COCO ROCHA: POWDER PLAY
By Jessica Conatser

In this round of Milk Made Photo Stories, we celebrate Photographer James Houston’s completion of his latest photo series, Natural Beauty – debuting at Milk Gallery April 23rd.

From nailing the first shot all the way to accidentally walking off set with green hair, top model, Coco Rocha and Houston share their personal experiences with us on what it was like to capture the “Powder Play” image for his project in support of Global Green USA.

Coco’s Story: “Working alongside James Houston and Zanna Roberts Rassi is always a pleasure and I’m very proud of this whole project. The pigment used in my shoot literally turned my hair green for a day following, but since it was for a “green project” it was all worth it. It’s a privilege to be part of this “Global Green” project and it pushes me to think about what else I can do. I hope that those who have the chance to see it will leave inspired and want to do what they can to make the world a greener place too.” – Coco Rocha

James’ Story: “Working on a project this large is like shooting a massive magazine issue. I am constantly thinking about new ideas and the overall vision. I was looking at a lot of nature shots for reference and inspiration and happened to come across an exploding pollen tree.. Sounds crazy! I’d never seen one before but loved the image and idea.

When I finally got to shoot with Coco Rocha I wanted to use this concept as I knew she was an incredible mover and bright Indian Festival powders on her body would help illustrate the movement and energy she brings to set. We started with one color and the first jump she did ended up in the book. That is the jumping image you see here. As she continued to jump and move we added more and more colors. By the end she was literally covered head to toe in powder like she had been in an actual Indian festival.” – James Houston