We kicked June off with a bang. Well, actually it was a lot of planning and adjusting. Then there was rain, but nothing would stop us. We had a vision and, although the fashion needed to change due to thunderstorms, there wasn't anything that was going to stop our team from making our way to that Unisphere for this amazing editorial.
In a little town known as Flushing Queens, the next-to-last stop on the 7 train, there is a park in Flushing Meadows, Queens, NY, known as Corona Park. It has a very long history that is really very interesting. Every time I go online and look it up, I learn something new, never mind the fact my family once resided in Queens. If you are a reader of F.Scott Fitzgerald and you know The Great Gatsby, then you know the place "Valley of Ashes," also known as Corona Park. After the Great Gatsby was released, the popularity brought attention to the pollution of this area and was essentially cleaned. The Valley of Ashes was made into a park, Corona Park. This park would go on to hold the New York World's Fair in 1939 and 1964. The 1964 Unisphere and surrounding buildings are iconic to both lovers of the historic fair and the city itself. Our first editorial shoot for Tied In A Bow, our monthly contribution, would be the next exciting event under the Unisphere.
We left New Haven and waved goodbye to the beautiful train station we are lucky enough to use in the great state of Connecticut. Our makeup artist, Kelly Hart, started her magic on model Danielle Alyssa as soon as the train was moving. Danielle would be our futuristic concept in this shoot. After all, MIB was shot at the Unisphere. Kelly quickly started applying dramatic black makeup to show off Danielle's killer eyes. Oh, those eyelashes, each one applied as the train was headed towards Grand Central
Station.
As we arrived in Grand Central Station, we packed up all of our photo gear, wardrobe pieces, and Kelly's makeup kits. Kelly's assistant, Lindsey, had never been to Grand Central station before, always a fun life event to witness -- the big eyes that look all around at the 125-foot ceilings, in awe of the Tiffany blue-and-gold restored ceilings and the amazing tile and marble work, worthy of kings and Queens (pun intended lol).
We quickly scouted out an area that the girls could continue the hair and makeup process and Airen might be able to stage a few quick shots with the help of his second shooter, Joseph Fortin. As our second model, Krista, was made over, we had Danielle slip into wardrobe . After capturing
shots of Danielle, Krista was ready and we were on the move once again on the 7 train towards Queens.
We were quickly aware of the changing environment right outside the sliding doors of each stop along the way. If we could, we would have shot at every stop, each having its own distinct design. When we got to our Corona Park stop, first-to-last -- and, yes, baseball fans, the old Shea Stadium location (now CitiField) -- it would also be a backdrop in this ever-changing landscape for photos. Before we left the train platform, we had to take advantage of the urban chic location. The urban appeal of moving trains and scaffolding was too amazing to ignore. We then proceeded to walk the boardwalk leading from the train stop through CitiField and headed towards that Unisphere. You can see this monument as soon as you exit the train. Far off in the distance in the grey, stormy sky was this shiny silver globe, and we were walking towards it. The entrance of the park is distinct. You depart the boardwalk and are now walking in the historic Corona Park. I wonder if the people there in the park know the historic significance of this location. Under the canopy of green trees on the path toward the globe, carrying everything we needed for our amazing shoot, we suddenly lost sight of the globe. What we didn't realize was how close we were. Like the scene of a movie, we walked out from under the trees, and in a wide-open clearing, 120 stories high above our heads, was this amazing, beautiful symbol of growth and prosperity. It was so exciting, I think some of us (ok me) cheered from
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