Saturday night was epic for the University of Arizona, with two great wins! First the UofA Wildcats put Purdue out of the running as they took down the Boilermakers with a 79-64 win and advanced to the Final Four for the first time in 25 years! Go Wildcats!
Next on the list was the University of Arizona Fashion Week "Festival: The Sound Shaping Our Style”. It was the TREND Fashion Events Board signature annual event. Speaking with Briana Johnson, the Creative Director for the University of Arizona Fashion Week, this yearly event is now in year number nine and in true Wildcat form is set to keep knocking out wins!
From what I was able to glean, the majority of this event is the result of the hard work and effort by UofA students; from planning to implementation to participation.
The evening rocked with great sound and cheering from the crowd, as they cheered on the many student models strutting the runway to reveal the creativity and design by fellow UofA students. You could definitely feel the energy as the response from different parts of the venue showed distinct favorites among the crowd. Let me tell you, the place was packed and everyone got a great show!
My participation for the evening was merely as a general seat ticket holder and unofficial photographer. Honestly, I was there to have fun! Yet, I still arrived as if this was one of my professional client photoshoots with a gear kit that fit easily into my Slingshot backpack and would be unobtrusive to others throughout the evening.
Arriving at an event it’s important to “read the room”, especially when there are other photographers & videographers who are there in an official capacity. A bit of open observation and you can quickly get an idea of who is there and the associated hierarchy. It’s important to give them the same respect I would ask for when the rolls are reversed.
Although I arrived with a complete enough kit to do the job. I quickly surmised that using flash was out, as a result of “reading the room” earlier. Now the lighting was great for an audience viewer. Yet like a typical nightclub or other event, it could create various challenges for color photography. No worries, this was a great opportunity to shoot black & white, my fav! Color actually is an important part of black & white photography, so I still had to do some work. It wasn’t all unicorns & rainbows.
There were enough people there in official capacity to make their clients happy. Me, I’m just happy I had my place in the photog’s pit and yeah, it’s was prime real estate!
My approach was much like my professional fashion work and basically a blending of my documentary style, mixed with my style of street photography. While others may have been working to catch the colors & designs, I was working to catch “the moment” where the image capture hits the mark.
Now, with fashion it’s generally more about what the model is wearing vs the model. The model is the easel for the artwork.
Yet in reality we have facial expression, details, motion and ultimately emotion.
Facial expression may be from the model or audience observers. The details are in the clothing style & design. Motion, it may be obvious or subtle. We are always in a state of motion, except when we’re not. Obvious right? Yet how does that motion or lack of motion communicate to the observer to hold their gaze.
Then, emotion. There’s a sliding scale here and can definitely vary among us all. We are all different and one image may resonate over another to the same or different observers.
Finally for me and it’s a big one. Realism. I started with film photography and still shoot film. So even in my digital capture, I’m happy when the photos feel real. Perfection is for space travel & surgery. As an artist I’m in neither of those camps, so I’ve got tons of latitude and I create for myself first. When I like what I see, I share it with the audience.
So, I’ve culled out the photos that work for me. The evening was fast paced and I’m looking for “the moment” vs quantity. As a result, I’m going to miss a few for whatever reason. Usually a facial expression issue or eyes closed where it lacks enhancement to the photo. That’s ok for me, this time. Paying jobs are a different story. The only bummer, is that there were so many great outfits & models and as a result, some missed the cut just due timing. That’s life right.
Anyway, here’s what I’ve put together for your viewing pleasure. My hope is that it will communicate the great efforts put forth by the UofA students and all of those that made the University of Arizona Fashion Week 2026 a great success! Congrats on a great job!!
Best wishes, Kevin
