Aussie cowgirl living in LA!

Good evening, Steemians! Hard fork talk is coming in an avalanche so I’ll skip that, suffice it to say it’s having a major impact on the community. I’ll have more constructive thoughts on HF19 in a couple of weeks, once I’ve had a chance to digest it. Overall, the initial reaction seems to be positive. We’ve got the best community in all of crypto so it’s great to see such passionate engagement. 

The photos I’m sharing tonight are from a shoot with a client that hired me during one of my many photography tours throughout Southern California. Her name is Janis and she’s an Australian beauty living in LA. In addition to her pleasing esthetic, she’s an adrenaline junkie and one of the funniest people I’ve ever met! We exchanged a few emails leading up to this shoot, but it wasn’t until I met her in person that I fully appreciated how much we’d get along.

Janis does anything that can get your heart rate up. She’s a thrill seeker and pursues hobbies that most people would refuse if their lives were on the line. Bungie and base jumping, rifle shooting and skydiving to name a few. This lead her to begin a film project called “Don’t do it, Janis!”, based on so many of her friends that’ve pleaded with her not to go through with her risky stunts. 


Janis and I shot two concepts the day we met; the second was a vintage style airborne infantry concept complete with giant parachute and the flight gear. That’s going to be saved for another day since this concept is extensive on it’s own. The concept she was really focused on pulling off was this beautiful western cowgirl theme, sort of an ode to Dolly Parton. 

Janis is a horse enthusiast and not surprisingly, she had a connection for us to shoot on a ranch. She arrived hair and make-up ready done by a reliable friend of mine in LA, and changed in to the cowgirl outfit. We had complete access to the stables and surrounding grounds. One of the things I’m most grateful for because of my style of available light shooting in the ability to sneak around and find interesting areas to make pictures. One of the stable doors was cracked open and I was able to find dozens of ornate saddles. There wasn’t a lightbulb but I was able to light the entire shot with only the sun peeking through that door.

Janis had me cracking up with her brash Aussie sense of humor. I lost it every time she called me a “cunt”, as a term of endearment. Apparently, that means we’re mates. When discussing one of her nice but ugly roommates she said “She’s a bit of a bush pig…”. Absolutely one of the funnest shoots I’ve had in my last few years working in LA, especially considering many of the people I’ve met there take themselves SO seriously. Not Janis. She was amazing.

I had a phone call with Janis last week and I told her all about Steemit. Her “Don’t do it, Janis” web series would do amazing here on the site and her kindness and sense of humor would enrich Steemit even more. I’m setting up another call with her to walk her through the process of making her introduction post. I’ll be sure to resteem her when the time comes.

Thanks for reading! For more photography, art, illustration and thoughts on career and life, please follow me @kommienezuspadt!