rielly

Rielly and I have met exactly three times. We first connected years ago when we were working towards careers in fashion. Then she reached out after nearly a decade to reconnect and it just so happened to be while I was working on this series. I vividly recalled her energy, intensity and enthusiasm from years past, and knew immediately I wanted her to come for a sitting. 

It was “time to get back into modelling,” she said, after having been focussed on other parts of life. She’d grown up and was “taller, more adult looking and less awkward.”  When describing the reasons for wanting to be back on camera, she told me that “its a kind of outlet, no matter what I can get in front of a camera and shake off whatever is bothering me.” Me too, dude. “Leave the baggage at the door and go create something amazing,” has just about always been the mantra.

In the two years since this session, she’s moved onto other parts of life again, and is about to enter a new stage altogether - motherhood. I wanted to include this set with the series regardless as nod to a long-since-passed era of my life that continues to influence me today. Rie was a brilliant, albeit brief, part of that journey and one that I continue to be grateful for.