It's been the third time for me to get to shoot these awesome girls - I love when clients come back with new ideas, over and over again.

You can see the whole set on Facebook. Please like the page and feel free to comment and share.

​"Two beings"
My name is Heston, I have struggled through depression since my late teens.
This is an invisible illness, as those suffering, usually hide the turmoil they are in and the constant burden they carry.
People see me as a normal, happy everyday person..., but in my heart, the pain is ever so severe, pushing me down all the time.
I found that one way to help me cope with this illness is my perseverance to train, play sports and be a part of self-defence classes. Without these activities in my life, I would probably be more lost in my path than I am today.
I wouldn't say I have completely recovered because life always throws curveballs, however, it is within ones courage and strength, that they can accept what has dwelled upon them and eventually, overcome it. For me this is a way to channel my life, and my thoughts in a positive direction.
This photograph represents the very essence of my hidden struggle and false impression, of how I really feel, and what I show to the outside world. It shows both main aspects of my personality. The outer, visible being, riding on top, shows my false happiness and fulfilment. The inner me, straining below, shows the true pain and struggle of my true self and what is happening to me at the same time.
Model: Heston Hawe
Photography: Werner Kaffl
Art Director: Werner Kaffl
Many thanks to Snap Fitness Wellington for allowing us to shoot in their Studio.

"Looking across the Narrow Sea, towards Dorne..."
You see, I like "A Game of Thrones".
Actually it's the Cook Strait, producing the highest waves ever (as I heard), up to 9 meters high at the peak. At Dusk, when those shots were taken, they weren't that high anymore, but they still soaked me up to my knees.

On the way to a shooting, on my usual way to town, around 10:30 AM, I caught this sight. First snow up in the hills, and those gorgeous clouds...

I've just been browsing through some old Photos, and found those gems from up to three years ago.
I like playing with light, shadows, light-beams etc.

Going on with my photographic and 3d modeling experiments.
In this case I used a Photo taken last year, and a photo of actual cicada wings I took some 5 years ago.
In final images, it might come across quite easy, "just add some other stuff to your Photo" or "use a phone App to make an image striking".
Well, phone Apps might work for a Social Media post, but certainly not for an image you want to print out and hang into your lounge. Also those Apps are rather limited, you can't adjust lighting etc. 
I had a discussion wit someone being very upset when I called those Apps "toys", but, sorry, they are. In the example this person was talking about, there were two moons added to an existing picture. But those moons didn't reflect in the water of the original picture, and they were lit up from straight above - the light in the original came from the far right.
This brings me to the "just add something to the image via Photoshop". It's a bit more complicated than that.
First, my original photos of those wings have been shot on white paper. They have to be mostly transparent though, apart from the structure holding them in position. "Half" transparent is the key here, entirely transparent would have been easy, just cutting out the white background, but that doesn't work for "half".
Also they will need to be in the right position, size and area. They would have to catch light, to cast shadows, to be blurred where they came out of focus of the real image. The perspective also needs to be changed via 3d features, to get them look real, not just by changing size and angle in 2d.
So, such an image is made up from way beyond 50 layers in Photoshop, way beyond just "adding something".
And, I'm just talking about the "wing" part here. The original already consists of 30+ Layers, including conversion of some parts to infra red, which gives it the appearance of a moonlit night-shot.

One more Image with Anna-Lisa.
A friend of mine came up with the caption, which, I think, fits very well.
Model: Anna-lisa Timewell
Dress: Aeon Dressmaking 
Location: Wellington Racing Club

"Love"
​
My name is Eva McGauley. I’m 17 and have been battling cancer for the last two years. Sadly the treatments have not worked and now anything we do medically will only delay the inevitable. It’s been hard. It’s been bloody hard on me and my loved ones. They are the most important people in my life. They are my world and I theres and the knowledge of what the future holds for us is terrifying. Despite this however I am still a happy person dedicated to what I believe in and fighting for what's right. It’s my loved ones that give me the strength to do this and they always have starting long before the cancer. I grew up with a single mother and though I am close with my father he lives overseas so growing up I pretty much had four parents. My mum, my grandma, my great aunt and my godfather. They all dedicated themselves to me and I consider myself extremely lucky to have literally never had a second of my life where I didn't know I was loved. So that’s why I chose them for the photo (my mum was away so she isn’t in the shot however,) I also chose my best friend Anya who I consider family. When the photographer Werner asked me where my favourite place in Wellington was and what my favourite thing to do is he expected “the waterfront!” Or “laughing with friends!” But I thought about it for a second before responding “my house! And being with Gams (my grandmother,) Yarb (my great aunt,) Deco (my godfather,) Mama and Anya! (My best friend.) So that’s exactly what we did. It was a great day and we all loved the new experience.

Model: Eva McGauley
​Photography: Werner Kaffl
Art Director: Sophia Sparks
Makeup: Mira-Grace Krishnan

In early 2016 my friend Angelah Rose from Christchurch came up with the idea to express otherwise invisible Illnesses in Makeup and Photography.
I started to plan and coordinate this project in Wellington, another colleague does the same in Auckland. So this is going to be a nationwide project. 
This site, however, will showcase only the work of the Wellington team at the moment.
Additional we planned to get those photos printed, exhibited and sold as limited editions, all profits going to a relating Charity.
All our models suffer from some sort of illness which is usually hidden or just not recognized by the people around us. This project is to raise awareness for those illnesses and the problems concerned people are facing in their lives.
We decided to keep this an open project, so everyone can participate in this.
Click here for the Project Facebook Page

"Deformed"
Charli has a deformed spine, being more than an obstracle for her to dance as well as for modelling, even it is invisible.

Model: Charli Gartrell
Photography: Werner Kaffl
Art Director: Werner Kaffl
Makeup: Amy Oakes

​"Reflection"

Borderline Personality Disorder is difficult to portray and often accompanied by other mental issues. Mine comes complete with depression, ADHD, bulimia, self-harm tendencies, and anxiety. It is consistently inconsistent, varied, and sometimes feels a little like bipolar…other days it feels like depression, anxiety, self-hatred, and narcissism all holding hands in a painful, dysfunctional circle. 

Everything inside of me can be overwhelmed by BPD's distorted reality filter, which descends at times in an internally-directed rage fit or panic, and that crippling self-awareness (which usually grounds me the rest of the time) is rendered relatively useless for sometimes hours or whole days at a stretch. 

The portrait we’ve created is a relatively specific and focused aspect of BPD…it has to be, because there’s a million [more] things it could always say, but rather spotlights this primary problem of seeing oneself and the world around reflected back in different lights and views dependent on something as simple as a mood, another person’s response, or emotional state. To look back at yourself with either convincing ease, hatred, or glowing confidence on a daily rotating basis can be draining, to say the least. 
-Alice Bathory

Model: Alice Bathory
Photography: Werner Kaffl
Art Director: Sophia Sparks
Makeup: Mira-Grace Krishnan

"Dancing with Death"

You become aware of dying, of death as a tangible thing that could happen to you. You become aware of how fragile your health is, that though you feel fine, something deadly could just come out of nowhere. You become aware of living, of time wasted on idleness and unhappiness, of dreams not achieved, of feelings not expressed, and potential not reached. It’s undeniable that everyone will die eventually. Some sooner than later. And I am not exempt. Having cancer has brought this closer to home for me. My death at some point is inevitable. I might die in a fiery accident tomorrow, or this cancer demon might decide to pursue me relentlessly into an early grave.

Model: Amy Oakes
Second model: Sam Hogg
Photography: Werner Kaffl
Art Director: Sophia Sparks
Makeup: Amy Oakes

"Choice? - Not really"

I decided to make a start on this, with my past as an alcohol addict.
Addiction in general is not, as many people still believe, a bad habit, or a choice, it is an acknowledged and serious disease.
Alcohol is one of the most dangerous drugs, if not the most dangerous ones, for several reasons.

First, it doesn’t get someone addicted immediately, but over a longer period of time.

Second, the amount of alcohol (or any other drug) consumed is irrelevant. The fact that someone needs it is the indicator for an addiction.

Third, it is socially accepted. With that it is often not recognized for a long time.

Fourth, it’s easily available and always around us, everywhere, which makes it hard to get off it.

Especially concerning alcohol, it’s not a choice, but rather a sliding into the addiction, without even knowing.

For my own story, I started drinking at the age of 15 and kept on doing so for 15 years. Untill I got to a point where I could only chose to live or die. This wasn’t really a choice though, as instinct wanted me to live. This point is now close to 20 years ago, 27/11/1997, 10:45 AM I had my last sip of beer.
Alcohol destroyed my whole life and parts of the lives of those people I love. But I managed to break the circle and start fresh.
I hope this encourages some others to admit their own issues and do as I did, It’s certainly worth it.

Model: Werner Kaffl
Photography: Nate McQuade
Art Director: Sophia Sparks
Makeup: Mira-Grace Krishnan

My first shooting with Anna-Lisa, I hope we get a couple more.
Those ones were done in a Studio, the Wings are actual props, not photshopped in - Though I'm getting into 3d modeling to create some more surreal images.
Model: Anna-lisa Timewell
Dress: Aeon Dressmaking
Wings: BlackWidow Fascinators 

"Fierce..."
This one is the most complicated edit I did so far, as all of it is pieced together. Means the background is from a test photo, Lia's shot was taken in the attic originally, the wings came from a stock directory.
As those wings were basically flat, I had to get them into 3d and adjust the perspectives for the image, first time try...
Also shadows, transparency of dress and headpiece, sun-rays, background haze, adjustment to fit the depth of field - even the claws on the wing tips are from different photos...
All in all it's beyond 100 layers :-)
Model: Lia Summer Rose Forrest
MUA: Ania Kingi- Smith
Headpiece: BlackWidow Fascinators

"HEAT"
Another play
Model: Ricki-Jane Heyburn
Dress: Deranged Fashions

I had a quick test shooting with Anna-Lisa, who I came across in "Star Now"
Real shooting planned soon, so watch this space.