When I first started collaborating on photoshoots in the streets of Melbourne, I didn’t imagine it would lead here. Not to a photo book. And definitely not to the cover of a magazine like MILKD. But here we are. And it feels surreal in the best kind of way.
The team at MILKD recently reached out. They had seen The Melbourne Portraits Project and wanted to feature it in their first-ever issue. I didn’t know much about the magazine at the time. But the moment I heard their vision, I knew it made sense. MILKD isn’t just about fashion or trends. It’s about edge. Culture. Energy. It’s about celebrating the kind of creativity that refuses to stay quiet. That’s exactly what this project has been about from the start.
A Moment of Reflection
The article they published is called “A Testament to Resilience, Creativity, and the Power of Collaboration.” It’s more than an overview of the project. It’s a reflection. It talks about why I started walking the streets with my camera. About the need to keep creating during a time when everything felt uncertain. It speaks to the people who trusted me. The models. The artists. The everyday strangers who showed up and stood still long enough to be seen.
I remember those early shoots so clearly. We didn’t have studios. We had alleyways. We didn’t have perfect lighting. We had reflections, shadows, streetlights, and neon signs. We worked with what the city gave us. And somehow, that made it all more honest.
The Cover That Captures It All
The cover image is one that still stops me when I see it. Jesse as a fallen angel. Soft tulle around her. Flower crown. Gloved hands. Wings that look a little worn. MILKD called her our “slightly fallen angel” and I felt that. It captured the essence of the project. Beauty that isn’t polished. Strength wrapped in softness. A quiet kind of defiance.
The article doesn’t try to explain everything. It doesn’t tie things up neatly. And I love that. It lets the work speak. It honors the silence between words. The spaces between images. That’s where this project was born.
Still Unfolding
I didn’t set out to make a photo book. I just needed to keep shooting. To feel connected. To keep moving forward. Somewhere along the way, the city became my studio. And the people I photographed became the story.
Seeing it all come together in MILKD’s first issue feels like a moment worth pausing for. Not because it’s finished. But because it’s still unfolding. The magazine captured that feeling perfectly.
To every person who stood in front of my lens, thank you. You helped shape this. To the team at MILKD, thank you for giving the project a home in your pages.
And to any model, designer, or creative reading this, if you’re looking to create something honest and powerful, I’d love to collaborate. Contact us and let’s tell your story next.
© Paul Tocatlian. All Rights Reserved.
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