My first shoot with Mariya. We started out in my studio, then went to a church just down the road to shoot in front of their heavy wooden doors, and finally went across town to end the shoot in our local cemetery. Mariya is a strong collaborator in that she had a good idea of what she wanted from the shoot. But she was also receptive to my own ideas and input. I really believe working with a model should, ideally, be an equal creative partnership. This shoot was a perfect example of that -- an even combination of her ideas and mine, the synergy of two creative streams coming together.