Goldah Tekeiwa
When I tell you, this shoot has been on my mood board for years, that is no exaggeration. The idea of this gilded beauty, adorned in a pearlescent, sparkling gown as the sun flirts with the horizon has been marinating in my consciousness for eons. What I lacked was a - the model and b - the right dress and c- the perfect morning.
No stranger to window shopping online, I am often found in deep scrolls of the online shopping vortex, swipe after swipe, scroll after scroll waiting for ‘the one’. Once I have an idea in my head, come heaven or hell, I will see to it, that I recreate it exactly as I originally envisaged. Finally, after aimlessly meandering through the clearance aisle at Myer whilst waiting for a friend to try on her own haul, I spotted ‘the one’ shyly gleaming from under the weight of fashion faux pas of seasons past.
Forlorn and left to wither and waste away, this gorgeous Winona sequined gown was begging for my attention and with the heavily discounted price of $89 down from $450 who was I to argue? And so commenced the search for the perfect woman to bring it to life! Having worked closely with the team at Bella Management, I know they have exemplary taste in models and it was by chance that they had recently signed Goldah Tekeiwa to their books as a development model. Having arrived from Kenya to Australia recently, this would be Goldah's first editorial shoot.
Keenly observing the weather and waiting for the opportune moment of a crispt morning and still Melbourne Bay, it weighed on me that we were descending rapidly into winter. Asking my new model to wear a stunning gown, in the water, at 6:30 am seemed somewhat cruel, but alas, the sacrifice must be made to the fashion gods!
So as fate would have it, one decidedly crisp, still morning rolled around and with the artistic touch of Makeup Artist, Love Hawkridge, we transformed Goldah into an Atlantian goddess. Or a girl who woke up on the beach after a rowdy night out. Interpret it as you will.
Goldah was an absolute professional, embracing her inner Wim Hoff and looking at ease in ice-cold water. Shot on a combination of my 100mm macro and 24-70, I added a star flare filter to get those gorgeous little sparkles that perfectly polish these frames. These images are hands down, some of my favourites to date. It was worth the wait as it’s better than I could have ever hoped it would be.
