The weather is done being bipolar and it’s just straight winter. My windows are covered in ice, you can surely understand I wasn’t built for this.  

I spent the last couple of months (2018) laying low. These past months in Calgary have been rather unproductive. The same routine in a loop; the same way to school, back to my apartment and straight to my bed. Oh yeah, the occasional Wing Wednesdays and Rage weekends. Visual diaries of my favorite moments or that friend I styled accompanied by my expressions of my self-inflicted thoughts (my writings). I always wondered what the next project would be; school, a friend, the media, the future never really knew. 

It’s been a minute since I have worked on something style related, so I guess this is going under that category. The first of its kind. 

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“Fashion”, “Fashion?”, Fashion. The word is rather a very subjective term but not in this epoch. It’s all about what’s posted on HypeBeast, the high-end fashion merchandise or what everyone is wearing. Zero-creativity is put into anything now, people would rather just ride the wave. Who am I to judge this “lifestyle”? I’m just here to speak my mind. I try to incorporate my art into selecting outfits; whether it is for clients or personal style. I don’t have a preferred style when it comes to fashion styling and photography, I try to learn the different types of style most especially in photography. There is not much learning to do with selecting outfits, it’s all down to what you are feeling or not. 

I haven’t gotten the chance to meet a lot of “creatives”, I’ve been burdened with the exertion of being an undergraduate student but Oriana is probably one of the few people that intrigue me. Her similar fashion sense and love for photography made her exemplary for this project. It wasn’t too hard directing and styling this considering we both love the vintage medium-format semblance. Flare pants and a pair of boots fixed with scenes from downtown Calgary, the perfect vision for this post, though troubled with the fast-moving day due to the change of seasons would be a drag. It gets pitch dark by 5 p.m so we have to be out shooting early.  Working this shoot out with my schedule would be almost impossible if I’m trying to work with natural lights (which is the best).  

I couldn’t agree more with Margaret Zhang as saying “I am a photographer and I work in fashion” is one of the more ostracizing responses to “What do you do?”. It’s almost impossible to avoid that small stranger talk during a street shoot. It’s awkward enough to be asked but it’s even more compromising having to reply as a guy due to the fact this career is often associated with females. 

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To that effect, I tend to change my profession every time I’m asked. I’ve pretty said every profession you’re thinking about not because I want to or it’s a “lie” but because of the perception of Generation Y. I’m still not comfortable replying to the question “What do you do?”. “We change our career goals a lot, we dream too much, we are demanding, ..”. I have heard this so much from the older generations but in reality, without demand, most things would seize to exist. Innovation comes from somewhere and it certainly doesn’t NOT come from a dream. I can unabashedly say I have learned more from the Inter-web than my every day two-hour lectures. 

Who says you can’t work two jobs? I am a full-time student and I work part-time as a stylist, photographer, and a director. It’s not the easiest thing to do but I indulge the stress (You get used to it when you have years of practice). Working on creative concepts in a formal environment is a good balance between my contrasting careers. I turn 20 in a few months which is another step into “adulthood” (something I’m pretty clueless about). So many things have changed since senior year in high school. I never thought I’d see myself doing photography & fashion; drawing & painting would’ve been expected. There are a lot of photographers and fashion-driven workers out there, the market is very competitive but with the right skill set and constant grinding, you’re sure to rise above those who imitate it. Who cares how long it takes? As long as you’re happy with it.

On a penultimate day of this month; this blog should be up (I hope) and now, I have to get back to the reality I have classes tomorrow. 

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PHOTOGRAPHY & STYLING// NOVIO KAREEM

MODEL// ORIANA