Black femme's and genderqueer folx will hype you up the hardest period. Especially when its one of our own. Our senses are acute, they have to be for us to survive. So we recognize the determination, passion, and shine of one another when other people refuse to. So for me, London was paradise because I was surrounded by black queer femmes. On the weekends I'd go out to parties like Pxssy Palace and when you're on the dance floor the entire space is so affirming because you see yourself reflected all around you.

I want to create connections when you look at my photos, I want them to build temporary shelters for you. Traveling around the world has only deepened my need to continue capturing the beauty and diversity of black femme and genderqueer people. So much of travel especially as a black queer femme is about isolation- being the only one. So there's something special about capturing the beauty of people like me. Wherever we go we flourish and I love traveling around the world and capturing that.

The first person I shot in London was Zoe. We met because I almost lived in their artist group house. When I went to visit for a walk through I realized I knew one of the other housemates from DC. Despite not moving in I developed a friendship with the people in the house and I miss all the times spent chilling in their living room.

Our photo shoot took place in the Woodbury Wetlands in East London which has two reservoirs and is a great location for a run. You never feel entirely separate from the housing estates and steel towers hallmarks of London. They jut out high over the horizon always reminding you where you are. I didn't get to see much nature while I was in London. Except for some time in a few parks. My favorite being London Fields.

The second London addition to my Archive of Softness was an American friend and artist living in London doing furniture design. We met through a very good mutual friend that I went to college with. It was really fun getting to reconnect in London.

Our photo shoot was in Victoria Park. When I arrived kids were playing football, runners we're out for their evening rounds, the sun, however, was not as active. The light was flat and tepid wind swept across the field carrying with it the early signs of fall. As always photographing with natural light its like a game your playing with the sun. You have to devise a way to make it work with whatever the sun gives you. And the sun forever on its own schedule would peak its head out whenever it felt like. But I came through and captured my two favorite shots of the day when the sun decided to grace us with her presence.

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I clicked the shutter and when I looked at the photo that appeared on my screen I wanted to shout for joy. After nearly an hour and a half of shooting in the studio, my first time ever, I was finally getting the kind of pictures that I wanted. I had felt trapped by the flash and the backdrop. I let the studio intimidate me. Instead, I focused on what I knew for certain and ignored the ocean of knowledge I had not yet or ever would learn. I went into my first photoshoot with an agency model and an amazing clothing brand telling myself that the most important thing was to learn and grow. I knew perfection was impossible but growth was well within my reach.

How do you bring out the best aspects of your subject? How do you frame the scene for the best composition? These are among the most important questions that any photographer asks themselves. I photograph outside because that's where I find the answers to those questions- plus its free. I have experience answering these questions outside of the studio so from the beginning I knew that shooting in a studio was risky but with the weather being so unpredictable in London I couldn't risk getting a day with flat light. I needed a scene that I could control because from the original plan to final execution it was all me. It was so exhilarating planning out a photoshoot and it truly made me remember why I wanted to be an artist in the first place.

This collaboration originally came about because I reached out to a Facebook group for London Fashion Creatives. This woman named Natalie reached out and she worked for this amazing local brand in south London called Korlekie. After an amazing meeting where it felt like our creative energies really synced, I went off and planned a photoshoot from scratch. It was my job to find the location, models, everything. I know understand why it truly takes a team to make a well put together editorial. Finding models is hard especially for an up and coming photographer. I had to learn how to make mood boards, navigate agencies, and learn the difference between photography categories and use agreements.

I had hoped that I would be able to get some free models from the agencies because of my work shooting fresh faces. I had created this really elaborate and beautiful idea citing one of Edgar Allen Poe's texts but in the end, I had to pay for the models myself which forced me to scrap my plan and edit it so it would fit within my budget. It seemed like nothing was going the way I planned as we got closer to the shoot. I wasn't able to get all the flowers that I wanted because I miscalculated when the flower shop closing. The mirror I wanted to use was scratched and thus couldn't be used in the final shoot.

The shoot was almost canceled out of fear. I was trying to avoid this emotion so hard. As you can tell from the photos the shoot produced some beautiful images, not the ideal ones that I had hoped for but images that allowed me to grow. Fear did creep through my veins during the shoot. I did fail. I almost walked out of the shoot in tears. I was completely out of my element I let my pride stop me from asking for help. But then in the darkness came a light, a resolution that this wouldn't defeat me. that I knew more then I gave myself credit for. I started to tinker to fix, to manipulate both the settings on my camera and the ones on the flash until I remembered that this is all about light and manipulating the light. The photos went from unrecognizable to something that could be mistaken for a human and from blurry to clear and in focus.

While I still prefer shooting outside, I definitely want to start doing more studio sessions. Its a weakness and I must learn and ensure that it eventually becomes a strength. You can't run away from fear, because when you do you often miss out on how great you are.

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