at long last, i can share with you the images from the adesso and sorellina fall 2011 shoot that i did back in march. i wrote a little about it here. i honestly never dreamt of becoming a commercial photographer, and what has been so incredible for me is that the projects i have been able to collaborate on for adesso have given me the opportunity to grow my technical skill and to have an experience of pushing myself into a greater scope of vision and creativity. as with everything great in life, working with samantha, the models, the make-up artists, and the adesso team, is all about relationship and connection; and about meeting in that place of transparent passion, willingness, and leap. i’ve watched my friend create not only successful, stunning, and gorgeous jewelry collections, but also a network of collaborators and allies that serve to promote beauty and wellness in the world. it has been phenomenal to witness adesso grow in scope and breadth, i am nothing short of grateful for the opportunity to have been a part of it.

this last shoot came on the heels of a solid week of rain. as we drove north to demetria estate winery the night before, i more than once considered my safety as the wall of water fell on my windshield. but as the grace of things meant to be arrived the next morning, the rain stopped, and for the next two days, the sun and clouds put on a fabulous show, gifting the most dramatic lighting a photographer could ask for. not to mention an inspiring landscape of rolling hills, vineyards, and olive groves.

it was on this shoot that i first really appreciated the dark spaces in my images. the shadows and the blacks. i was comfortable leaving those things, even enhancing them, and reflected upon how, previously, i would have been tempted to pull up the curve. the phrase art mimics life could not be more true.

again, i am grateful and open as i share these images with you. thank you to models hillary souza and brandi wolff for trusting me with your beauty and for revealing yourselves to the lens. and again, thank you to samantha goldstone and liberty hanson, adesso founder and creative director, for your vision and willingness to walk through new doorways together.

you can now download and view the adesso lookbook and the sorellina lookbook to view the rest of the images of fall 2011 collections. also, see samantha’s post with some behind the scenes images over on the adesso blog.