California here I come!

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I remember being in third grade when I was first introduced to California.  Everyone got a state to do a project on and the state I was given was good old California, a dream was born in the head of a nine year old.  When I was in high school I got obsessed with California again after reading The Electric Koolaid Acid Test, a novel by Tom Wolfe about Ken Kesey and the Merry Pranksters.  When I was a little girl it was the beaches and gorgeous weather, as a teenager the obsession came from the lifestyle.  I wanted to grow up to be a hippie who rolled around in a school bus just like the Pranksters did. :)  I finally had my first trip to California a couple of years ago and it was everything I imagined and so much more.  The laid back vibe, the killer weather, the gorgeous landscape. a dream come true!  We had the amazing opportunity to cruise down Highway 1 from San Francisco to Los Angeles, what an adventure.  It was truly one of the most amazing and beautiful experiences of my life.  Today I am hopping on a plane for another 2 week California adventure.  I am taking lots of cameras and lots of film so I will document it well.

Here are a few pictures from my last trip.

Hi there!

in ,

“In order to create, you’ve got to have energy; you’ve got to have clarity.  You’ve got to be able to catch ideas.”

David Lynch

To me, one of the most important parts of my creative process is taking the time to be quiet, to stop thinking and worrying and wondering and to just listen.  I believe silence truly is golden.  When you allow yourself time to withdraw from all of the chaos that surrounds your life everyday, you finally get the chance to hear what you have to say to yourself.  You cannot force creativity and if you spend your life chasing other people's dreams you will never be satisfied or feel fulfilled.  Over the past couple of months I have been spending a lot of time alone, just listening to myself.  Sorting through my thoughts, but mostly just being quiet.  I became a photographer and artist to satisfy  an intense urge I have to express all of the feelings and emotions stirring inside of me .  For as long as I can remember I have been an observer of people.  The way they speak, their body language, the way they interact with each other.  I see the world for all of it's beauty and it's darkness and I appreciate them equally.  It's been nice to get back in touch with this part of me without my camera,  just taking it all in, being present in the moment.  I feel refreshed and utterly inspired.  For those of you who think I have disappeared, I promise I haven't, just taking a little time to feed my soul and listen to my muses. I will be sharing lots of new work soon.  Until then, enjoy this amazing weather and have a wonderful day!  xo Nikita

Sometimes I get lost

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Sometimes I get a little lost.  I get a little lost from me, the me that I know I am and the me that I want to be.   I am mega hard on myself.  I compare myself to others who I am nothing like.  Sometimes I feel like I am reaching for something that doesn't even matter to me because I think it is what  I am supposed to do.  Sometimes I just need to  retreat, to return to that place in my heart where MY fire burns, where MY passion comes from, to get back to Me.

I am a wild child of the night, I am a dreamer.  I am a head banging hippy who loves a good time.   My life is full of contradictions.  I like to explore as many options as possible before I make a decision.   I think, and I dwell.  I try not to judge, but sometimes it happens and then I feel like shit afterwards.  I live for butterflies in my belly.  I fantasize about people I see in public, I make believe their life is a lot more exciting than it probably is.  I am super sensitive, though at times I pretend like I am a hard ass to disguise it.  I really worry about lonely people.  I would rather be happy than rich.  I like when people feel good about themselves, it makes me feel good.  I believe everyone has a talent, a special something they were meant to do.  I admire people who take risks and fight for their dreams.  I  love to remember the past, but only the good parts, the rest I have learned to forget.  I can sit in silence for hours, I actually enjoy it.  I am inspired by hard work via the body and the mind.

I was a waitress for many, many years.  I met some of the most amazing people I have ever known while doing it.  Through that experience I realized we are all the same from doctors to mechanics, from artists to mothers, we all have the same worries and fears.  We all just want someone to listen and someone to love, to find a place where we can feel safe.  Sometimes life takes turns you are not prepared for, it's scary when it happens.  The only thing you can do is hold on tight  and learn to adapt.  I am still trying to figure this part out.

Always a work in progress.

Beautiful Music Inspired Boudoir NSFW

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A crazy, psychedelic, rock and roll, fantasy dream is the best way  I can describe this kick-ass shoot I had with my good friend/model Casey and her amazing and talented make up artist Christine Rice.  Inspired by 60's and 70's music and the feel of old album covers,  I wanted this shoot to be wild and hot.  Casey was so awesome!   She got my vision completely and dug out some amazing pieces from her own wardrobe.

See the 70's inspired wedding shoot I did with Casey a few months ago here.

We started the day out in my car jamming The Doors which inspired a heated discussion between the three of us about  how hot Jim Morrison was.   After about a 20 minute ride we arrived at the location I picked out for the shoot, a field of wild flowers in KY, my favorite place to be.  He we are, 3 girls on a long gravel road in the middle of nowhere, clothes and cameras everywhere, Casey half naked and here come the police. Shit! You should have seen the look on their faces, priceless. :) Thanks to Casey's power of seduction they were super cool about letting us stay and shoot.  How could they say no, right?

We gathered our thoughts and gear and ran into the middle of this amazing field squealing and laughing like little girls.  We were all so excited.  We set up this shoot for nothing but fun and that is exactly what it was.  The sun was low and gorgeous. Casey had a cocktail and was ready to party.  Christine was beside me holding my cameras(thanks Christine) and making sure Casey looked amazing.  I was just trying to take it all in without losing my mind.  We lost a camera (which we later found), a cup of vodka, and a pair of killer sunglasses.  We were covered in bug bites and burs.

Inspiration was running so thick I had to remind myself to breathe.  There is a point in my creative process where I sorta loose control.  I love when it happens.  I let go of fear and  things begin to happen naturally, it's freedom.  Casey totally inspired me to push myself farther that I could have imagined with these. She became my muse and we fed off of each other instinctively.  Over exposed, under exposed, out of focus, smokey sun flare, it was magic I tell you, magic.

****this post contains some artistic nudity, Casey's cool with it, I am cool with it, but If you are not cool with it you might want to turn around now****

My Mexico Essentials

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comfy bathrobe. deodorant. hand sanitizer. sunscreen. cocoa butter. comb. mouthwash. headbands. water for brushing teeth, everyone says its ok to drink the water on the resorts, I refuse to believe them. makeup bag...bare minerals, lip gloss, mascara. toothbrush. curling iron that I did not need to plug in...salty beach waves are one of my favorite parts of being near the ocean.

Winterhymn

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I have been using the down time I have before wedding season kicks in to get out of the house and have a little fun!  As you can tell from my previous posts, this fun involves taking pictures of really cool people. :)   I was introduced to this band, Winterhymn, by Jill, the  beautiful ice goddess from this shoot.  Her sister, Kate plays violin in the band.  As soon as she told me they were folk metal, I was dying to see what it was all about.  They are competing in the The Greater Cincinnati Band Challenge at the Mad Hatter so I went to the show last Sunday.  They are too much fun and full of energy.  I was super stoked when they did a Dio tribute at the end of their set.  They made it to the final round which is March 5th at the Mad Hatter, be sure to check it out! 

I am going to Mexico!!

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Today I am feeling like one of the luckiest girls in the world!  I am hopping on a plane tomorrow morning to photograph my first destination wedding in beautiful Mexico!  Shanean the bride is one of the super hot girls in the Boudoir gallery on my website.  I also photographed her engagement pictures downtown with her handsome fiance, Ryan.  They are such a great couple.  I am grateful for this amazing opportunity,  I cant wait to stick my toes in the sand....Ahhhh!!!

Congrats to Shanean and Ryan!!!

So much fun!

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I am using the down time I have from weddings to work on a few personal projects that have been stirring around in my head.  As an artist I feel it is very important to find a nice balance between the work I get commissioned to do and work I do for myself.  I love when I get the chance to push myself creatively and to experiment, this past weekend that is exactly what I did.  I literally have a photography high right now.  I will have full posts soon.

Dave called her a Nordic Ice Queen.  I think that is the perfect name for these images.  My first real snow shoot. Mason is a very cool artist/gallery owner. I had the pleasure of spending a fantastic afternoon with him yesterday at his home/gallery.  It was wicked cool!

Jen Pritchard and I have been working like mad to get the details together for love+bash.  We officially booked the venue Friday.  We are very excited to share all of the details at love+bash.com later this week!