Hello all. I'm sure everyone is feeling a bit like me, excited to see March knowing it brings promises of spring.
We all know the madness that NCAA basketbal ushers in during late March but some of you may or may not know that the fashion industry has its own madness the entire month of March. Models in NYC are in a frenzy traveling to casting calls for the big fish, the campaign ads for designers that'll be displayed everywhere imaginable(magazines etc) and pay the big bucks. While I am still a "new face" in the New York market and don't have as likely a chance of success as the guys who've established themselves here, it is comforting knowing that I'm in the running and not everyone who has this dream gets to live it.
Success: I was sent a link for the web commercial I did with Mjolk Homme. You can check the video out at http://mjolkhomme.com/video This is a invitation Mjolk will be sending out to all their clients in Paris advertising a fashion show they'll be holding there. This video will introduce my face to a lot of people in the fashion industry in Paris which could potentially create a buzz about me in that market. Please feel free to give me feedback on what you think. Also, while this isn't a success necessarily but more of a gauge, I found out I was put on "option" for a few fashion shows during fashion week including DKNY. I didn't book the fashion shows but when you're put on option it means the designer has you listed for back up in case something happens to a model that's been booked and he can't make the show, I would then take his place. This is a small victory in that I was put on option for quite a few shows meaning once I've established myself here there will be a real interest in me.
Funny stuff: While walking around NYC there's always plentiful opportunity to see something out of the oridinary. For instance, today I saw a woman wearing a pair of sunglasses with the lense over her left eye missing. One of her eyes was covered by a lense protecting her eye from harmful UV rays while the other eye was left uncovered and exposed. As I passed her she noticed me looking at her. Her exposed eye gave me a menacing stare that said, "I dare you to say something". I kept to myself and sped up my pace. This next fact isn't so funny but is interesting. Louis, my Scottish roommate, informed me one night as I drank Gatorade that Gatorade is banned in some areas of Europe due to an ingredient Gatorade puts into its sports drinks. Louis did say that Gatorade is sold some places but on the bottle you can read that it is lacking a couple ingredients. I, for one, didn't know this.
Another note is that my girlfriend, Amanda, will be traveling to Belize for 9 days on an alternative spring break. She will be working with the community, lending a hand to help aid and support the people there. Amanda has a big heart and often puts others before herself. It makes me proud to be a part of her life.
Thank you all for reading and be sure to look for next week's blog post.
Austin
Friday, March 4, 2011
Friday, February 25, 2011
Small Talk
Week six in NYC is upon me, if I was in high school and was unsure of a grade for the six weeks this would surely be a daunting time for me as I would be trying my best to avoid the dreaded event it was to break the news to my parents, ha! Of course, that Never happened to me as I was a perfect child and am only speculating. Yeah right. But thank goodness I had parent's who were(are) loving and cared about my grades. Thankfully this six weeks has passed and I have nothing but good news to share.
Success: I had a very good shoot with a company called Oak NYC. They are a website that sell various designers clothing. It was an extremely good time, the two stylists and photographer at the shoot were great people to work with. It was about a 5 hour shoot where I wore 30 or 40 looks(after a while it all became a blur) with three looks that are going to be used as an editorial on their homepage. Some of the images are already up under their Men's: New Items on http://www.oaknyc.com/. They are currently adding images and taking old one's off their website, I believe. The last time I checked the site it was "under construction". The Editorial images on their homepage will show my face but the shots under Men's: New Items only show from my lips down as it's about the clothing not the model. I'm excited about being on the website and only hope more opportunities such as this one keep rolling in.
Other News: Justin Hingleton, a friend of mine from North Carolina and fellow Carolina Talent model will be coming to NYC in March after winning a contest with designer "Marcc". Justin is a good friend of mine so it'll be nice that he's visiting NYC for the shoot.
Louis Galloway, a fellow Fusion Model, has been a hit in NYC since coming here from London(he's also signed with Elite London). He had a casting call for a Ralph Lauren campaign in the actual offices that Ralph uses. Louis said the office had an extremely "homey feel with fireplaces and such" and that there were big jars of M&M's everywhere. I guess Mr. Lauren is a fan of M&M's. Although I'm not able to tell a first hand account of Ralph Lauren's offices(aka I wish I was up for a Ralph Lauren campaign shoot) it is interesting hearing these things. Louis is a hardworking fellow so keep your fingers crossed for him and I know it's only a matter of time before I'm in the same boat with him.
If you're ever interested in what's going on in the modeling world, besides what I know, you can always check out thefashionisto.com it's a great site for fashion news.
That's it for now. Take care all, Thanks for reading and for your continued support.
Austin
Success: I had a very good shoot with a company called Oak NYC. They are a website that sell various designers clothing. It was an extremely good time, the two stylists and photographer at the shoot were great people to work with. It was about a 5 hour shoot where I wore 30 or 40 looks(after a while it all became a blur) with three looks that are going to be used as an editorial on their homepage. Some of the images are already up under their Men's: New Items on http://www.oaknyc.com/. They are currently adding images and taking old one's off their website, I believe. The last time I checked the site it was "under construction". The Editorial images on their homepage will show my face but the shots under Men's: New Items only show from my lips down as it's about the clothing not the model. I'm excited about being on the website and only hope more opportunities such as this one keep rolling in.
Other News: Justin Hingleton, a friend of mine from North Carolina and fellow Carolina Talent model will be coming to NYC in March after winning a contest with designer "Marcc". Justin is a good friend of mine so it'll be nice that he's visiting NYC for the shoot.
Louis Galloway, a fellow Fusion Model, has been a hit in NYC since coming here from London(he's also signed with Elite London). He had a casting call for a Ralph Lauren campaign in the actual offices that Ralph uses. Louis said the office had an extremely "homey feel with fireplaces and such" and that there were big jars of M&M's everywhere. I guess Mr. Lauren is a fan of M&M's. Although I'm not able to tell a first hand account of Ralph Lauren's offices(aka I wish I was up for a Ralph Lauren campaign shoot) it is interesting hearing these things. Louis is a hardworking fellow so keep your fingers crossed for him and I know it's only a matter of time before I'm in the same boat with him.
If you're ever interested in what's going on in the modeling world, besides what I know, you can always check out thefashionisto.com it's a great site for fashion news.
That's it for now. Take care all, Thanks for reading and for your continued support.
Austin
Saturday, February 19, 2011
Week 5
Hello everyone,
It's time for a new post and so marks the passing of another week in NYC. It's hard to believe that I've been up here for over a month!
First off, I'd like to make a correction to my previous post. Last week I stated that Berthold, a fellow Fusion model, would be leaving for Tokyo this week when in fact he's off to London for fasion week there and will then by flying to Tokyo sometime in March. I apologize for the mistake.
This week I honestly don't have many details worth telling. It was a roller coaster ride of a week weather wise. Cold weather with a temperature in the 30s accompanied by snow flurries have swooped in on the NYC area after having teased us with a few days with temperatures in the 50s and 60s. Doesn't Mother Nature have a sense of humor? The warm weather and blue skies were extremely nice and allowed for me to comfortably explore both Brooklyn and Manhattan for the first time. Although the hopes for long term warm weather were diminished almost as soon as they came it was a much needed break from the frigid cold we've had here. During the warm weather one of my roommates, Garrett, and I went for a walk around Brooklyn. There's a ton of shops and parks to explore in our neighborhood along with a great view of the Manhattan skyline so it's a lot of fun to walk and sight-see. While on this walk he and I happened upon a couple walking their cat, yes that's right their cat. A man and woman casually strolled with their cat resting on the man's shoulder. The cat acted fine for a bit but saw people walking dogs and decided to take hold of the man's shoulder which caused problems. Pretty funny, eh? Some other, more morbid, news occured here as well. A man killed 4 people and injured 4 more with knives earlier this week. Two of the murder victims were the killers ex-girlfriend and the ex-girlfriend's mother. The killer has been found and arrested so at least he's off the streets but my heart goes out to the families affected by the murderer's actions.
In the modeling world things haven't heated up yet, a break from my cold snap has yet to happen but I am sure it will. I had a minimal amount of casting calls this week but did have a photoshoot with a photographer named Ryan Mikail. He is a talented young guy around my age that was fun to work with. We burned through 6 or 7 looks in 3 hours and got some really amazing shots. He was the type photographer that let the model do their own thing and made small suggestions once in a while as we moved along. We worked well together as a team and I should have the images in a week to a week and a half so I'll be sure to share them. I'm also excited about seeing the finished product from the previous two shoots I've done as well as the web commercial/fashion show invitation that I did with Mjolk Homme. I should have those images and the commercial in a week also(but we'll see). One more point of possible interest is that my agency, Fusion Model Management, has created their own blog where they'll detail everything that goes on with them and their models. We(models) have been asked to submit "behind the scene's" images of us on casting calls, jobs we've booked etc. If you're interested in keeping up with the blog the site is: http://www.fusionmodelsnyc.blogspot.com/
As much as I hate to say it, that's about it. I know, talk about boring! Ha! I'll be sure to keep everyone posted as things begin to develope and my career progresses. Take care and be sure to look for next weeks post.
Austin
It's time for a new post and so marks the passing of another week in NYC. It's hard to believe that I've been up here for over a month!
First off, I'd like to make a correction to my previous post. Last week I stated that Berthold, a fellow Fusion model, would be leaving for Tokyo this week when in fact he's off to London for fasion week there and will then by flying to Tokyo sometime in March. I apologize for the mistake.
This week I honestly don't have many details worth telling. It was a roller coaster ride of a week weather wise. Cold weather with a temperature in the 30s accompanied by snow flurries have swooped in on the NYC area after having teased us with a few days with temperatures in the 50s and 60s. Doesn't Mother Nature have a sense of humor? The warm weather and blue skies were extremely nice and allowed for me to comfortably explore both Brooklyn and Manhattan for the first time. Although the hopes for long term warm weather were diminished almost as soon as they came it was a much needed break from the frigid cold we've had here. During the warm weather one of my roommates, Garrett, and I went for a walk around Brooklyn. There's a ton of shops and parks to explore in our neighborhood along with a great view of the Manhattan skyline so it's a lot of fun to walk and sight-see. While on this walk he and I happened upon a couple walking their cat, yes that's right their cat. A man and woman casually strolled with their cat resting on the man's shoulder. The cat acted fine for a bit but saw people walking dogs and decided to take hold of the man's shoulder which caused problems. Pretty funny, eh? Some other, more morbid, news occured here as well. A man killed 4 people and injured 4 more with knives earlier this week. Two of the murder victims were the killers ex-girlfriend and the ex-girlfriend's mother. The killer has been found and arrested so at least he's off the streets but my heart goes out to the families affected by the murderer's actions.
In the modeling world things haven't heated up yet, a break from my cold snap has yet to happen but I am sure it will. I had a minimal amount of casting calls this week but did have a photoshoot with a photographer named Ryan Mikail. He is a talented young guy around my age that was fun to work with. We burned through 6 or 7 looks in 3 hours and got some really amazing shots. He was the type photographer that let the model do their own thing and made small suggestions once in a while as we moved along. We worked well together as a team and I should have the images in a week to a week and a half so I'll be sure to share them. I'm also excited about seeing the finished product from the previous two shoots I've done as well as the web commercial/fashion show invitation that I did with Mjolk Homme. I should have those images and the commercial in a week also(but we'll see). One more point of possible interest is that my agency, Fusion Model Management, has created their own blog where they'll detail everything that goes on with them and their models. We(models) have been asked to submit "behind the scene's" images of us on casting calls, jobs we've booked etc. If you're interested in keeping up with the blog the site is: http://www.fusionmodelsnyc.blogspot.com/
As much as I hate to say it, that's about it. I know, talk about boring! Ha! I'll be sure to keep everyone posted as things begin to develope and my career progresses. Take care and be sure to look for next weeks post.
Austin
Saturday, February 12, 2011
Fast and Fevered Fall
Cue lights,
Cue music,
Cameras Rolling,
Quiet on set, Austin's blog # 4, We're live in 5...4...3...2...1 Action!
Coming to you live from Brooklyn, NY, please welcome your host, Austin K:
Take Camera 1, Roll Music, Bring up lights,
(Crowd applause, Austin runs on set)
Thank you, Thank you and welcome all! We have a great show in store for you today...
Ha! Hello everyone. I'm writing to you this day on what was promised to be a sunny day in the low 40s but is, in fact, cold, overcast with a lazy snow falling. Like the snow slowly falling so have my hopes to make an impact on this weeks Fashion Week. A big flop best sums it all up, not because I wasn't presented with ample opportunity after having casting calls with DKNY, Tommy Hilfiger, Hugo Boss, Perry Ellis and MarcbyMarc(just to name a few). I was at the same castings with some of the world's top models but the fish didn't take my bait, so to say. But as every fisherman knows, you have your good days and your bad days and that's why you keep at it and go fishing again with the same rod, reel, bait and even go to the same fishing hole. One of the models I'm living with, upon noticing my discouragment, broke the situation down to me like this: A rookie baseball player is brought onto the team in hopes he will make a good fit for the team, come through in some big games and have a positive impact on the team. But the owners don't bring in the rookie in hopes that he'll carry the team, that's what the savvy 5 and 6 year veterans are for. Meaning: the guys who are doing well during this fashion week also did well in Paris and Milan's fashion week. I came into the runway circuit a little late to have a real impact this week and shouldn't be discouraged at the lack of work that I've seen thus far. I'm being told by fellow models and my agency that I have a very commercial, catalogue look and once we get a little closer to summer then work should start rolling in for me left and right, especially once the industry goes into its summer phase: i.e. beachy, bathing suit type shoots. Working out 5-7 days a week on top of my All-American look and Southern charm(wink, wink) has its benefits and puts me in a different modeling class than these foreign "chaps" who are extremely skinny with their very nicheable High, High Fashion looks.
Potential work: I do have some promising news despite the previous, debbie downer of a opening paragraph. I have had two call backs this week, meaning, I went to a casting call for a client, they liked my look and gave me a call back so they could meet with me again. Not everyone gets a call back so being called back is always promising. One is for an Allegri fashion show and the other is for a Gilt Clothing fashion show, I await word and hope for the best. I also went to a casting call for C in 2 Industries where they actually asked me to show off my assets! Aka, they asked me to take off my shirt, as conceited as that may sound. But when, for over two years, you work out 5-7 days a week, meticulously plan each meal(avoiding the easy route: fast food) to ensure you get the right amount of protein, carbs, vitamins and calories to fuel your body and make it look its best it hardwires you to jump at the opportunity to show off your hardwork. Thus you get the saying: modeling isn't a job, it's a lifestyle. I'll stop patting my own back now. The C in 2 Industries casting call is for a 3 day shoot and is a well paying job so, as usual, keep your fingers crossed for me but tighter this time!
Unfortunately, as funny as this may sound, the other male models in the apartment will start moving out this week and heading back to their various places of living. I have found their company uplifting and refreshing. While I'll enjoy the extra space I'll have at the apartment upon their departure I will miss their company, stories, and insight into the modeling world. One model, Berthold, just signed with an agency in Tokyo and will leave Feb. 16th to live there for a couple months. Daniel will return home to his gf in Amsterdam while Louise will return to London. Louise has had his busiest Fashion Week of his modeling career and landed gigs with clients such as Perry Ellis. Wiley veteran Berthold is busy as ever but never busy enough, his biggest client being Tommy Hilfiger. Daniel had a busy week but not as busy as he'd hoped for, it seems that he and I share the same boat. But we'll both find ourselves fishing again real soon.
That's it for now. I'd like to thank Patty Hurst Shifter and their song Fast and Fevered Fall for fueling my mood while I wrote this blog, they're a great band, I'd look them up if I were you!
Thank you all for reading,
Austin K.
If you Believe you can Achieve then you will Succeed.
It may take time, effort and perserverance but if you don't believe then who else will?
Cue music,
Cameras Rolling,
Quiet on set, Austin's blog # 4, We're live in 5...4...3...2...1 Action!
Coming to you live from Brooklyn, NY, please welcome your host, Austin K:
Take Camera 1, Roll Music, Bring up lights,
(Crowd applause, Austin runs on set)
Thank you, Thank you and welcome all! We have a great show in store for you today...
Ha! Hello everyone. I'm writing to you this day on what was promised to be a sunny day in the low 40s but is, in fact, cold, overcast with a lazy snow falling. Like the snow slowly falling so have my hopes to make an impact on this weeks Fashion Week. A big flop best sums it all up, not because I wasn't presented with ample opportunity after having casting calls with DKNY, Tommy Hilfiger, Hugo Boss, Perry Ellis and MarcbyMarc(just to name a few). I was at the same castings with some of the world's top models but the fish didn't take my bait, so to say. But as every fisherman knows, you have your good days and your bad days and that's why you keep at it and go fishing again with the same rod, reel, bait and even go to the same fishing hole. One of the models I'm living with, upon noticing my discouragment, broke the situation down to me like this: A rookie baseball player is brought onto the team in hopes he will make a good fit for the team, come through in some big games and have a positive impact on the team. But the owners don't bring in the rookie in hopes that he'll carry the team, that's what the savvy 5 and 6 year veterans are for. Meaning: the guys who are doing well during this fashion week also did well in Paris and Milan's fashion week. I came into the runway circuit a little late to have a real impact this week and shouldn't be discouraged at the lack of work that I've seen thus far. I'm being told by fellow models and my agency that I have a very commercial, catalogue look and once we get a little closer to summer then work should start rolling in for me left and right, especially once the industry goes into its summer phase: i.e. beachy, bathing suit type shoots. Working out 5-7 days a week on top of my All-American look and Southern charm(wink, wink) has its benefits and puts me in a different modeling class than these foreign "chaps" who are extremely skinny with their very nicheable High, High Fashion looks.
Potential work: I do have some promising news despite the previous, debbie downer of a opening paragraph. I have had two call backs this week, meaning, I went to a casting call for a client, they liked my look and gave me a call back so they could meet with me again. Not everyone gets a call back so being called back is always promising. One is for an Allegri fashion show and the other is for a Gilt Clothing fashion show, I await word and hope for the best. I also went to a casting call for C in 2 Industries where they actually asked me to show off my assets! Aka, they asked me to take off my shirt, as conceited as that may sound. But when, for over two years, you work out 5-7 days a week, meticulously plan each meal(avoiding the easy route: fast food) to ensure you get the right amount of protein, carbs, vitamins and calories to fuel your body and make it look its best it hardwires you to jump at the opportunity to show off your hardwork. Thus you get the saying: modeling isn't a job, it's a lifestyle. I'll stop patting my own back now. The C in 2 Industries casting call is for a 3 day shoot and is a well paying job so, as usual, keep your fingers crossed for me but tighter this time!
Unfortunately, as funny as this may sound, the other male models in the apartment will start moving out this week and heading back to their various places of living. I have found their company uplifting and refreshing. While I'll enjoy the extra space I'll have at the apartment upon their departure I will miss their company, stories, and insight into the modeling world. One model, Berthold, just signed with an agency in Tokyo and will leave Feb. 16th to live there for a couple months. Daniel will return home to his gf in Amsterdam while Louise will return to London. Louise has had his busiest Fashion Week of his modeling career and landed gigs with clients such as Perry Ellis. Wiley veteran Berthold is busy as ever but never busy enough, his biggest client being Tommy Hilfiger. Daniel had a busy week but not as busy as he'd hoped for, it seems that he and I share the same boat. But we'll both find ourselves fishing again real soon.
That's it for now. I'd like to thank Patty Hurst Shifter and their song Fast and Fevered Fall for fueling my mood while I wrote this blog, they're a great band, I'd look them up if I were you!
Thank you all for reading,
Austin K.
If you Believe you can Achieve then you will Succeed.
It may take time, effort and perserverance but if you don't believe then who else will?
Friday, February 4, 2011
Weekly Update
Hello once again all.
This week has been a bit of a struggle for me as I've been sick most of the week and haven't had much energy. Nevertheless it was a very busy week and there's never a need to focus on the negatives!
Accomplishments: I was selected to film a web commercial for a designer called Mjolk Homme. He is a very nice English "chap" that is in his 30s. He went to school for fashion designing and has been trying to make his mark on the industry since he graduated college. At first he started out with a bigger, more well-known designing business in London but had to strong of an urge to create his own style to stay with them. After leaving the company he moved to NYC to pursue his dream of becoming a world renowned designer. The Commercial: I'm the "star" of the web commercial that we filmed under the Brooklyn Bridge on Thursday morning, 2/2/11. I met the film team at 6:30a.m. on the corner of Peck Slip and South St. We used a local hotel to get ready and to prep me for the shoot then made our way out to the small beach by the Brooklyn Bridge. It was Extremely cold but so much fun. There was a crew of 7 people working the shoot and I had to do so many different shots that I can't even begin to list them all. I had the camera centimeters from my face to standing 50ft away from it on a old dock leg out in the middle of and barely above the freezing cold water! It was quite an experience to say the least and was also the first sunrise I have witnessed since moving to NYC. The commercial is suppose to be inspirational, which was quite simple to pull off since I was looking at the sun rise above Brooklyn. I am very excited to see how everything turns out and will be sure to add it to my website once I have a copy of it.
Other Happenings: I had a ton of castings this week, mostly for upcoming fashion shows for the upcoming fashion week. The castings I went to ranged from Tommy Hilfiger, MarcbyMarc(Marc Jacobs), Perry Ellis, Simon Spurr and Richard Chai, just to name a few. Aside from castings, my girlfriend Amanda has come to visit me this weekend, which is so cool. I love spending every minute with her and having her around to explore the city, not to mention having her here since I've been sick. She is a very loving and affectionate girlfriend and is a great caretaker. I don't know what I'd do without her!
Living: We now have 5 guys living in the model housing. They are all quite cool and I've become close friends with a German fellow named Berthold. He has been very helpful and answered a ton of questions I've posed to him about how the industry works once you've made it to the international level. He's been a Fusion model for over a year and has taken part in over 80 fashion shows and numerous campaign shoots, he's becoming one of the top models in the world. I'm also living with a guy named Garrett from Georgia, Louise from Scotland and Daniel from Sweden. It's definitely a clash of culture but we find ourselves laughing and sharing memories more so than anything else. It is amazing to hear some of their stories ranging from childhood to in the here and now. It is Louise's first visit to NYC, he himself left a family and girlfriend in London so we are basically in the same boat. He and I have traveled to several castings together and I've helped him figure out the subways a bit. Speaking of subways, I had a family of four ask ME for directions a few days ago, and I was successfully able to help them, how about that?! I'm a New Yorker now(but still country at heart), walking everywhere with my head down and at a pace that says I should've been where I'm going yesterday. I find it hard to believe I've almost lived in the city for close to a month, doesn't time fly?
That's it for now. I'll be sure to post next week with more exciting news(hopefully). Take care everyone and be sure to stay in contact. I miss everyone back home and hope that all of you are doing fine. Until next time,
Austin
This week has been a bit of a struggle for me as I've been sick most of the week and haven't had much energy. Nevertheless it was a very busy week and there's never a need to focus on the negatives!
Accomplishments: I was selected to film a web commercial for a designer called Mjolk Homme. He is a very nice English "chap" that is in his 30s. He went to school for fashion designing and has been trying to make his mark on the industry since he graduated college. At first he started out with a bigger, more well-known designing business in London but had to strong of an urge to create his own style to stay with them. After leaving the company he moved to NYC to pursue his dream of becoming a world renowned designer. The Commercial: I'm the "star" of the web commercial that we filmed under the Brooklyn Bridge on Thursday morning, 2/2/11. I met the film team at 6:30a.m. on the corner of Peck Slip and South St. We used a local hotel to get ready and to prep me for the shoot then made our way out to the small beach by the Brooklyn Bridge. It was Extremely cold but so much fun. There was a crew of 7 people working the shoot and I had to do so many different shots that I can't even begin to list them all. I had the camera centimeters from my face to standing 50ft away from it on a old dock leg out in the middle of and barely above the freezing cold water! It was quite an experience to say the least and was also the first sunrise I have witnessed since moving to NYC. The commercial is suppose to be inspirational, which was quite simple to pull off since I was looking at the sun rise above Brooklyn. I am very excited to see how everything turns out and will be sure to add it to my website once I have a copy of it.
Other Happenings: I had a ton of castings this week, mostly for upcoming fashion shows for the upcoming fashion week. The castings I went to ranged from Tommy Hilfiger, MarcbyMarc(Marc Jacobs), Perry Ellis, Simon Spurr and Richard Chai, just to name a few. Aside from castings, my girlfriend Amanda has come to visit me this weekend, which is so cool. I love spending every minute with her and having her around to explore the city, not to mention having her here since I've been sick. She is a very loving and affectionate girlfriend and is a great caretaker. I don't know what I'd do without her!
Living: We now have 5 guys living in the model housing. They are all quite cool and I've become close friends with a German fellow named Berthold. He has been very helpful and answered a ton of questions I've posed to him about how the industry works once you've made it to the international level. He's been a Fusion model for over a year and has taken part in over 80 fashion shows and numerous campaign shoots, he's becoming one of the top models in the world. I'm also living with a guy named Garrett from Georgia, Louise from Scotland and Daniel from Sweden. It's definitely a clash of culture but we find ourselves laughing and sharing memories more so than anything else. It is amazing to hear some of their stories ranging from childhood to in the here and now. It is Louise's first visit to NYC, he himself left a family and girlfriend in London so we are basically in the same boat. He and I have traveled to several castings together and I've helped him figure out the subways a bit. Speaking of subways, I had a family of four ask ME for directions a few days ago, and I was successfully able to help them, how about that?! I'm a New Yorker now(but still country at heart), walking everywhere with my head down and at a pace that says I should've been where I'm going yesterday. I find it hard to believe I've almost lived in the city for close to a month, doesn't time fly?
That's it for now. I'll be sure to post next week with more exciting news(hopefully). Take care everyone and be sure to stay in contact. I miss everyone back home and hope that all of you are doing fine. Until next time,
Austin
Friday, January 28, 2011
Modeling Updates
Hello all. I hope everyone's week went well, I'm sure everyone is looking forward to the weekend, as am I.
Modeling updates. Unfortunately this week wasn't as busy as I'd hoped for. I only had a few casting calls but did have two photoshoots which was nice. One casting call was for a photoshoot with a brand of clothing called Uniqlo. I had never heard of Uniqlo but when I looked on their website they have pictures of Orlando Bloom wearing their clothing, so they must be fairly popular. I was pulled off to the side and was asked a few questions by a casting director after going through the motions of the casting call. I was the only person he pulled aside while I was there so I'm hoping that's a good sign. The other casting calls I had were for a Westeast magazine and photographer Kah Poon as well as a fashion show audition for designer Nico & Adrian. Both casting calls were simple. For Westeast I took a few snapshots and that was that, for Nico & Adrian I had to walk a cat walk then was asked to come over and speak with Adrian. He seemed enthusiastic about my look, calling me "a walking piece of art" which was quite flattering and also said I had a powerful presence and walk. I hope his enthusiam toward me means I'll be taking part in their fashion show but I'll have to wait and see.
Photoshoots: I had two photoshoots this week. One was with a marketing firm called The KDU and an up and coming designer called Timothy Rosado. I will get a tear sheet(images for my portfolio) and The KDU will try to sell the images to the fashion magazine's they're clients with. The shoot itself was a lot of fun and quite easy actually. I've found that up here things are run a little bit differently than they are in NC. The photographers and creative directors know what they are looking for, they let you do your own thing in front of the camera while also helping you by guiding your movements and asking you to portray emotions from fierce/angry to soft, sad, confused, eager, searching etc. It makes it a lot easier as a model to have a goal in mind and to have some sort of direction while standing in front of the camera as opposed to someone simply pointing a camera at you and saying...Ok, go. My second photoshoot of the week was with photographer Mark Veltman. It was a test shoot for my portfolio so I can add some New York style images. Mark and I were actually scouting locations he wanted to use for a photoshoot he had this morning with Harry Potter, excuse my ignorance but I don't know the actors real name. But, needless to say, it was pretty cool knowing where Mark and I were shooting yesterday were locations that Mark and Harry Potter were going to be using today. Maybe one day an up and coming model will be doing test shoots to find locations for shoots for me and will feel a sense of excitement knowing that. :-) Either way, I'm giving it my best shot. I'm excited to get the images from both shoots and will share them as soon as I have them.
That's about it for now. I'm being told that February/March are really when things start to pick up in the fashion world so hopefully I'll begin to have some very exciting news in my blogs. Take care everyone and look for my blog entry next week!
Austin
Modeling updates. Unfortunately this week wasn't as busy as I'd hoped for. I only had a few casting calls but did have two photoshoots which was nice. One casting call was for a photoshoot with a brand of clothing called Uniqlo. I had never heard of Uniqlo but when I looked on their website they have pictures of Orlando Bloom wearing their clothing, so they must be fairly popular. I was pulled off to the side and was asked a few questions by a casting director after going through the motions of the casting call. I was the only person he pulled aside while I was there so I'm hoping that's a good sign. The other casting calls I had were for a Westeast magazine and photographer Kah Poon as well as a fashion show audition for designer Nico & Adrian. Both casting calls were simple. For Westeast I took a few snapshots and that was that, for Nico & Adrian I had to walk a cat walk then was asked to come over and speak with Adrian. He seemed enthusiastic about my look, calling me "a walking piece of art" which was quite flattering and also said I had a powerful presence and walk. I hope his enthusiam toward me means I'll be taking part in their fashion show but I'll have to wait and see.
Photoshoots: I had two photoshoots this week. One was with a marketing firm called The KDU and an up and coming designer called Timothy Rosado. I will get a tear sheet(images for my portfolio) and The KDU will try to sell the images to the fashion magazine's they're clients with. The shoot itself was a lot of fun and quite easy actually. I've found that up here things are run a little bit differently than they are in NC. The photographers and creative directors know what they are looking for, they let you do your own thing in front of the camera while also helping you by guiding your movements and asking you to portray emotions from fierce/angry to soft, sad, confused, eager, searching etc. It makes it a lot easier as a model to have a goal in mind and to have some sort of direction while standing in front of the camera as opposed to someone simply pointing a camera at you and saying...Ok, go. My second photoshoot of the week was with photographer Mark Veltman. It was a test shoot for my portfolio so I can add some New York style images. Mark and I were actually scouting locations he wanted to use for a photoshoot he had this morning with Harry Potter, excuse my ignorance but I don't know the actors real name. But, needless to say, it was pretty cool knowing where Mark and I were shooting yesterday were locations that Mark and Harry Potter were going to be using today. Maybe one day an up and coming model will be doing test shoots to find locations for shoots for me and will feel a sense of excitement knowing that. :-) Either way, I'm giving it my best shot. I'm excited to get the images from both shoots and will share them as soon as I have them.
That's about it for now. I'm being told that February/March are really when things start to pick up in the fashion world so hopefully I'll begin to have some very exciting news in my blogs. Take care everyone and look for my blog entry next week!
Austin
Monday, January 24, 2011
The Big Apple
Hey everyone and welcome to my website. This is my first official blog entry!
First off I'd like to thank Lisa Hildreth for setting up my website, big round of applause for her.
Where do I begin? I arrived in NYC last Tuesday afternoon, January 18th and hit the ground running. After spending the first day moving into my apartment I met with my agency, Fusion, Wednesday and took care of a few minor details. Since then I've gone to casting calls(auditions or go-see's) for photoshoots with clothing lines such as Hugo Boss, DKNY as well as local designer Timothy Rosado. I've also gone to a few go-see's for locally based magazines such as Bullett and WestEast Magazine. I have been selected to do a photoshoot for a group called The KDU and photographer Phil Knott tomorrow morning, 1/25, so that is exciting news and I look forward to the shoot.
The auditions haven't been as brutal as I thought they'd be or as you might see on T.V. Most of the auditions are quite simple. You wait in a room with other models, then someone calls you to a back room, where you meet with a board of people, try on a designers clothing and then they snap a few pictures for a look book. Sometimes the board is very talkative/interested and ask questions and try to get to know you. I've seen some people dismissed before they get to the door but thankfully that hasn't happened to me yet. After that I go about my merry way. I'd say the most difficult thing I've had to do thus far was do a cold read for one of the castings where I had to read a few lines in front of a camera with a good 25 people watching, then, had to show my "camera movement abilities" while music played. The casting directors told me to dance around a bit and show my personality while also posing for the camera, so while it may not sound difficult it was spur of the moment and a bit nerve racking with all the people watching. But, no worries! I went with the flow and tried to nail it!
Adjustments...At first I was a bit nervous about navigating and adjusting to The Big Apple but after being here a few days I've found that making my way around the city isn't all that difficult. I have great downstairs neighbors who are a couple from Long Island. They always have their door open to me and on my first night here cooked supper for me and have cooked on more than one occassion, making me feel right at home. They have also given me a dresser and a computer desk to help liven my place up a bit as well as a "goody bag" full of odds and ends they bought from Costco.
Well that's it for now! As things happen I'll be sure to update everyone. Thanks for your continued support, it has made my transition to NYC all the easier. Take care!
Austin
First off I'd like to thank Lisa Hildreth for setting up my website, big round of applause for her.
Where do I begin? I arrived in NYC last Tuesday afternoon, January 18th and hit the ground running. After spending the first day moving into my apartment I met with my agency, Fusion, Wednesday and took care of a few minor details. Since then I've gone to casting calls(auditions or go-see's) for photoshoots with clothing lines such as Hugo Boss, DKNY as well as local designer Timothy Rosado. I've also gone to a few go-see's for locally based magazines such as Bullett and WestEast Magazine. I have been selected to do a photoshoot for a group called The KDU and photographer Phil Knott tomorrow morning, 1/25, so that is exciting news and I look forward to the shoot.
The auditions haven't been as brutal as I thought they'd be or as you might see on T.V. Most of the auditions are quite simple. You wait in a room with other models, then someone calls you to a back room, where you meet with a board of people, try on a designers clothing and then they snap a few pictures for a look book. Sometimes the board is very talkative/interested and ask questions and try to get to know you. I've seen some people dismissed before they get to the door but thankfully that hasn't happened to me yet. After that I go about my merry way. I'd say the most difficult thing I've had to do thus far was do a cold read for one of the castings where I had to read a few lines in front of a camera with a good 25 people watching, then, had to show my "camera movement abilities" while music played. The casting directors told me to dance around a bit and show my personality while also posing for the camera, so while it may not sound difficult it was spur of the moment and a bit nerve racking with all the people watching. But, no worries! I went with the flow and tried to nail it!
Adjustments...At first I was a bit nervous about navigating and adjusting to The Big Apple but after being here a few days I've found that making my way around the city isn't all that difficult. I have great downstairs neighbors who are a couple from Long Island. They always have their door open to me and on my first night here cooked supper for me and have cooked on more than one occassion, making me feel right at home. They have also given me a dresser and a computer desk to help liven my place up a bit as well as a "goody bag" full of odds and ends they bought from Costco.
Well that's it for now! As things happen I'll be sure to update everyone. Thanks for your continued support, it has made my transition to NYC all the easier. Take care!
Austin
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