This marks my third shoot with Melissa this year. Though she now lives in NYC, she was in town for the holidays and asked if I’d be interested in doing a plastic-themed shoot. In preparing for the shoot sent me a few images from a recent Vogue Portugal fashion story that implemented single-use plastics into their shoot. I really enjoyed how they repurposed trash into the creation of something new and beautiful. I knew that I would want to take a different approach to the idea by capturing the texture of the materials and experimenting with creating more abstract portraits, and so I asked Melissa to “rescue” a range of plastic from her life over the next week and bring a range of options with her to the shoot.

Melissa didn’t disappoint, and brought items like a trash liner from her office, plastic sleeves that once contained clothing purchased online, and bubble wrap. I decided to shoot them in front of a black background, really highlighting the material with the lighting. I love the atmosphere that the plastics created.

After working with these three very different types of plastic and seeing vast potential in the range of results I got from each item, I thought that this would make a fantastic ongoing photo series. For each session I plan on having my subjects bring with them otherwise discarded trash that we will reuse to make into new treasures. I love how each item will be unique, and have a personal relationship with the subject. I love not knowing ahead of time just what I will be given to photograph. Most importantly, I love how this brings attention to the excessive waste that we create and consume on a daily basis.