MODEL / BRIGETTE
PHOTOGRAPHY / JASON LEE

I like to use this shoot as an example sometimes of how you can work through your own emotions as a photographer through art. 

Brigette and I tried to schedule a shoot together for about three years. The day finally came and it was a downpour. Since she’d driven an hour and a half to our meetup spot, she told me she wanted to go through with the shoot. It was a thirty minute hike to the river and I knew we were going to be soaked, so I covered my gear with plastic bags and we trudged through the jungle to the location.

At this point things got a little heated because Brigette got cold feet and decided she wanted to do a bikini shoot instead of artistic nudes. I don’t do fashion shoots, so this was not a small problem.

I could pretend like this kind of thing never happened and that all the world was rosy, but internally, I had to have a dialogue with myself.  Standing there dripping wet — after setting aside a full day to shoot and planning this off and on for three years — I wanted to give up. Honestly, I was feeling disappointed and disillusioned (and wet). Two choices presented: walk back to the car, or shoot through my emotions. 

Ultimately, I figured that there wasn’t any point in arguing. The effects of the gloomy day were working on both of us, so we decided to use those powerful emotions as our theme. 

Here are some of the images we produced. Can you feel it?

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