Rest In Peace
I’m not really sure how to start this, so I’ll just say it. Melissa passed away last Sunday, July 17, after some complications with what we all thought was a very minor lung cancer. She was not just my former boss, but my adopted-by-her big sister, and loosing her hits especially hard as it happened way too soon.
I met Melissa in 2009, when I moved to LA after graduating from a Photography School on the East Coast. We’ve worked together since then, and I owe her more than I could possibly ever repay. I think a big reason that a lot of you are here on this site, is her brutal honesty in regards to the photography industry, and the fashion world specifically. There are not many people who are willing to put everything out there in order to help others, and she was one of them.
During this past decade we’d been through the best of times, and some hard times as well. I think this is just the way of life for any artist who makes their craft their career. That being said, having a friend right there to share support for each other is invaluable, and I hope each and every one of you has a bond like I had with Melissa in one way or another.
She liked to joke in more recent times that she couldn’t do a shoot without me, but the fact is that she taught me far more than I could have ever hoped to learn elsewhere, and my technical knowledge or ability to figure out a new camera or lighting system was more or less irrelevant at the end of the day. It’s the vision that matters, and she always saw hers through. I could probably go on for thousands upon thousands of words telling you all the stories from all of our shoots, workshops, international adventures, and late nights slamming whiskeys, but I think you’ll just have to ask me in person for that should we ever meet, at least for now.
What I will say is that she would hope that all of you continue to follow your passion, just not at the expense of your happiness. She loved fashion, photography, and fashion photography, but at the end of the day and as she said many times, “we’re not saving the world with pretty pictures of pretty clothes.”
I’m sorry that it took a full week for this post to go up, because you all deserve to know, but such is life. I want to thank everyone, from both Melissa and myself, who’ve been following along whether you are an OG from the FP Blog days, or a recent follower of Breed. Your support means a lot to all of us who work on this site to share our knowledge and help each other grow, and she truly loved sharing with you both through writing and in workshops.
All I ask for now, whether you are a member or casual follower, is for a little bit of patience while we figure out what the future looks like for Breed. Myself, Melissa’s Husband Matt, and Mr. Robert Trawick will be figuring out some business related things in the coming weeks, but it is going to take a little time since everything happened so quickly. I know you guys all hate commenting on blog posts, but I think this would be a great place to share with each other in the comments any fond memories you have from time spent with Melissa, any stories about how her writing or instruction helped you out on a shoot, or just whatever else might come to mind. In the near future we will work out another way to ask for your thoughts on where you might like to see Breed go in the future, as we really do this all for you. I’ll also go ahead and put it out there that at some point in the future we are looking to put together a retrospective show, book, or both, of the work that Melissa dedicated her life to.
So grab a drink, pour one out for her, then pick UP that camera and go shoot.
Bonus points for whiskey and Tri-X.
Thank You,
Tyler
“You can see the stars but still not see the light.” - MR