This photo shoot with Marina took place on a small public park in East 42nd Street, NY. We began at an overpass bridge, not far from that park located in between the Chrysler building and the Hudson River. I remember liking this place during a photo walk I did a few months earlier, and ever since then, I wanted to explore that area a little more.

Being an experienced fashion and editorial model, Marina was excellent at conveying different expressions that reflect a sense of style. The more experience I get from teaming up with other creatives like Marina, the more I appreciate the complexity of being in front of a camera.

I encountered some challenges that caught me off guard as it sometimes happens when I’m out with a camera. There were different types of lighting conditions going on, like hard, direct, reflective and diffused light.

All the passing clouds on this windy day made light behave unpredictably, and direct sunlight was the most difficult since it was reflecting from the concrete floor around us making it extra hard to get consistent exposures. Nonetheless, I appreciate how that reflective light opened up the shadows on Marina’s face.

The best bonus I could get from this photo shoot with Marina was all the intricate visual elements that were available on this location, like a wooden fence, barbwire, and plants.

Like other times before, when doing street portraits, I used a 50mm F 1.4 and an 85mm F 1.8 on both my DSLR and SLR film camera loaded with Fomapan 400 film. it’s a setup that makes things simple enough for me to concentrate on the important stuff.

Follow Marina on Instagram! @marinamodelnyc