Flow, by Julian Vankim

A few weeks ago, I was fortunate to reunite with the young and talented Julian Vankim.  I modeled for him earlier in the year, but when he approached me and other models (Rob Neff is pictured below) about an underwater shoot for the summer I couldn't resist.  He showed me a few concepts (including the use of shear sheets on a glass ceiling), and immediately I was drawn to his themes, for this would be something different and imaginative.



The first set of images were done on a clear glass flooring with Julian shooting up through it with thin sheets.  These came out rather interesting and really show off Julian's technique and artistic eye.  We took the shoot outdoors by the pool and underwater, bringing the sheets with us and seeing what kinds of poses we could create.  My favorite shot of the day was my above-water headshot, a shot completely worthy of appearing on my Model Mayhem portfolio.



I enjoyed this shoot, for it challenged me to model in a capacity that's atypical of work I've done in the past.  I respect and appreciate Julian's creativity and was happy to be part of a challenging yet rewarding photoshoot experience. Fitness, fashion, and commercial modeling will always be my areas of expertise, but I'm always up for exploring new areas of the industry to demonstrate my skills in hopes of widening my marketability.  This has been a step in that direction.

Below is a sneak peak, behind-the-scenes look at how the photoshoot took place.  As you can see, Julian directed us accordingly and took his own skills to another level by repeatedly submerging himself and his camera underwater to capture the shot.






Photo and location credits to Chris Zimmer for providing these documentary-style images at his residence in Washington, DC.