a shoot. We had already collaborated previously, but this was the first time in which she was the one in front of my camera lens. Originally, I was going to photograph her for May, but I had to postpone to make way for other plans. (Photos from my actual shoot in May to be posted... someday.) This was a relatively simple shoot, with it being just the two of us. (Then again most of my shoots are just me and my subject anyway.) Tin supplied me with outfits to choose from (and also supplied most of our backdrops), and we shot at her place, because it was adequate and convenient.

I feel like my friendship with Tintin has come a long way, somehow. Sure, we've been in the same group of friends for over ten years now, but being in such a large group, the degree of closeness you share can differ from person to person. I'll admit to that. But I feel like, despite being incredibly intimidated by Tintin the first time I ever got to talk to her on Yahoo Messenger (this is another story for another lifetime, but in any case, PETITION TO BRING BACK YM PLS???), I've become much more comfortable around her over the years.

A healthy dosage of Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasy XII (holla at the OG Balthier), and Batman trash in between definitely helped establish our friendship, but I digress.

It's so easy to be misunderstood, and I feel like Tin is one of the people who understands this so well. So much can be lost in translation -- despite speaking the same language, even -- and while Tin and I may not see eye-to-eye (read: she's hella cultured while I'm a rotting hobo) all the time, I think it's good to have differing opinions sometimes. Seeing things from a different perspective can be incredibly eye-opening.

Thank you Tintin for being so game to shoot and for a pleasant morning spent together! You will always be the Fran to my Balthier, even if I only ever got as far as the Rogue Tomato mission in Final Fantasy XII.

Wonderwood Vol. II

Late post because I've been busy with life! Wonderwood Vol. II (Vol. I here) was shot in April, but I've only just gotten to the photos now due to ~*~traveling~*~ and other things. Janelle and I drove around particular subdivisions to get these shots, and it was a fun experience, considering some shots were attained a little guerilla. Despite the heat and the wait-let's-hide-in-the-car moments, the shots turned out really great, I'd like to think. Thanks again shy girl Janelle!

Gemini

Very recently, I found out that a place dear to both my heart and Ana's will soon be unavailable to us -- a.k.a. Anette's old house.

To honor the memory of the location (Ana grew up there, after all, and I've had shoots there on three other occasions), we decided to have one last shoot there. A few days before we were set to shoot, Ana pitched the idea of making 'twins' in the photographs; chalk it up to her obsession with twins, go figure. I was totally open to the idea though, so I left the twins post-processing to Ana (plus, she totally wanted to do it anyway).

Ultimately, the whole twins idea became the general direction of the entire shoot. I actually pitched a similar idea -- especially the styling -- for a shoot with a pair of actual twins before, but it got scrapped, so this was the perfect opportunity to take a few elements from that original idea and bring them to life once and for all.

Admittedly, the theme was a little stressful. As I was treating each set as if I were shooting two people, I had to come up two separate outfits per set. Granted, coming up with outfits coming from Ana's closet is always fun, but by the time we were halfway done with shooting, I was totally getting worn down.

Mostly because it was so. Hot.

I started getting a little nervous by the third set, because the sun was slowly setting and I was beginning to worry that I wouldn't be able make it all the way to the final set.

But, by the magic of Anina, we managed to pull it all off somehow.

It's been a while since I last shot several sets on-location and outdoors using natural lighting. I absolutely missed shooting in such circumstances, seeing as I've been practicing with artificial lights in the past year or so, but I totally forgot how tiring it can be to shoot outdoors. Especially now that summer is creeping in!

Nevertheless, the shoot wouldn't have been remotely as fun (and funny) if it weren't for Ana, so thank you very much, Anette! Time spent with you is always magical and incredibly nostalgic. Luvu longtime.

Zero Degrees

Oftentimes, my shoots with Alex never really go exactly as planned, and this time was no exception. 

Alex had just come from a long week of work, and when she finally got to my place to shoot, one of my lights started acting up. It was an unexpected incident that forced me to compromise my set up, thus ultimately changing the overall look and feel I was initially going for.

Oftentimes, my shoots with Alex never really go exactly as planned -- but for the most part, the final results tend to be worth it in end.

It's an everyday struggle, trying to wrap my head around the notion that some things are not my fault -- at least not entirely, I guess? -- and that there are some things that are just out of my control.

Things don't always go according to plan -- trust me, I know that better than anyone -- but it's shoots like the ones I have with Alex that make me see the silver lining in the unexpected.

Emmanuelle

First shoot of the year featuring Emman! Ever since I met Emman in 2013, I've been wanting to photograph her, but as per usual it took me forever to schedule something. We finally managed to pull something off last week, with the two of us doing the styling and Emman doing her makeup and her brother Marc (whom I adore!!!) doing the... moral support.

The shoot was a brief one -- I'd say we wrapped up in an hour or so -- and the rest of the afternoon was spent just swapping stories about family life, schooling life, and non-existent love lives. I've always loved Emman because she's such a sweetheart, and while this was only our second time hanging out, I can tell she's definitely a keeper.

(And I mean, we always freak out on Twitter anyway, and what better way to bring people together than with their feelings?)

The shoot was just some simple portraiture to get the ball rolling for the year. Whereas 2015 was the year I experimented a lot with my photography (and with a lot of fake flowers, hence 2015 being the Year of the Plantation), 2016 will be... I guess honing my 'skills'? I still want to experiment even more, as there's just so much room to improve and explore, but this time I'll be pacing myself. I'm still aiming for monthly shoots, but I want to be less rushed and more prepared this time around.

By the way, I made an Instagram account solely for my photography, and I plan on using the '#theinaesthetic' hashtag for... ~*~branding~*~ purposes. (Trust me, I feel gross about it.) "The Inaesthetic" because Ina + aesthetic = my aesthetic, but also refers to 'inaesthetic' as in violating aesthetic standards. Quite contradictory, but I like it. Nevertheless, I think this was a good start to the year in terms of my photography.

Thanks again Emman and Marc for a wonderful afternoon! I'm really looking forward to working together again.