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More fleeting than you think

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One of the biggest misconceptions and mistakes I see, is how much the thought of social recognition, the thought of being famous, drives people.

Fame drives some people so much they are blinded by it. It can affect them in a variety of ways, and of course it can affect the work that person produces during their life.

Here’s the thing about fame though, it is extremely fleeting.

In fact, it’s so fleeting, that there is basically no world where the pursuit of fame is worth it.

The pursuit of becoming famous, generally, requires a tremendous amount of energy, work and luck. But even when everything falls into place, the rate that fame disappears is extremely fast.

Let’s look at 90s boy bands. The 90s were 30 years ago now. The Backstreet Boys, N Sync, 98 degrees, etc.. These boy bands had multiple members each, and each band was huge. They were at the top of the music game. Doing world tours and they had fans in various countries around the globe. But now? If you saw any member from any one of these bands, besides Justin Timberlake, would you recognize them? Probably not. And that was only 30 years ago.

Fleeting like snow

Let’s go back further and look at Hollywood.

Here is the wikipedia description for the actor “Clark Gable”

“William Clark Gable (February 1, 1901 – November 16, 1960) was an American film actor. Often referred to as the "King of Hollywood"he had roles in more than 60 motion pictures in a variety of genres during a career that lasted 37 years, three decades of which was as a leading man. He was named the seventh greatest male movie star of classic American cinema by the American Film Institute.” (Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clark_Gable )

The KING OF HOLLYWOOD. Does it get more famous than that? And now just a few decades later, the vast majority of people haven’t even heard of him. He was the fucking king of Hollywood. So it’s just comical to me that there are so many people constantly striving for fame, when even if they achieve it, even if they become a star so big they earn an awesome nickname like the king of Hollywood, they’ll be forgotten just a short while later.

You’ll eventually pass a mountain range as you drive by.

This post isn’t meant to bum you out, it’s just an observation. It’s a good thing to keep in mind.

Till next time,

-Oliver Endahl

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Kitty Cam Time in Downtown LA

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Kitty Cam Time is a model and adult film star. She and I created these various stills at 2 different photo studios in the downtown Los Angeles area.

Kitty Cam has a great sense of style and brought a bunch of fun outfits and wigs with her. For this fit below, we channeled Harley Quinn and Alicia Silverstone from Clueless.

Shooting with Kitty Cam is a blast. She always knows how to work various expressions and emotions that light up the camera.

You can find her work on the internet by typing her stage name into google, and you can follow her on IG here.

-Oliver

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Ariana Emnace in SoCal

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Ariana Emnace is a dancer and model. We’ve been shooting for nearly a decade, and it’s always a blast.

For these photos, Ariana and I created at Santa Monica Beach, a photo studio that had built a set resembling the inside of a private jet, a white cyc-wall, and also an indoor photoshoot pool.

Loved the golden light we got here and how it backlit her hair.

Love the ethereal nature of these ones with her in the dress in the water.

Ariana is captivating to photograph. She always brings a unique and intriguing energy to the photos.

You can follow Ariana on Instagram here, and keep an eye on this website for more photos from our shoots.

-Oliver

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Actor and model Sammy Todd in the studio

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Sammy Todd is an actor and model. You might have seen her in the TV show Watch Your Six, the movie “The Memory Scanner” and the TV show “The Prank Panel”

We’ve created stills and videos together a few different times. Here’s a few of my favorites from our work together.

Sammy has a cool vibe and is always a pleasure to shoot with. You can check out her IMDB page here and you can follow her on IG here.

Take care,

-Oliver

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Is it punk?

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I’ve really come to enjoy the word “Punk”.

It turns out, I think a lot of the best art made is actually punk. (And by punk, I mean counter culture) Something that pushes back, holds the mirror up, and is a bit radical. If you think about the great artists we celebrate, often times, their work expressed a pushback on society in one way or another. You can see this throughout history with famous artists like Frida Kahlo, Andy Warhol, Elvis Presley, Keith Haring, The Beatles, Britney Spears, the list goes on and on.

I think one of the reasons for this, is because punk art often says something and has a unique viewpoint that makes us question ourselves, our values and our lives and pushes them further. Often times, you’ll see art made by the ultra wealthy (like some music artists on the biggest record labels) is not punk at all. It’s extremely consumable and intentionally unoffensive in every possible way. Because the goal of the folks creating this art, isn’t to say something, it’s actually the opposite. They don’t want to say anything. Cause when you don’t say anything, no one can get mad, no one can make fun of you, no one can complain, and if no one has a problem with it, then it’s consumable by the largest amount of people and therefor it can make the most money. There is no risk because the work is intentionally risk averse.

Something you’ll see on this publication is photoshoots and projects with people of all socio-economic statuses & all levels of fame. Some total unknowns & some extremely well knowns. Isn’t that punk? All levels of status, all levels of wealth & all levels of fame.

Seems like everyday the culture of our capitalist paradigm wants more & more for our statuses to be separate. I’ve attended many functions and events for the wealthy (Regardless of the genre. It could be fashion, dance, art, film, music, photography, etc..) Really the thing a lot of these events and the people who attend them have in common is just wealth. If you’re wealthy, you’re in the club. If you aren’t, then you’re an outsider. (Basically the plot of Gossip Girl) Xoxo

Something to keep an eye out as you consume art. Whether it be music, films, television, people’s fashion, photography, etc.. Is to ask yourself “Is it punk?”

Till next time,

Xoxo

-Oliver

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Sydney Tyra in Los Angeles

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Model and dancer Sydney Tyra & I have shot a few times at different studios in the LA area.

For these photos we utilized a warehouse, a brightly colored pop art-esq room, and also the indoor pool that a studio had available to rent.

Shooting in this pop art room was fun. Ya’ll know I love color, and this room had a lot of it.

We finished up with this pool photo studio room featured below. (Which is a pool that has a glass cutout that the photographer can shoot through.) I’ve posted a behind the scenes video of this location on my social media for those curious.

Shooting with Sydney Tyra is always a blast. She has a charisma that engulfs the camera and creates a vibrancy within the photos. And while most models/people want to create work that’s already been done before, Sydney isn’t afraid to take risks and create new aesthetics.

Till next time,

-Oliver