PHOTOSHOOT WITH A STRANGER IN BARCELONA.

OCEANSIDE, CALIFORNIA BOUDOIR PHOTOGRAPHER | 2024

I’ve been in Barcelona, friends.

The other night, I shared a photo from a bar Lucy and I stumbled into (like some magical witchy portal on Halloween of all nights) and how I was thankful for the beauty of no plans / no agenda - just an open mind.

Lucy and I decided to come back to this bar because 1. The vibe was immaculate. Dark moody lighting, phenomenal drinks, kind people, and 2. We saw there was going to be a jazz singer and we wanted to see her perform (shoutout @sitasimpson) ✨

The jazz set was amazing and we ended up getting to know Sita a little bit over some drinks after. We talked about our favorite music, mostly, but we talked so long, we ended up closing the bar down and staying put with the people who worked there. The lights came on, the cigarettes lit up.

Sita then looks at Lucy and I and says

“have you seen the upstairs?” We said, “no? What’s upstairs?”

Our entire trip here, I’ve been talking (with Lucy) about doing what I do in a city like Barcelona. How would my work be perceived? Do women in Spain feel the same way that women in America do about empowerment? Just trying to visualize a parallel universe where CAK is doing boudoir or just being a photographer in Barcelona. We asked Sita what she thought of boudoir and she said that women might be interested if it was done tastefully or with purpose.

As an artist, it’s always been a dream of mine to collaborate with and photograph people I meet during my travels. I just never imagined that I would find myself in the upstairs of a bar that felt like the dreamiest 70’s den or with someone who would even want or trust me to photograph them so soon.

I took these photos at 3:30 am with a point and shoot camera. Some I used on camera flash for and others I was holding my iPhone flashlight with my left hand while photographing with my right hand. I was doing exactly what I do at my studio when I took these. Posing, guiding, cheering her on, finding the light and the moment, and documenting it.

I am just really thankful for this little tiny memory made on this trip and these photos that showed me that I could literally be a photographer in a foreign country and people would still want to work with me ❤️