These past couple of days I’ve been congratulated over and over again on being one of the faces in the ‘Shot on IPhone 6s’ campaign. Therefore, I decided to go ahead and share the story behind the picture (instead of retelling it each time). Before I jump into the tale, I would like to thank Zeynep Ozdener, the photographer behind the photo. Also, I would like to give her a resounding “CONGRATULATIONS! You Did It!!”.

It all started one positively freezing Saturday morning in Philadelphia. Prior that week, Zeynep and I had agreed to meet up for a shoot. Therefore, when the time came, I grabbed a couple of outfits, jumped in my car and sped away for this shoot. The place for the meetup was Strawberry Mansion (I know, not the best neighborhood….*nervous laugh*) near the Dell Music Center. Mind you, I have never been in this area. Ever.

Of course, being the explorer that I am, unfamiliar territory did nothing to deter my coming. With GPS in hand, I drove up to the designated parking area, where I saw Zeynep waving at me. Excited that I had found the location, I drove into the parking lot, which was a VERY steep incline. This was when I heard an awful screech/scrape. Let me tell you how I am not a car person but even I could tell that the sound was full of impending doom. Okay, I am exaggerating but it definitely was a misfortune. As I parked, I quickly ran out of the vehicle to examine the car (as if I had the expertise to understand what would be wrong with it). There was some neon green liquid escaping my automobile!!!

Panicked, I rang my father on my cell. Meanwhile, Zeynep is trying to help me figure out this dilemma. For all my knowledge in cars, this green ominous liquid might blow up my car! Alright, I doubt it would’ve been that drastic, but hey, I have a wild imagination – especially when it comes to things I know nothing about. Anyways, my dad made me look inside the car hood and tell him the situation. Except I don’t know the situation because I have ZERO knowledge of the mechanisms found beneath the hood of a car! My poor, frustrated father gave up and said to wait for him. This decision was followed by the issue of explaining my location. My bewildered father was totally taken aback with the fact that I was in the Strawberry Mansion hood, where (by the way) he has also never been, just to take some pictures.

As I was waiting for my father, Zeynep and I decided to go ahead with what we planned. We scoped the area and took photos in various locations. Zeynep is such a comfortable person to shoot and talk with that time flew by quickly. Sometime throughout the process, I was told to stand against a red background with only my wrap/poncho.

OH MY, however did I forget to mention the absolute freezing temperature of that day. It was positively horrid. I almost froze, I kid you not.

Here is the Photo in it’s ultimate glory.

    Anyways, my father arrived and inspected the vehicle. The news was not good- I broke something (can’t remember the name of what it was) and had to get towed. Mind you, it has been about two hours since the tragic scrape and I was hungry. Zeynep kindly offered to go with/take me to Chinatown for some ramen.. (I love you Zeynep!!! *wiping a grateful tear).

A couple of weeks later, Zeynep contacted me for my info. Apparently, her photo of myself was selected to be potentially chosen for the campaign and she needed my permission to let it be released/chosen. I thought to myself, “Well that would be totally awesome if something positive came out of this whole experience”. Especially since I had to pay for the towing and car repairs. This is why I was excited to find out that the photo was chosen. Now Zeynap’s work is posted on billboards/bus stops all over the world! Who knew that such a crazy day would lead to such a crazy opportunity?

A couple of days after the release of the campaign, my friend Stefan Suchanec saw the ad in a subway in Philadelphia. So…. we decided to go and reenact the image.

In conclusion, I would like to thank everyone for their great wishes! I especially want to thank Zeynap for being supportive during my whole ordeal and for taking the photo and I would also like to thank Stef for finding the photo and for shooting the re-enactment.

Here are some quirky images Stef captured that I really liked…

For more photos by Zeynap, follow her on instagram ! If you’re interested in Stef and his work, give him a follow on instagram also!