'I wanted to work with Jayk because he was interesting; he was a model with a clear passion for art, and I love collaborating with other creative-minded people. I could tell that he would be open minded to playing with different ideas.'
The first image that I viewed from photographer Ted Sun was the Masquerade themed image of Jayk I used for pic of the day. Although I have seen many images with masks and the masquerade theme, there was something about this shot that had me looking for more of Ted's work. The artistic elegance weaved within the mysterious eroticism associated with masquerade, blended together to create a striking image. The masquerade theme was the first series of nude images Ted shot. Although he shot a few other models for the series prior to Jayk, Ted says that he gave the most unusual pose which he really loved.
Ted took his first photography class while in college at Princeton, but it was his 5 years of travelling the globe, that cemented his passion for sharing images. After travelling to over 70 countries, on 7 continents, you can only imagine what visual wonderment's were seen, captured and imprinted within Ted's visual imagination. Would make shooting the ordinary, a difficult task. When he returned from traveling last year, Ted began shooting people, focusing on portraits, shooting fashion/model portfolios, and exploring personal projects where he can really push himself creatively.
When pushing yourself creatively, it helps to have a model equally eager to push the envelope artistically. Los Angeles model Jayk comes from an artistic background and has himself dabbled in most of the arts-; ceramics, drawing, painting, fashion and photography. Ted and Jayk played with different accessories. Ted especially liked the white of the pearls against the light, and Jayk brought some of his own belongings to experiment with, including the thorn-wire crown in the image below. Ted says it was so fun and easy to work with Jayk as they simply bounced ideas off each other, with one suggestion sometimes leading to a new idea.
One idea I especially loved was the use of honey. In the six years of profiling artists for FH, I am pretty sure this is the first time I have showcased images featuring honey. Unlike water, the honey moves slowly over the body, oozing and layering, creating a beautiful texture on the skin. The honey, along with Jayk's poses and facial expressions created a feel of erotic desperation and dramatic final images.
'This was the first time experimenting with honey, and I was excited Jayk was game for it. I learned its a bit tricky to make honey look sticky, but felt Jayk understood the concept with these unnerving body postures.'
