Pepper’s Mustang shoot inspired by Joan Didion…

 I’ve been meaning to start blogging for the longest time, and this shoot finally gave me the nudge I needed to begin.

As a photographer, you often find yourself capturing what’s needed — family milestones, business portraits, fleeting moments just for memories sake. But every now and then, something different comes along. Something that reminds you why you loved doing this in the first place.

This shoot was one of those.

Pepper reached out to me wanting portraits of herself with her new baby — not her child, but a car. A brand-new, and very sleek Mustang.

The inspiration? She’d recently read — or in her words, inhaled — a biography about Joan Didion and Eve Babitz. Two brilliant, and complicated American writers known for their work (and friendship) in the '60s and '70s. The book stirred something in her. If you're a reader, you’ll know the feeling.  That connection to a world so real on the page it spills into life.

So, she bought the car. Not for status, or practicality — but because it made her feel something. It made her feel like she could channel the spirit of a young Didion behind the wheel of her '69 Stingray.

And maybe you're thinking: okay, that's cool... but so what?

Well to me, this was everything.  It knocked the wind out of me.

It felt like the perfect contrast to the passive, scrolling world we’re so used to. We consume so much — content, ideas, inspiration — but we rarely stop to think about how it makes us feel, or what we want to do about it or what can we add to it.

Here was someone who not only felt something but followed that feeling. She let it move her!  That’s living. That’s art.

The act of standing beside that Mustang — a homage, or a nod to Didion — was more than just a photo op. It was a gesture. A little rebellion. A way of saying, this means something to me, and I’m going to honour it.

And honestly, witnessing that? Capturing it? It was exciting! It reconfirmed to me that photography isn’t just about documenting moments — it’s about witnessing people come alive in their own story and continuing to create their legacy.

So here I am, finally blogging, because this shoot made me feel something too. And I wanted to share it with you. Now I am off to read a little more Didion and/or Babitz…