A Bit of The Old Ultraviolet

Bringing Evy's World to Light: A UV Portrait Session

If you've been following my work for a while, you probably know I'm a Burner. And while I've made the pilgrimage to Black Rock City, my first Burn was a little closer to home: LoveBurn in Miami.

LoveBurn holds a special place in my heart. When I'm there, I camp with Velvet Crushhh, a wonderful collection of artists, misfits, and beautiful weirdos who've become my LoveBurn family. Over the years, I've made some incredibly close friendships there, and those connections have a way of finding their way into my creative life long after the event ends.

One of those friends is Carlos Portillo, the artist responsible for designing and building the Love Portal, which also serves as the entrance to our camp.

At LoveBurn 2024, I was serving as the camp photographer, documenting the people, performances, installations, and general madness that make Velvet Crushhh such a special place. Naturally, that included photographing Carlos's Love Portal, which featured a particularly lovely blacklight element.

Carlos really connected with the way I photographed his creation, and those images stuck with him.

Fast-forward to recently, when he approached me with an idea.

His girlfriend, Evy Duarte, is a UV painter, and she had been wanting to take her art in a new direction. Rather than simply creating paintings that glow under ultraviolet light, she wanted to become part of the artwork herself.

And she wanted me to photograph it.

Returning to the Blacklight

Evy and I first met over Zoom to discuss her vision, and we hit it off right away.

What made the project especially exciting for me was that UV photography is something I've explored extensively in the past. During my years living in Los Angeles, I spent quite a bit of time developing a series of blacklight photographs, experimenting with fluorescent colors, glowing bodies, and the strange visual possibilities that emerge when ultraviolet light transforms the world in front of the camera.

But it had been years since I'd done a dedicated UV portrait session outside of an event.

So when Carlos and Evy brought me this opportunity, I was more than ready to dive back in.

One of my favorite things about being a photographer is helping someone take an idea that's been living in their imagination and make it real. Every client brings something different to the table, and the most rewarding collaborations happen when everyone involved feels free to experiment.

Evy already had the artistic vision. My job was to help bring that vision to light.

Quite literally, in this case.

A Little LoveBurn Reunion

We arranged to shoot at Canvs Films Studio in Fort Lauderdale, and as it turned out, the connection that helped us secure the space came through another member of my LoveBurn family: Cameron, a professional gaffer working in the film industry.

What started as a portrait session had suddenly become a little family reunion.

Even better, Cameron joined us as our gaffer for the shoot, helping shape the lighting and bringing his own technical expertise to the production.

With Evy, Carlos, Cameron, and me all contributing ideas, the session became a genuinely collaborative experience. We experimented with the UV paint, lighting, poses, and compositions, building on each other's suggestions as we went.

That's the kind of environment I love working in. There's a particular magic that happens when a group of creative people comes together without being overly precious about whose idea is whose. Everyone brings something to the process, and the work becomes stronger because of it.

And, frankly, we had a damn good time doing it.

A Little More Photo Wizardry

The fun didn't end when we wrapped the shoot.

Lately, I've been pushing myself further with my editing, exploring new techniques and finding ways to bring even more of my creative vision into the finished photographs.

And this session gave me some absolutely killer material to work with.

UV photography is already a wonderfully strange medium. Colors behave differently, light reveals things the naked eye might otherwise miss, and the human body becomes a canvas for something almost otherworldly.

In post-production, I had the opportunity to really lean into those qualities, refining the colors, shaping the light, and giving each image the attention it deserved.

For me, editing isn't simply about correcting what came out of the camera. It's another stage of the creative process, another opportunity to discover what an image can become.

And with Evy's art as the foundation, there was plenty to discover.

Bringing It All Together

What I love most about this project is how naturally it all came together.

A friendship formed at LoveBurn. A glowing art installation. A photographer who happened to love working with ultraviolet light. An artist ready to step inside her own creations. Another friend who helped make the studio and lighting possible.

All those connections eventually led us into a darkened studio in Fort Lauderdale, making something new together.

And the best part? Evy absolutely loved the finished photographs.

There's no better feeling than seeing someone excited about the way you've helped bring their vision into the world.

Want to See More?

These photographs are just a taste of what we created together.

I've shared 35 photographs from this session in the Hidden Cabal, my members-only photography archive, including additional portraits, alternate compositions, and more of Evy's incredible UV artwork.

If you'd like to explore the complete collection and support my ongoing creative adventures, come join the Hidden Cabal!

View the Complete 35-Photo Gallery in the Hidden Cabal

Another happy client, another memorable collaboration, and another reminder of why I love being the Photo Wizard.

Until next time, keep making magic.

— The Photo Wizard