Nicc, Mills to Downtown

The Mills district in Orlando is the kind of neighborhood that gives a shoot its energy before you even lift the camera. The murals there are bold and unapologetic, a female figure in red and yellow on black, a cartoon monster in purple and pink, the solid orange wall of a building that needs nothing else. Nicc had just bought his car and wanted it in the album too, and the windshield reflection of clouds and palm trees against the mural backdrop turned out to be one of the more quietly interesting frames of the day.

The shoot moved between the loose color of Mills and the stone columns and bronze sculptures of downtown Orlando, where Nicc changed into a tan suit with a blue tie and pocket square and the whole mood shifted. The laughter in front of the abstract swirls and the stillness of the suit shots are essentially two different portraits of the same person, both accurate.

Nicc was a good friend during the Orlando years, easy to work with and comfortable in front of the camera in a way that makes the whole range of a shoot like this possible. You can see it in both halves.