A great man once said "I have a dream", and he went on to accomplish a lot thereafter including almost realising that dream. I on the other hand didn't have a dream, nor do I consider myself a great man but few years ago I did have an idea, it took me about 5 years to eventually get it done but I'd say it was time well spent learning more and gathering information before executing the idea. People are passionate about things but how many of them make take that passion one step further and doing something with it? I'm passionate about a lot of things, cars, music, sport, technology and beautiful woman, so I thought why not combine all of that together?
To put it simple, my idea was to put together a photo shoot but it wasn't just another photo shoot for someones portfolio, it was to get creatives together, introduce them to each ones passion and see what could transpire. My goal seemed simple enough, being from Durban I wanted everything to be 100% local, so I sourced a local model, who I happened to meet by chance at an event, I got a local photographer who just happens to be a good friend and has international experience in fashion photography and has worked with some of the big named publishers in the world, the clothing used for the shoot was from a Durban based fashion designer who took part in the Mercedes-Benz SA fashion week a few years back and lastly, source a good location for the shoot.
Model: Amber Elizabeth Konahos: originally from Johannesburg, Amber now resides on the east coast where apart from modelling, she works at a Spa in Ballito. Amber's beauty strikes you from the get go, shes tall, well built and has beautiful golden blonde hair, strong features and great physique. She recently made the final 16 in the World Swimsuit Model Search, where she proved to be quite popular with her achieving over a thousand votes as well as receiving Editors Choice, Videographers Choice and Sponsors Choice badges. So it was a no brainer from my side that she would be the one to star in my first production. Amber is a sweet down to earth girl, young but is a natural when she's in front of the camera. She has a promising career ahead of her and for that I'd like to wish her nothing but the best, as I know she will go far.
Instagram: ambs.elizabeth
Photographer: Yuveer Karanchand aka YuviK: I've known Yuveer for the better part of 2 years now, his talent is evident from his work and his CV is beyond remarkable. For someone of such a young age to have worked with some of the biggest names in publication and fashion is astounding. I first asked him to photograph for me with some of the cars I gotten to test but while the pictures were great, I could tell his passion lied more in fashion photography, hence I asked him to do the shoot with me. While I might claim production rights over the shoot, its him who made the magic happen and he did most of the work that day. You can follow him on his travel and escapades via his various social streams, be it Instagram, Snapchat or Facebook, all of which you can find below, as well as his email address should you wish to book a shoot with the talented camera man.....and I can be your production manager for a small fee too, just kidding ;)
Instagram: YuvikPhoto
Facebook: YuviK Photography
Snapchat: yuvi106
Email: yuvik106@gmail.com
Website: www.yuvikphoto.com
Clothing: Genna Wae West: Genna has been a good friend of mine for the past 5 years, from noticing her on the cover of one of Sasha Martinengos albums, it didn't take much for her to grab my attention. Her passion for fashion is clear and with her approach for emphasizing the importance of local designers and local clothing is also one of the reasons I chose to use her. She has tons of experience in designing some of the sexiest lingerie and swimsuits, some may be a bit raunchy but hey, why live life wearing only granny panties. She supplied us with a range of her latest lingerie and swimsuits with Amber only more than happy to model them for us.
Instagram: waewest
Facebook: waewestcouture
Twitter: @waewest
Location: Suncoast Towers & Hotel: A massive thank you to Nicole East and Palvi Oddone Aquino of Tsogo Sun, Suncoast for arranging the use of one of the Towers suites and the outside pool area for the shoot. Suncoast Towers and Hotel is ideally situation on the famed Durban Beach Promenade, it features a breathtaking sea view as well as access onto the beach of the warm waters of the Indian Ocean. Adjoining the hotel complex, one can find Suncoast Casino and Entertainment World which houses a Casino, Movie house as well as a host of restaurants and takeaways. The hotel has its own restaurant as well, Jeera, offering a wide variety of Indian cuisine, from local to authentic Indian which will leave you salivating for more. After the shoot we were treated to a high tea, which you can read about more in my review. Suncoast Towers & Hotel really is the perfect beach front spot for any traveler, and you can read more about the Hotel and its offerings from my review.
All in all, I was extremely please with how the shoot turned out. I have to thank everyone who was involved that made it such a success. It was a major learning curve for me and I was glad I was able to take my idea and make it into reality. There was a lot of work behind the scenes to make it happen but it's all part of the game and I look forward to the next one, taking in the lessons learnt from this. one.
Behind the scenes video of the photo shoot, shot by me:
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