Serendipity

As the undoubted metaphor of the course of her life, this chilly Sunday morning was exactly the same. Joy is enjoying her favorite drink -espresso macchiato- in a dreamy café. Tall windows enlighten the white wooden panels on the floor in this old gallery that has been turned into an urban jungle at the heart of the city. It breathes authenticity, down to earth with a tranquil mood: exactly as Joy Berdina’s pictures do. And there they meet again, as old friends that run into each other: serendipity. Valèrie Pasker walkes in. When she beautifully smiles at the waitress, the sunlight catches her pureness, as does Joy’s eye. When Joy gets up -grabbing her business card from her purse to hand to Valerie-, she smiles for this desirable discovery.

Life is but a compilation of experiences and life lessons. Joy tries to implement each and everyone’s story in a picture. These settings that’s she creates, breathe sensuality but are also close to nature as she adores natural light and always a hint of dreaminess. Her inspiration: her longtime friend serendipity. Joy’s life has been a course of (mis)fortunate discoveries by accident. Ever since Joy Berdina was a little girl, she was busy with photography. After working in the fashion industry for a while, she decided to take the step in becoming a fulltime photographer. An option she was never aware could become a career.

In terms of planning a shoot, by experience Joy knows that the connection between photographer and model is key. Joy enjoys a clean, relaxed setting that exudes calmness, freedom and openness. Working with natural sunlight only, she doesn’t plan her shoots in detail. Joy solely works with an intended atmosphere in mind and then just goes with the wind. As this shoot was a perfect example of such: at the first attempt a buffalo blocked there car on the road and when outside, pouring rain came down. At the second attempt the weather was beautiful. The sunlight formed dreamy shadows of the trees in the sand. The sunshine gave a perfect reflection on camera. The combination of a barefoot Valerie on the undiscovered beach near Joy’s hometown, created the perfect serendipity.

Valèrie Pasker (18) was only eight years old when she was scouted as a model and since then, has done a lot of photoshoots. With a very distinctive face, exuding youth but also timelessness, she also radiates cheerfulness, curiosity and compassion. A perfect resemblance of her personality, that has brought her to her modelling career. With years ahead of her, this is only the start of Valerie’s modeling career.

Photographer – Joy Berdina
www.instagram.com/joyberdina
www.joyberdina.com
Model – Valerie Pasker
www.instagram.com/valeriepasker
Text – Nadieh Pennings