Le Désert Fleurit by Rachel Aust

19 year old Rachel Aust started photography about two years ago, whilst in her last year of high school. After that she went on to study for a Bachelor of Photography at Queensland College of Arts at the beginning of 2010, but that was a venture that didn't last long: "- I dropped out of the course after 8 months of not being taught anything new," she say, adding: "- University wasn't for me, and I only started to consider fashion, beauty and editorial photography my niche less than a year ago, so that's what I've been working at." Up until now Rachel has shot a handful of lookbooks and campaigns for local brands, and had an editorial published in Brisbane based ninety-two Magazine. Today she's going international in large scale for the first time of her career, having her first Ben Trovato Exclusive published. Le Désert Fleurit by Rachel Aust is a beautiful story, featuring Lutèce (Dallys) and Yasmin (Dallys) styled by Kymberly Louise with fashion from Berry St, Starring Nobody, Michaela Lobb and Tom Gunn. Amiee Taylor was the MAU of the shoot, and Myke O'Halloran did the hair. Rachel tells us about the shoot and story: "- I wanted the story to show a connection between fashion and nature. The amazing stylist I worked with was able to find exactly what I was thinking, even though we had only had one meeting to discuss the shoot and some of my descriptions were as confusing as, 'I want the clothing to be structured, but soft.' I had originally planned for the shoot to be lit with flashes, hoping for a clear blue day to have the reddy/orange of the landscape against the bright blue sky. On the day, when we all woke up around 3/4am to start setting up for the shoot it was POURING down rain. We decided to go ahead anyway, and we shot through most of the day, (trudged through mud, I slipped up and down hills and we shot in the rain). The sky was grey and dull, but the girls stood out against the landscape, hence the title which translates to Desert Flowers. On the day our shoot evolved from having the girls simply 'in' nature to having the girls looking as though they were blooming 'from' nature, with the designers' garments featuring animalistic prints and natural materials. I wanted it to look as though I had merely wandered into the presence of these beings and was able to capture but a moment of their life in a still form." She says light and weather are her main sources of inspiration, and explains: "- I love seeing different ways to control and manipulate light, and I'm really inspired by finding new ways to understand, direct and disperse light. I also am intrigued by the way weather affects the human temperament, such as the cases of Seasonal Affective Disorder; how the weather can control mood. Other things which inspire me include: colors, eyes, renaissance paintings, film noir, and the work of Sølve Sundsbø and Camilla Åkrans." For the future the Brisbane based young talent wishes to do more work outside the city limits:"- In the future I hope to be able to book more jobs in cities other than Brisbane, such as Sydney and Melbourne, and eventually travel overseas to shoot, Singapore, London and New York are all places I would love to work, I feel that being able to travel would expand my aesthetic taste and help my work grow. I also hope to have a lot of my editorial work published in magazines within the next year or two." Here's Le Désert Fleurit by Rachel Aust for Ben Trovato: Credits Photography and Retouch - Rachel Aust Fashion Direction and Styling - Kymberly Louise Make up - Amiee Taylor Hair - Myke O'Halloran @ Pia Lane Models - Lutèce @ Dallys and Yasmin @ Dallys Assistant to the Photographer - Ingela Furustig Full story inside the post.