The Life and Mind of TENLEY NORDSTROM

Q&A

Congratulations on Premier in London and the card is hotness. Lovin the blog and we think many around the world will too. You are taking the best travel photos. Feels like we're there.

Thank you. I am really Excited to be in London for the summer. I am so glad you like my blog! It's a new thing I started.


Tell us about your background coming from North Dakota.

I grew up in a town called Minot in North Dakota. It has a population of about 30,000. Which is a big city in North Dakota. I love my state and I am glad that I grew up there. I think that it's very middle class and the values are just a bit different. People there are very honest. We are, for example, about the only state who has an economy doing well right now. People aren't really going around trying to pull tricks on each other. It's really shielded us from what is happening right now in the states. We have a lot of farmers. I really love growing up in a place where cows are grazing in the grass, wheat fields are growing and so on. Loving big open spaces and being out in nature has really stayed with me.


How did you get started in the Modeling World?

I started modeling about 3 years ago. I had just started college at the time. Was on vacation with my mother in NYC for the first time. A photographer kind of plucked me off the street. He thought I had potential. Took some Polaroids and sent them around to agencies. Found an agency the next day. And moved to NYC a month later. I fell into modeling but I knew right away I loved it. I have a love for photography in general. And I love being apart of creating photographs. I love traveling. As a model there are so many opportunities presented to you. I would not have been able to do so many of the things I have done in life if I wasn't a model.

Who is your mother agency?

My mother agent is Ford LA and that is where I am now based. I've worked in NYC, Milan, Korea and I have an agency in Copenhagen also. 

What was your favorite market/city so far?

I am really digging London so far. Even though I have only been here a week. I think it really suites me. I can be my rocker chick self and I love that. Hopefully it will continue to be amazing for the summer! For living, I love LA. Work has been good to me there also. I love so many things about LA. The music scene is amazing. It's not so urban either. Downtown is, but it's not a cement jungle for the most part. It's a beautiful place. I mostly love that even though it is a big city, and has all the great things that go along with that, But also you have the ocean and the mountains and you can really get out and feel like you are in the middle of no where. I started surfing when I moved to LA so that has really sucked me in also! haha :)

Tell us some of your favorite shoots.

I worked with an Australian photographer, Edwin Datoc, a lot in New York. We would just get together and do whatever we felt creatively. Rent out a room in the Chelsea hotel or whatever and just have loads of fun and take great photos. I love being able to shoot with film. A lot of the shoots I love are the ones that don't pay any money, which is a problem! haha. I just love creating photos and being able to really get into it with a photographer. Another photographer I love is Cameron Smith. We shot in LA for Russh Magazine. He is the one who encouraged me to come to London (he is based here). I loved working for a DJ headphone company called Aerial 7. Really great people and the photographer, Kat Bochart is awesome. I have also worked with Men's Health twice and loved it. And the people at Cosmopolitan are great too. Most every body I work with is really great to tell you the truth! So I will stop rambling! 

Do you get inspired by stuff outside of fashion? 

I am inspired constantly by the world around me. I am such a water person. The way I feel when I am out in the ocean surfing is indescribable. To be out there, just a dot, in this huge body of water. Dolphins and all kinds of creatures.  And the feeling of riding a wave is just amazing. It blows my mind. I think the natural world is constant source of inspiration. I love art also, mostly painting. I was in heaven for a week in Amsterdam. I was seeing so many great paintings from the best artists that have lived. It really inspired me to want to start painting myself when I get back to LA and get my own place again. Music has always been a huge part of my life. I played piano and numerous other instruments growing up.  I was in Chorus and other singing groups. I think it's a great way of getting out your emotions. I could not live with out it. Also, whenever you are feeling a certain way, you can always find a song to go along with that mood and for some reason that is so comforting. I also could not do with out my friends and family. They are so important to keeping my head straight. Modeling can be rough on the psyche. They help you to really feel like yourself again. It's such an important thing. 

What have you learned on your travels?

When I quit college to move to NYC and start modeling, a lot of people thought I was crazy. I have always done well in school and a lot of people still tell me I am wasting my brain away by being a model. But I've come to realize that I have learned so much since I started modeling. Moving from a place like North Dakota to NYC is so eye opening. You meet so many people from so many walks of life. And you can learn so much from that. Coming from a place in the country to a place like NYC, it is really sink or swim. I really had to grow a tough skin. I am still the same person at the core, but I opened myself up to what other people were going through and tried to learn from it myself. Going to other countries and seeing how people live is really amazing and eye opening too. You learn so much when you see that there are other ways of doing things. I think so many people let fear control their lives. I can also fall into this. I think that the more I break free of fear, the better off I am. So many times I have had to just jump in head first and then figure things out as I went. And I have learned so much from that. Life is not as scary as we can make it out to be. Taking chances is a big part of modeling and it's really seeped into the rest of my way of living. Taking a chance, not only on myself, but on other people. You are constantly showing up to shoots with a whole bunch of people you have never met before. And you have to get along and trust each other. Trust that they were hired for their expertise. You all were. To come up with whatever outcome that job needs. Learning from these kind of situations is great. You can really apply a lot of these things in your every day life and how you deal with people. Sometimes when you hear yourself telling someone that you are going over to Korea(or wherever) by yourself to meet and work with an agency you haven't met with yet. And to HOPE that you get jobs... You realize how crazy it sounds! But then you realize how cool it is that you are willing to stick your neck out and take that chance. And most of the time things work out. Even if a situation turns to shit, it in the end was a good experience. Mostly my time being a model in the past three years has really shown me how important it is to know that there is always more to learn. Always more out there that you don't know. There are people out there that you've never heard of because they are doing things outside of the norm. People in general don't like that. They want what is comfortable. They want familiar. Modeling has taught me that that isn't always a good thing. A lot of times the people on the outside doing "Crazy things" are the ones that exactly get it. For example, I am reading Howard Zinn's "The People's History of the United States." I am learning so much of our hidden history and it is amazing. I love learning about the people that struggled for the things that we enjoy today. It's so inspiring. A lot of times the guy at the top gets the credit, but it's mostly the people underneath coming together to create something that is amazing. The people that didn't want to just sink into a comfortable pattern. The people that knew they could take chances and fight for something better. I think we should always have a hunger to want to know. A hunger for life and all that it has to offer. Don't shut yourself down to the world. Don't stay in your comfortable little shell. Find other people who refused to stay in that comfortable little shell to inspire you. For me, the real education is from life experience and travel. Taking a big jump into the unknown will really reward you.

Anything to leave us by?

Always be Fearless. And do not let the rejection phase you. No matter who you are, in the modeling world, there is a lot of it. Hemingway is one of my favorite writers. He used this saying in his private letters and on occasion inscribed these words in books he signed for friends. "l faut (d'abord) durer" (One must, above all, endure). 


Check out Tenley's blog:
http://tenleynordstrom.blogspot.com/

Q&A with BRIAN HIGBEE, PHOTOGRAPHER

Brian Higbee is a Photographer from Rhode Island, with his cool sexy shots, we thought everyone should meet him. Here is a Q&A with him including a request from the SOMW Facebook Fanpage to get a Photographer's perspective of what to expect from a model. 



When did you move out to LA?
I moved out here in August 08 after putting graphic design aside for a sole career in photography. I put everything in storage back home and drove out here with my camera, laptop and clothes. It was the best decision I've ever made. 


How do you work when photographing and directing models? What do you expect of them?
A good connection between the model and photographer is key. I like to start off with a concept for the model to follow. From there I let everything happen organically and not over direct. Being a good model is knowing your body and what works best with the concept given... and bringin' it!

What agencies do you work with? 
I work mainly with Ford and LA Models at the moment. We have a great working relationship. They're always very helpful and of course have some amazing girls that are motivated to work.

Studio or location?
I tend to choose location over studio. I love mixing sunlight / strobe and I would rather be outside doing my job!


What inspires your imagery?
I'm inspired by everything around me and also draw a lot of ideas from my past. I grew up skateboarding, bmx racing and snowboarding. Most of the music I listened to growing up was NYC and Boston hardcore. That outlet allowed me a lot of creative freedom to do what I wanted. I come from an 11 year career in graphic design along with photography so I'm a very visual person. 

Tell us about any of the photos you're sending me.
Well I like finding cool locations that fit perfectly with the concept of the shoot. I'm a very laid back guy so the behind the scenes are easy going. I like working with a team that you'd hang with outside of work. It makes for a creative and productive shoot.


Check out his site for more work. 
http://www.brianhigbee.com/

Tanisha Harper - World Class Appeal

We saw Tanisha Harper in some shots from an earlier post and we had to meet up with her for some coffee. This girl has done it all! Looking confidant and gorgeous, the Tokyo born belle walked in having just come from a casting for a runway show. This had been Tanisha's calling since being scouted out at 15. The biggest names she's  walked for are Oscar De la Renta and Ralph Lauren which doesn't hurt when being selected for Project Runway and the companion show Models of the Runway. She's also graced every other medium including billboards, campaigns, and movies too. InStyle, Vanity Fair, Bloomingdales, Nordstroms, Jaffra, MAC, L'Oreal, The Oprah Winfrey Show, The Tyra Banks Show, and "Forgetting Sarah Marshall". Read this quote about her we found online:

"[Tanisha's] career began to take off after a shoot with famed photographer, Patrick Demarchelier for the Cosmopolitan Cover model search that brought about national media attention for Tanisha, and was heavily profiled by newspapers and news stations through out the country, including, Entertainment Tonight and an interview with Katie Couric on Today for NBC."

Tanisha has a Bachelors in Media Arts which is so important when branching out from just Photo Stills. It may be hard to book her, but you can find the bombshell with Steve at FORD LA for print and with L.A. Models for runway. 

ADVICE FOR ASPIRING MODELS:

"Always stay true to yourself and be professional. Don't worry about what other models are doing. Just stay focused on yourself and the goals you wish to achieve within your modeling career. You must have a thick skin for this industry and love yourself for who you are naturally. If you don't feel comfortable doing something. Don't do it. Never let anyone pressure you into doing something you don't want to do. Stay focused!"

Photographer - George Favios

Hair Artist - Sunnie Brook

Makeup Stylist - Bebe Booth

Emily O Rata. FORD's Sultry Vixen.

Emily O Rata feels like she's letting people down when she tells them she's not Brazilian. But being a Polish-European mix doesn't hurt Em's chances at being one of FORD's sexiest models. Being curvier than the typical fashion model hasn't stopped Emily from booking great jobs including a Boulee Billboard on Sunset Blvd, Cosmopolitan, 944 Miami, Swim Suit Issue of Surf Magazine, Forever 21, and a very steamy XOXO Campaign Photographed and Filmed by John Urbano. What's cool about Emily is she has this very deep artistic side to her. She's using that in her studies at UCLA majoring in Fine Art but her schedule is getting a little difficult. Emily might have to put school on hold for a few years due to her overwhelming modeling schedule. However, she did tell us that for aspiring models they should not think modeling is everything. There should always be other life plans in the works. When it comes to juggling her busy life with family and friends, she say's "It's not easy. You make plans and then have to break them all the time for last minute jobs." Well as long as you keep booking those jobs we'll keep our eye on Emily. 

We at SOMW love Emily O Rata! Natalie from FORD has done it again. ;)

Josue Peña. - L.A. Photographer

If you are a new model needing shots to submit for agencies or developing at the agencies, do not pass up your chance to shoot with Josue Peña in his downtown LA studio. We stumbled across Josue's website a few years back and always admired his ability to photograph women looking their very best. He just finished doing a big shoot for an installation in a museum in San Francisco, but his work mostly consists of shooting test shoots for developing models at agencies like FORD, NEXT, L.A. MODELS, VISION, COPELAND TALENT and PINKERTON. He's also a stylist so his creativity is an endless well of different looks. Right now he loves shooting models Emily O Rata, Olivia Sylvan, and Emma Dumont from FORD and Erica Fletcher from NEXT. He says with a good model he's usually done getting the shot of one particular look between 10-20 exposures! We'll be back to check in on Josue and his fantastic work.

Luna in LA

Now we begin a new chapter in revealing more Secrets of the Modeling World in beautiful Los Angeles, California! The timing couldn't be better. The Sun is shining and springtime brings a sense of all things new and fresh.

So what better way to start our new blog than with the gorgeous and fresh face of Luna LiVolsi. This Connecticut native met with Natalie at FORD in San Francisco and the agency signed her on the spot. After working in SF and Seoul Korea, Luna made it down to Los Angeles to make sure those motion picture cameras can join the photographers lining up to capture her lovely face.

Luna says using her acting abilities really helps in bringing raw emotion and intensity in her eyes. Question: Is that why our eyes were locked on her? Answer: YES!