Lady in a Black Dress

“Women who wear black lead colorful lives” – Neiman Marcus

The black dress has always had that alluring aspect to it. The black dress transforms an already beautiful woman into an extraordinary sight not soon to be forgotten.

This was the second shoot I had done with Jaslyn and while we were driving to the Lee Bivins house in downtown Amarillo, she chuckled how the bride for whom she had worn the black dress for as a bridesmaid, would be glad she would be wearing this dress a second time.

The Bivins home was built in 1905 by prominent rancher Lee Bivins (1862-1929) who also served as Amarillo\’s mayor at the time of his death. The home consists of brick and stone built into a classical style. The home was later bequeathed to the city by his widow Mary Elizabeth Gilbert Bivins (1862-1951).

We decided upon taking advantage of the beautiful stone stairs leading to enormous pillars featured prominently around the home. And as always, I could count on Jaslyn to be able to pose herself in a way that would compliment herself and the black dress while at the same time using the beautiful location to make her stand out. I really loved how the folds of the fabric the black dress is made of added some nice contrast to the hard sharp lines of the stone making up the steps and the walkway surrounding this historic home. Of course, I couldn\’t resist editing a couple of these photos in black in white to add in that vintage vibe.

With the end of 2019 rapidly approaching and the start of 2020 peeking itself every so slightly above the horizon, I\’ve noticed how my shoots are leaning towards more of a vintage style harking back to the actual 1920s. It\’s a decade that continues to reverberate throughout American history and continues to inspire my work as a photographer.