Here’s our shot – The very first I ever did with Georgia Blu.
Thanks to Paul Myrick for sharing these images below for a behind the scenes view.

From the first few brief conversations I had with her as a very young girl, I felt that Georgia would be an inspirational and highly dramatic model, and I was right!

I found that Georgia was very patient, would hold a pose indefinitely when asked, and had a clear idea of what I was looking for. She was also uncannily aware of the dappled light filtering through the trees illuminating the angles of her face and would play towards the light like a stage actress. I feel that from her own interest in film making, she has a deeper understanding of the camera’s point of view. Since this shoot she has also been in many more theatrical plays and musical stage productions.

The wonderful Fascinator headpieces that Georgia wears were designed and made by her Mother, Jodi, who has limitless talent and energy and I continue to be amazed by her many ongoing projects.

This was a great day on Jekyll Island, as I am reminded here again by Paul’s photos. Thanks for sharing them!

Top Photo and Text ©Robin Davis
Three Color Photos – ©Paul Myrick

A friend since he was a kid, Jacob would sit in my kitchen and add knowledgeable commentary often above our “adult” conversations. He always knew a lot about vegetarian cooking, spices and herbs, or whatever new exotic roots I had found at the Farmer’s Market to try and scare him and his sister Lauren 🙂 We would sit and chop and I could always tell that he had a unique appreciation of the natural world and a curiosity uncommon for his age. As I watched him grow taller and taller, eventually topping out at 6′ 7″ so far, his intensely calm energy and knightly handsomeness led me to see him as this character. He is a natural model, willing to don his costume in good humor, for me as well as my workshop students, and he takes direction so well, even for very subtle adjustments, with an understanding of what I am seeing via the camera.

SYMBOLISM of the SWORD:  In the spirit of the tarot card suit, the meaning here is of sharp mental consciousness, and action of the mind and intellect, that slices through illusion, emotion based beliefs and preconceptions. The KNIGHT of SWORDS himself is the vigilant champion of this truth, even if the realization is painful.

From my November Workshop – Late afternoon sunlight filters through Spanish Moss on St. Simons Island. No longer harsh, the lowering angle of the soft rays create long dramatic shadows and define the detail of the fine brocade of Jacob’s costume. Not only did we put him in character, into the mood of introspection before action, which plays so well across his face, we also placed him exactly where we wanted him, using the outdoors as our studio to direct and light our handsome actor model.

All text and images ©2014 Robin Davis