Nicholas Mendise took me by surprise. I fell fast and hard for friendship with this consistently charming, unapologetically talented and refreshingly unusual character.
He makes me laugh until I fall out of my chair, and then I laugh a little on the floor.
He can go a whole week without sleeping if it means completing a project he is passionate about.
Nicholas takes beautiful pictures with romantic technology like polaroids with instant film. He handcrafts all props and sets and treats every image that slides through the camera as if were the most important photograph he may ever take. (And with what it costs these days he really better!!)
I spent one long year with Nicholas in Savannah. Every Monday and Wednesday we met at 8am for gossip and soy cappuccinos. We brought notebooks and inspiration journals and planned our shoots for the rest of the week, and when Sunday arrived, spent the whole day playing with hair and makeup and pictures and props and taking the pictures that will always and forever remind me of the very beginning of our friendship.
Today, he is living in NYC styling photo shoots with handmade props, shooting freelance photography (look for him as a featured contributer in next month’s issue of NYLON) and every now and then, picking up my calls.
So much love for this kid: www.nicholasmendise.com
And by the way- look at the spreads below! If you can’t view the text, the credits read:
Photography Astrid Salomon
Styling James R. Rosenthal
Make-up Thorsten Weiss
Hat Design Nicholas Mendise
