It was a lovely summers day when I got to photograph the friendship between Stella and Georgia. As well as being friends, these two play music together.

The tree is located in Hamurana, right next to Lake Rotorua.  These are some highlights, minus my fave 5 which I will be using in my black and white summer series exhibition.

Thank you Stella and Georgia, for being my muses, on that hot summers day, down by Lake Rotorua.

xox,
Calico Jo

When I first met Kharl Wirepa, it was just before a fashion show, and I was photographing one of his models.  Kharl created this hat, (photo below) in what seemed under a minute, for the runway.  His designs for me, were the highlight of the show.

The next time I saw Kharl, it was after a fashion show, and he was giving a speech.  He talked about how beautiful our Maori women are, and how glamorous they can be, how our youth don't need to follow the American street lifestyle as we have our own strong culture  that we can represent and proud of. They way he said it wasn't putting anyone down, but rather inspiring our people to make the most of who they are.  I left the fashion show thinking, 'that fashion designer spoke well'.

Fast forward around 12 months, and I have a giggle at one of his social media posts.  This is not word for word, but the gist was, put some thought into what you are going to wear, because if you die that day, it will be your ghost outfit forever.

Fast forward a few more months and I get to photograph Kharl, and that quote became my inspiration point for the shoot.  Even on a hot summers day when a Fashionista bathes to cool down, he is still glamorous and fabulous.

Here are a few highlights, but I have my fave 5 which I will be using in my summer black and white series.

Thank you Robyn for the use of your outdoor bathtub.
Thank you Kharl for being my muse for the day, and for being a support, and a visionary.

For those interested in Kharl Wirepa Fashion, here is some references from the facebook page:
"Dramatic, theatrical, and fierce individual style. Kharl WiRepa Fashion specialises
in Glamour Dressing.....Taking the modern fashionista into a wardrobe of timeless
forever style.
Modern cuts, romantic silhouettes, and clever pop-culture references are
components that run through the design lines of each collection."


xox
Calico Jo

The third photo session with my black and white exhibition in mind was with model, Pearl Paki.
Pearl is off to Melbourne shortly as one of ten chosen models to walk in the Elite Indigenous fashion runway, as part of the Australia Melbourne Fashion festivals offsite runway series.

I got some tips from Pinterest to  convert some jeans into bell bottoms.  Looked easy, but it took me 3 tries before they kind of worked.   All other clothing is from my most favorite vintage store, Kulture Shock. 
Makeup done by my most favorite make up artist, Danielle Sutton.

Pearl is was wonderful to work with.  Fun, friendly, and of course beautiful.
Here are some highlights from the shoot, minus the 5 I am taking to the exhibition.

Pearl Paki
My Muse for black and white series - "A long hot summer and some cool black and whites".

xox
​Calico Jo