Good evening, Steemit! It’s a great day here in Minneapolis. It was hot, and I’m sunburned, but all worth it. @guthrie’s birthday party was today and it was as close to perfect as a celebration can get! We had his party at a park this year, changing course after the last few years at my house. What a difference. My stress was reduced by half, at least. Still a lot of stuff to buy and lug from home, still a ton of money on food, drinks and gifts, but so nice to bypass three days of cleaning for an 8 hour party, just to clean for another three days. @guthrie had an awesome time and he proclaimed “…best birthday of my life!”.
Oh, yeah! And how about this big rally today? I haven’t been hinged on the markets but I saw in passing between the @guthrie party and the toy set up that followed, STEEM hit $1.80?! So good to see those numbers climbing back to where we were before the Bitcoin scare a few weeks ago. Myself, @tarotbyfergus and @mada were all talking about how we’d become spoiled during those weeks of inflated SBD prices, so now that I’m at my most broke, it’s all welcomed news.
Tonight’s Steemit post will be a visual summary of my friendship with Las Vegas tattoo artist, Lisa Del Toro. Lisa came to me years ago wanting to shoot during one of my first trips to Vegas […actually, as I’m writing this, I think it was my very first time]. I remember taking a six hour bus from LA to Vegas for $12. While I was cramped in a seat by the window, I was frantically texting our make-up artist who appeared to be having a complete psychotic break. She flaked, and Lisa picked me up at the bus station. We drove to the nearest mall and we paid $50 in product to have her make-up done at a MAC counter […emergency trade secret for flaky MUA’s].
Out first shoot was at The Artisan Hotel, my favorite place to shoot in Vegas, and I can credit Lisa for taking me there for the first time. We made pictures that evening, even sneaking in to the chapel location where we were promptly busted by security. I said “Awww, man. Really? We can’t shoot here? It’s so cool!” and after a pause […and in the most “Vegas” thing that’s ever happened to me there], he said “Maybe if you give me $20 I’ll let you shoot for another 15 minutes.”. Done!
Lisa and I shot again two years later. She set up an incredible vintage boutique near downtown with dozens of midcentury modern furniture and lamps. The sun had gone down and it couldn’t be more appropriate for my dark pinup style of photography. Lisa is an outstanding model in addition to being a brilliantly talented artist. I was falling in love with every image as I’d check my camera roll.
Our most recent shoot was, again, during Viva Las Vegas. We arrived late at night at her tattoo shop and made great use o the space, lighting different areas of the room with candles and lamps. In addition to our usual pinup poses, I also shot pieces from her handmade jewelry collections […again, no limit to Lisa’s talents]. I thought it relevant to share these with Steemit as I just received a text from her this week asking when I’ll be back on the west coast, so with any luck, I’ll have new photos of Lisa Del Toro by the end of the year.
Thanks for following and reading. For more photography, art, illustration and thoughts on life, please follow me @kommienezuspadt!
Amazing photos. Very sexy and romantic. Beautiful tattoo and girls.
It's necessary to follow you.
Hi there, those pictures are amazing! can't wait for more illustration and photography difinitely followed :)
Shes beautiful!
That's awesome that steem park is finally open. I would really like to come see it.
@kommienezuspadt
Yeah! Next time I'm in Brooklyn, I'll definitely be coming by STEEM park @tuehanh!
@kommienezuspadt Upvoted very nice pictures And Visit me If u can when you free plz Thanks Alot have a nice day
Thanks @shahzaibniaxi!
Pics are absolutely stunning ;)
Thanks @tradz!
Lol! That's a badass tale of woe and triumph!!
Right on!
Thanks for the comment @luciferrin!
wow this tattoos are very cool :) I like it and cool post :)
Yeah, @foxkoit! And she's an incredible tattoo artist herself.
I make one day too :) And I like B&W very :)
Thanks @alexandruionescu!
OMG I´m ur fan <3 <3 reestemed
Thank you so much @yasaymon! Resteems mean the world to me! I appreciate it!
You deserve more ^ ^
Such fabulous pics, thanks for sharing.
Thank you @positivesteem! Glad you like them!
You are welcome my friend. Do check out my poems and positive posts on my profile page. Tell me what you think.
Omg that last picture is everything! <3
Thank you @eveuncovered! I've been so busy lately I haven't had a chance to comment but you've been turning out excellent posts these last couple weeks! I upvote them all! The "Make Me Sweat" post was my favorite recently! I knew you'd kill it on here as soon as you joined!
Oh don't you worry about that darling! You were one of the first people to support me in here and I appreciate it so much! And you know I'm a huge fan of your work, always :) Keep being busy on creating amazing things!
beautiful shots! i missed photography :-)
Thanks @zephyraijunzo! I appreciate it!
She is stunning... those cheekbones are to die for! I really love the 4th image, with the flowers in her hair (so much drama, amazing angles), and especially last image, with the lit match. The composition is sooo pretty, with the mirror framing her, and the candle sconces either side!
Her jewelry looks fantastic. What a talented woman!
Park birthday parties FTW! We usually do our kids' parties at a park, and while it can be a bit of work to make sure you have everything loaded up before heading out, it is sooooo much less stress than having everyone crammed into our house! (Because who has time to clean/tidy for days before AND after?! No thanks!) Plus, it's a good way to make sure they all get to run the sugar demons out before being held in the confines of 4 walls. lol
Totally agree on the topic of parties @offbeatbroad. Last year, we had his party at my house and it was trashed. We had a new [for us] vintage furniture set and someone with a wet bathing suit sat on it and stained the cushions. It still breaks my heart to look at today.
Yeah, Lisa is such a babe. I've been so fortunate to work her with so many times. She's one of my favorites, and sweet as pie. Dream client, for real!
nice
Thanks @satsatsat!
So glad it all worked out in the end!
Thanks @artedellavita. I still appreciate that you ready all these! How was the last day of Comic Con?
You are very welcome!
I decided not to go on Sunday as there weren't many symposiums that were interesting to me and all that walking on Saturday had me beat! Haha☺️
But all in all it was quite fun and I managed to take enough pics (although both inside and out it was pretty difficult due to the crowds and lines)to divide my post into 3 sections. ⭐️
These photos are seriously killer, like every last one of them, I would be tempted to say your best work but all of your work seems to deserve that statement.
I have also been looking at the lighting and trying to figure out if you are supplementing the light at all. If you have any strobes or speedlights, the only thing you might be using is a big softbox for a fill? Otherwise it looks like you are just using ambient light; enquiring minds want to know.
This one is so freaking amazing, it simultaneously makes me want give up because I could never be so good, and start doing portraiture again and try very hard to achieve equivalent portraiture and lighting skill. Since I have a strong competitive street I am more likely to choose the latter. :-D
Thank you, my friend! Oh, man! What you just said about wanting to quit and being inspired at the same time is one of the greatest compliments you could have paid me @kellyjanderson. I have friends that make me feel that way, and my favorite comic book artist, Greg Capullo makes me want to just send him hate mail because he's so good. Thanks for all the insight and feedback. I'm still really glad you're here on Steemit. You're going to blow up. There's such a great photography community here.
Wow what a beautiful lady and those are some EPIC shots!
I love everything about them, the makeup the outfits, the scenes, but the best part is the lighting.
Thank you @quinneaker! The low lighting has become my bread and butter and on some models, like Lisa, it just tells such a beautiful, dark story.
OMG bro, I don't know ur work but I have seen this and its really just extraordinary, and my standards are real high.