2018 brought in a whole lot of changes. A few of those changes were unexpected and out of my control but if it's one thing I constantly remind myself of, it's not to stress over things I cannot control. Much easier said than done. I will say that there were many more positive changes that I was looking forward to including but not limited to, launching this blog.

One of the great things that happened this year was collaborating with the multi-faceted queen, Osose Oboh.  She is not only incredibly talented, but insanely intelligent. She's currently in med school, okay! I linked up with her in January to shoot this series and it's funny because we shot this and another portrait series in the shortest amount of time ever. She was in Los Angeles for a short window of time and I believe she was flying out the very next day. This particular series took about 5 minutes and it was literally all I could withstand. I am so happy we got as many great shots as we did. 

I submerged myself in a freezing pool and I can not stress enough how confused I was that these shots came out so beautifully! I was certain I'd worn the discomfort on my face. My mind and body were at complete odds that day. There were messages my body was sending to my brain about how in distress it was, while my mind was trying to silence those warnings and find calm.

Although very difficult, this experience screamed "mind over matter." Not to get too deep on the subject matter but the series, for me, reimagined what it's like to be going through inner turmoil or struggle and appear to be fine. It served as a reminder for me to be kind to people. You have no idea what they may be going through. Most people who saw these images wouldn't have guessed that I was freezing and was so uncomfortable in that water, but I was. 

I trusted Osose's vision and I had to muster up the courage to just let go and dive in (no pun intended). It was probably one of my most memorable shooting experiences. You can find this post and more content of her work on her website ososeoboh.com.

Fun Fact: We are both UCLA Alumnus. Go Bruins!