Bernad Ngendakumana
“The anticipation of expectant passengers waiting to witness their own “influencer in the wild” moment was palpable as Bernard started throwing shapes on a broken-down escalator.”
I love Instagram. I really do. It’s where I go to keep updated with new trends, stay inspired, explore new ideas and also stumble upon interesting people. Sure, it has its downsides, but for the sake of this blog post, let’s park that for now.
After a shoot posted recently with Brandon, I saw an influx of young models following me, however, one name really stood out. Bernard had an interesting profile picture that natural curiosity drew me to. Upon going through his feed, I was completely awestruck with just how dynamic, interesting, and enigmatic Bernard was. He is a friend, of a friend, of a model I shot once. A 6° of separation kinda situation and I knew that we had to work together.
Time presented its normal challenges and months went on, as I waited for inspiration to strike. A lack of creative output on my behalf, lead to frustration that saw me, just wanting to go out and shoot. So I threw together a mood board and presented it to Bernard, and we were on with make-up artist Love Hawkridge in tow.
I’d chosen the Golden Square car park in Melbourne CBD as I love the idea of that juxtaposition of concrete and skyline. As Love set to work preparing Bernard for a shoot, the owner of the car park and security came and accosted us on the rooftop. ”You can’t shoot here” they claimed which makes sense, it is private property, but when you’re paying $60 to park your car in the city in the middle of a busy working week, I feel a couple of happy snaps is a fair trade. Not one to push those boundaries though, we threw the mood board aside and set off on foot to be inspired by the streets of Melbourne.
Shooting in the middle of a busy working week in Melbourne, presented its usual challenges, people everywhere, the midday sun, casting harsh shadows, and just an overall sense of chaos, that didn’t lend itself to my creativity. Bernard was wearing a crochet vest and an 80’s vintage suit. His natural talent for being able to throw together textures, colours and thrifted pieces became my inspiration for the location. It made sense that Parliament station would be a perfect backdrop, so with the swipe of the myki, we were off to those death-defying, vertigo-inducing escalators.
The anticipation of expectant passengers waiting to witness their own “influencer in the wild” moment was palpable as Bernard started throwing shapes on a broken-down escalator. Mobile phones at the ready, we shot as if the world was watching, knowing full well, we were making history. HA! We could have only dreamed of such fanfare. In reality, the subtle annoyance of passengers walking passed reached its crescendo, with one passenger walking right through the frame without so much as one f*ck given.
This is one of those shoots where expectations were low as my level of control was limited by what spaces we meandered past. I’ve never felt there was much in the way of great backdrops in the middle of the shopping district however I was pleasantly surprised. See below to see what we captured.
Model: Bernad Ngendakumana @Bernad_ngendakumana
MUA: Love Hawkridge @lovehawkridgemua
Photographer: Carlz J Söda @carlzjsoda
