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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When I moved in the three Spaniards promised they wouldn't speak in Spanish so I would never felt left out- while I appreciated the gesture I knew it was a promise they could never keep. In the mornings I would wake up to Abel talking to his dog Django in Spanish; in the evenings after a hard days work everyone would slip into clothing and a language that was most comfortable. You notice the musicality and beauty of a language when you don't or can't understand its meaning. Seeing how regional speech affected speed or annunciation of words. I never cared because you can learn more about a person listening to them engage in a conversation in their native language then you can speaking one foreign to them. There were different schedules but one place we always congregated was around the kitchen. Often sharing meals at the table by the window.

This was the home I had envisioned finding abroad. Despite not living in an artist warehouse I still managed to live with people who created art. One of my roommates is a fashion photographer. He taught me that agencies are always looking for photographers to test what they call "fresh faces" new models that have just been added to the roster.

I emailed the giant list he gave me and one of the agencies reached out to me. The day of my first photoshoot I was scared, not just because this was my first time working with agency models but because the weather was overcast with a chance of rain and I planned on doing all my shooting outside. The agency was on the 4th floor of a narrow building in central London. There was a farmers market down the street brimming with food trucks and young smartly dressed Londoners. A very large very old great dane tried to escape when I walked through the doors. As I talked with one of the agents about my ideas for the shoot the sky opened up. Thankfully the model was late so we missed the brief storm.

During the photoshoot with the second model we talked about the experience of being black in the U.K. versus the U.S. Through it, we found there were similar experiences like the racist treatment which manifest in different ways due to cultural norms.

My final shoot was with Beckett who had just finished his A levels. We talked about what he saw in his future and the possibility of getting a degree in physics. All the photos were taken around the Barbican Center this amazing brutalist housing and community arts space tucked away in central London.

I love shooting outside and interacting with the world. I learned how to think on the fly and create interesting compositions using my models and the urban landscape.

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