6.23.10
After years of written correspondance, I have finally had the pleasure of meeting photographer Duane Michals face to face. I met up with him at his apartment in Gramercy, and we talked for a while about his upcoming projects as well as my work, and what direction I should be heading with it. He said my fashion work was great for what it is, but thinks it's a good idea for me to take a more in-depth exploration of my artistic side; push the envelope a bit more and allow my work to be more provocative and daring.

Following his recommendations, I've been carefully studying and analyzing the paintings of Edouard Vuillard, in addition to traditional Japanese style paintings/drawings. I'm specifically focusing on the use of pattern within a frame, and how it can be utilized to carry your eye throughout the image.

I plan to shoot based on these influences this weekend, or early next week. It's posing as a bit of a challenge to come up with a concept. I normally don't pay all too much attention to pattern within my composition. I want to produce a series of images that show how dedicated I am to taking his advice, and growing as an artist. He asked me to shoot something I've never shot before and step outside of the box I've created for myself. I'm nervous! but up to the challenge.



4.29.10
Lately I've been working on a wide variety of projects, some of which expand beyond photography!

A while back I helped out my friends Julia Kaganskiy and Karen Bookatz, both from Blue Box Gallery, by shooting a series of video installations created by Gabriel Barcia-Colombo. The pieces were on display for an exhibition entitled "Nobody Leaves, Everybody Goes" at The Roger Smith Hotel for nearly a month. After talking with Gabe about his inspiration, I was even more entranced by his ghostly work! I was so drawn to the pieces that I proposed a collaborative photo-editorial focusing on Gabe's installations and of course, fashion. Hopefully over the next few weeks we can get that shoot organized. In the meantime, check out one of my photos of Gabe's work below, or in the "Product" section of this site.

Recently, I shot the back cover for Ian Fleming's upcoming release of "The Blofeld Trilogy", designed by Chris Brand. I'm excited I was asked to be part of the project!
...I can't help but be a bit of a James Bond fan.

Currently, I've decided I need to refresh my creativity by making time to explore fine-art photography again (while still continuing to shoot fashion). Over the past few years, I've been so caught up worrying that my work was too fine-art for the fashion world, but too fashion heavy to stand alone as "art". I'm realizing its important to produce strong work I love, and see where it leads me. If nothing else, it will be an exercise that excites inspiration and produces new imagery.

I've devised a personal project that combines my interests in fashion design, art directing, fashion buying, branding, and of course, photography. Although it's still in the very early stages, it feels great to explore other angles of the art/marketing field in relation to my own work. As of now, I've taken a trip upstate to collect vintage clothing, invested in a dress form, dusted off my old sewing machine, and gotten to work sketching, cutting, and re-sewing a collection of dresses.
Once the collection is complete, I will be shooting an art based ad-campaign for the pieces. Proceeding the shoot, the newly altered dresses will be available for sale, in addition to limited edition prints from the collection's campaign.

I believe an individuals creative process is extremely interesting, and infinitely important to an idea's realization. Consequentially, I've decided to create a blog that tracks the inner workings of my mind throughout the project's progression. It will include before & afters of the dresses, design/photo shoot sketches, and anything that inspires or influences my work. In addition to the creative process, the blog will be periodically updated with glimpses into my personal life. I want to use vulnerability to create a public window displaying the important aspects of my life and creativity. By presenting people with the option to get to know the artist behind the work, I believe it will allow for a more intimate connection with the final pieces. Follow along!

Blog: A Girl's Right Mind
Twitter: Tracy_Pearl

Check back here for the "meat & potatoes" of what's going on with any new art and commercial photography projects.

And last but certainly not least, pick up a FREE copy of the latest Working Class Magazine, available in various locations around the city. It's their first print issue and I'm proud to say you can find a full-page image from my "Into the Woods" series using Suzanne Rae's fashion designs. Check out the web version here.


One of my photos of Gabriel Barcia-Colombo's video installation.


Me, nap house in the woods. Vintage dress buying trip.


Me, near my family's home in Cazenovia, New York. Vintage dress buying trip.


The first dress I'm altering. Before shot & sketch for re-vamped version, complete with suggested accessories.

1.20.10
It appears I'm long overdue for an update... So I will start by saying that these past few months have presented me with some fun experiences, and I've been asked to be part of some AMAZING projects.

In December, graduate student Andrea Todd asked me to be part of an exhibition that she and three other students were curating for their final presentation at the Sotheby's Institute of Art. The show was centered around the collaboration Suzanne Rae, Carl Cortes, and I had done for last September's fashion week. My prints and Suzanne's mannequins were scattered through an emptied out, three story townhouse in the upper east side. The open bar combined with a lovely crowd made for one fun filled event! Carl took some photos of the ordeal, some of which are posted below. The whole thing proved to be a success as 3/6 of my photos displayed have been sold!

More recently, I did another shoot with Suzanne and her newest collection that follows a day in the life of a modern day woman. This time around, our presentation will take place on February 13th, in a suite of the famous Chelsea Hotel. Mark your calenders!!
The team on-set was fantastic... I was able to work with my good friend Corinna Seipp on hair, and makeup artist Katie Mellinger, with Lauren Wells from Major Model Management. If you scroll down a bit, you'll see the photo that we have decided to use to promote said event. Once I get the reverse side of the postcards designed with more event details, I'll throw it up on here. So as always, stay tuned!

As mentioned, I have recently been asked to shoot for two big projects, both of which I am beyond ecstatic about! At this early stage, I'm not sure what I'm at liberty to say as far as specific details go. For now, a vague overview will have to do... which will most likely keep you at the edge of your seat until my next update!

One job entails a number of days where I will be shooting still lifes for the interior pages of a fashion/celebrity based book. I believe it's going to have a similar vibe to the Olsen twin's book, Influence, that I had worked on a few years back. Should be a hoot!

The second project is a series of ad campaigns to represent and promote the re-branding of a west coast based salon chain. I'll be shooting a series of women with incredible hair, in natural, everyday scenarios. So far, everyone I've encountered that I'll be working with seems extremely nice, and I look forward to getting involved.

I'm pretty sure that just about covers it... Until next time!


Promotional photo for the upcoming Chelsea Hotel presentation.


Entrance into the townhouse; Me, wishing I lived there.


Inside the townhouse for the Sotheby's event.



10.22.09
Over the last month, the collaboration between Suzanne and I has been getting some exciting attention! So far NBC's online blog, The Thread, has flagged Suzanne as "One to Watch". They wrote up a nice little story on her and used one of my photos from the campaign to accompany it. We also got some coverage from Jay V. del Rosario's fashion blog, The Dossier. Rosario covered some of the details of our presentation, in addition to showing my full set of "Into the Woods" photographs. Screen grabs from both blogs are shown below this entry. And last but not least, as I had previously mentioned, German television network ARD brought their cameras into Suzanne's working studio as well as our Mixed Greens fashion week presentation. I'm not physically in the video, but you can see Suzanne's interview and a brief glimpse into our showing at the end of this clip: http://mediathek.daserste.de/daserste/servlet/content/2996874

The Michelle Obama fashion book I was shooting this spring with Rodrigo Corral and Ben Wiseman is out in stores. It's a coffee table book titled Mrs. O, The Face of Fashion Democracy, largely based on the popular fashion blog "Mrs. O", which trails every stylistic move she makes. One of my photo spreads is pictured below, and the majority of them will be posted to the "Published Work" section in the near future.

A while back I shot a handful of designer bags and accessories for Derek Blasberg's upcoming book Classy, which will be released into stores in this winter. It's an illustrative, satirically written "Do's and Don'ts" guide to modern day etiquette. From what I've seen, it looks pretty damn good. My shot of handbags for the chapter "Logomania" is also pictured below.

The final publication I can inform everyone of is another Business Week cover. Much like the last one, it was a collaboration with Rodrigo Corral, using my friend Dan Raps as a model. It was out the week of October 19th, so it's too late to find it on newsstands, but don't worry! Believe it or not, you can scroll down on this page and find it.

That's about it for now I believe... I have a new intern starting next week which should be a fantastic help. Also check back for a recent shoot I did for Chief Magazine, inspired by witchcraft with a 90's flair!


NBC's blog coverage. October 2, 2009.


The Dossier's article. September 17, 2009.


One of my photo spreads. Interior of Michelle Obama fashion book Mrs. O


Interior photograph for Derek Blasberg's book, Classy


The October 19th issue of Business Week.


09.16.09
The gallery event has come and gone, and for the first time in a long time, I've managed to get more than 2-4 hours of sleep! Despite the long hours and hard work, I feel really fortunate that I was given the opportunity to be a part of all the excitement. The photos were all really well recieved, and the event managed to get a pretty decent turnout. We had some press coverage as well from German television network ARD, who interviewed Suzanne, Carl, Amit and I about the project, and WWD sent a photographer to cover the exhibit. I put up a few personal shots below that are from the event (thanks Candace for helping out and shooting!). A hearty "thanks!" goes out to any of you who shook off your hangovers and made your way to Chelsea to check it out. For anyone who missed it, the full series is up in the "Fashion" section on this site. I especially want to thank Steven Sergiovanni, Director of Mixed Greens Gallery, for being so accomidating and allowing us to take over the gallery for a full day. It was extremely generous, and much appreciated.
Suzanne and I are already scheming our next big collaboration, and this round we have more time on our side to make it insane! Get pumped for a story book with some wild images and crazy fashion!! I'm keeping you all in the dark about the rest of it, don't want to give away too many details too soon or anything.

Last week I also shot Savant's runway show for Feng-Feng Yeh and David Aliperti in the Lower East Side. The collection looked GREAT, as always, and the styling was beautiful. The show drew a nice professional crowd, and hopefully things continue on the up for them. I'm excited to plan another shoot with Feng-Feng to keep the new work coming! Along with the images from the Mixed Greens gallery event, I also added two of my shots from the Savant runway show, and one of me from Yestadt Millinery's hat presentation in the Tribeca Grand Hotel. The hat installation must have taken forever to put up, but it looked incredible!! (My iphone photo doesn't do it justice). And I want to congratulate Jane & Molly on having their handmade visors featured in Vena Cava's Spring 2010 show!! Looks like we've all been working really hard and it's beginning to pay off!

Now that things have calmed down a bit, I've resumed getting prints done for my book to get myself, and my work out there more. I'm almost done adding a "bio" section to the site, as well as updating the "Fashion" section with any new images that I didn't have time to put up sooner. Hopefully the down time won't last too long, but just long enough to catch up on organizing.

This is a pretty photo heavy update, but it's been one hell of a week!!


Mixed Greens Gallery; September 13, 2009


Me with my best friend Marii Mcgrath nearing the end of the show

Fashion designer Suzanne Rae-Pelaez and Amit Greenberg, who designed the graphic pattern for a few of Suzanne's pieces.

Another shot inside Mixed Greens of the exhibit; Amit & I. Grey outfit squad.


Yestadt Millinery's presentation. I don't know why I look so unenthused...


Savant Spring 2010 runway show


David Aliperti and Feng-Feng Yeh following their collection


09.8.09
Since my last update things have been insane! After an unexpected week in LA, the last few weeks have been around the clock preparations for this year's Fashion Week. I'm still stressing about getting everything finished on time, but I'm hoping all the sleepless nights will pay off.

This season, I collaborated with fashion designer Suzanne Rae, and videographer Carl Cortes of re-fabrication.com to create a multimedia gallery presentation. Late in September we all packed a van with models, hair & makeup artists, and tons of equipment to head to the woods of Connecticut to do an on-location fashion photo and video shoot for Suzanne's SS10 collection. It ended up being a long, exhausting day where we were constantly batteling rain and extreme humidity, but in the end I'm pretty damn into the photos.

I encourage and invite everyone to stop by Mixed Greens Gallery in Chelsea during fashion week (Sunday, Sept. 13) to see our instillation. We will be filling the gallery space with large photographic prints of mine, sewing mannequins wearing Suzanne's designs, and a backroom with a multi-screen display of Carl's video. It's for one day only so come while the gettins' good. Oh, and did I mention there will be free wine? Further details on the event are on the promo card below.

I will also be shooting backstage for Savant on Wednesday night, and hopefully find some time to stop by Yestadt Millinery's presentation. I'm also going to be making my rounds during Fashion's Night Out which sounds like it will end up being a pretty fun night. So if you see me around this week, be sure to say "Hi", and drop by Mixed Greens with a friend or two on the 13th.

Enjoy the fashionable madness!





07.13.09
A lot has been going on this last month! For starters, Alyssa Cohen moved up from Florida to intern for me for the duration of the summer. It's been extremely helpful to have an extra set of hands on shoots, as well as having someone to help me keep organized and on track. I've gotta admit, it's going to be rough when she has to go back to school and I'm left to my own devices again.

Earlier this month I took a weekend trip to Fire Island, New York. Joining me was Melissa Chang, Chris Brand, and Ben Wiseman, all of which are graphic designers that I have worked with on a variety of book projects and foosball tournaments. Despite the shocking news we all received that MJ had passed (naturally we made sure to have a Corona, or two, in his honor), it was a nice relaxing weekend in the little beach house we rented. I carried around my Holga camera and took a few shots here and there. Can't wait to get the negatives back from the lab and throw a shot or two up on my next update.

Half of the images from the fashion shoot I had mentioned in my last update have been completed by my favorite retoucher, Jaz Harold. Still waiting on two more, but the two I did get are up in the Personal section of this site, one of which is at the bottom left of this update. I'm really pleased with the way they came out, especially given the rediculous hour we all got together to make the shoot happen. Aside from here, you will be able to see the full story in the fashion section next month's Working Class Magazine; which if I recall will be the "Summer Issue". Once again, I have to thank Marcel Dagenais for the hair, Lindsay Hile for makeup, Hilary Gluck for modeling, and all of them for working with me until 5am.

Last week I had the opportunity to meet, and work with fashion designer Feng-Feng Yeh (pronounced fun-fun yay). I was asked to shoot selected looks from her upcoming Fall/Winter 09 collection for her clothing line Savant. The clothes are technically women's wear, but she wanted to have some of her looks shot using a male model (my lovely friend Amit Greenberg), to show that some of the pieces can be unisex. To say the least I was extremely impressed with both her collection (which I personally would wear daily) and her attitude towards what she does. I was given a lot of creative control during the shoot which I loved, and we were able to put together a nice four piece editorial-esque fashion story to contrast the look book photos that she already has on her site. I really hope to work with her again in the near future. Just looking at some of her pieces makes my mind run wild with photo possibilities. One of the images is posted below, (the image to the right) and it has also found its way into the Personal section. As for the rest.. once selects are made and everything is retouched I will post the full series.
Enjoy the new work and the sunny weather we are finally getting! And as always, check back soon.





05.26.09
Every time I turn around Sag Harbor is being reviewed or featrued in a new publication! The most recent one I caught was in the New York Times Book Review. Speaking of book covers... another one of my cover photographs is about to be launched. The book is the re-release of The Informers, written by Juan Gabriel Vasquez. This project was another collaboration with Rodrigo Corral, with designer Ben Wiseman proving yet again he could be one heck of a hand model. Check out the image of it below, and it will also be added to the "Published Work" section.

This month I also did a personal, fashion inspired shoot that I'm really excited about! I will update again once I get the images back from the retoucher, so stay tuned. I also did a shoot for a new company called Endstar. My friend Joe Lovarco works for them and needed my help taking product shots of a variety of bags and shirts they are about to put on the market. The cool thing about their products is that the company created a new material called Bionic Yarn, which is a hybrid of recycled plastic bottles and thread. If I didn't know better I would think it was just straight cotton but I was proven wrong. Their material recently sparked the interest of both the Gap and Pharell Williams, so hopefully things fall into place for them.

As for the near future, I have another shoot scheduled for Working Class Magazine in just over a week, as well as another personal shoot early next week that will be very fashion heavy. Just trying to keep as busy as possible creating new work to give my book an overhaul.





04.27.09
This summer's widely anticipated novel Sag Harbor, written by Colson Whitehead, gets released tomorrow! My photograph is on the cover which was another collaboration with Rodrigo Corral and Ben Wiseman, so keep your eyes peeled for it. It was a fun shoot since we got to travel out to Sag Harbor for the day with my friend Femi as the model and a few assistants. I had never been out there before, but it looks like it would be a great place to get some summer sun and expore the harbors. So far, the book has been reviewed in a variety of publications including Esquire, Vogue, Elle, and the New York Times, to name a few. Below you will see the feature it got in Esquire, and you can see the actual cover, as well as a few new publications, in the "Published Work" section.

I also recently did a shoot for hat design company Yestadt Millinery's FW 09 look book and website. For a sneak preview, one of the images is up in the "Personal" section. They have some incredibly creative and fun designs and I wish them the best of luck next season. The samples were at my studio for a few days so I had a chance to fall in love with a good number of the hats, and meet a few good people in the process.

Now that the weather is finally nice again I'm getting excited to work on some shoot ideas I have in some desolate locations upstate. Nothin' better than a photoshoot roadtrip!





03.22.09
A few things...
If anyone gets a chance you should pick up this month's issue of Fast Company magazine and open up to page 25. It's a half page photo of mine. I'm not going to say what it's of to leave you in suspense, but I will tell you it was a collaboration with Rodrigo Corral and Ben Wiseman.

I also recently updated the "Personal" section on this site. It now includes a few shots from both the God Series that I had mentioned earlier, along with the Tammy Faye Baker series I just completed, both for Working Class Magazine.

On a side note, I went to see Lil' Wayne earlier this week in Newark, New Jersey. After watching 2-3 hours of his antics on stage I now officially hope he doesn't end up going to jail. The giant fire gun he used during his encore proved to me that he is quite the entertainer.


2.20.08
I'm back from a recent family snowboard trip where we went to The Dolomites in Moena, Italy. I didn't even beef it like I expected I might after taking a two year break from boarding. Pretty impressive accomplishment right??

In photo news...
I have been working with Marcel Dagenais, Creative Director for Working Class Magazine for their next issue, The Faith Issue. Art Director Amit Greenberg and I collaborated to create a 3 image story which I will post once I get the final retouched images in my posession. I was recently asked to do another shoot for them this Wednesday and I can't wait. They're great people to work with, and the concept is dope.

And last but certainly not least, I was just informed that the New York Magazine cover with my photo on it (a collaboration with Rodrigo Corral & Ben Wiseman) was ranked among the top 5 finalists for the Society of Publication Designers Award in the Cover Design category, with Design Director Chris Dixon. I am beyond excited about it and feel fortunate to be a part of the whole thing!

For the future, I intend to update my news a little more often to keep each entry from being so lengthy, having Dreamweaver on my side will help this process. Until next time... here are a few photos from the Italy trip of me in my finest artic gear. Enjoyyyyy









12.15.08
After tons of work the new site is finally up! Thanks to Jaz Harold for putting it all together for me, I'm very pleased with the outcome.

Currently I am in the process of getting the new studio up and running, so if all goes according to plan I will be able to shoot at my own place within the next few weeks. Very exciting!!

Also be sure to check out my cover photograph on this weeks issue of New York Magazine. It's a double issue so it will be on news stands for the next two weeks.

Thanks for stopping by, and make sure you check back here for more updates!