Narrator: The art of seeing is such an extraordinary sense.

As photographers, the pictures we take are expressions of reality... ...painting with the light and the shadows.

We have come to re-envision the Caribbean islands.

The Bahamas offer an eclectic palette of young, talented artists.

Two photographers are at the heart of the Nassau creative movement, and it's all emanating from an island at the center of this vast archipelago.

♪♪ ♪♪ When one thinks about the Bahamas, images of island life and tropical ambiances come to mind.

On the island of New Providence, inn the heart of the Bahamas, is Nassau, the capital of over 700 islands and keys.

I moved here when I was 11 years old, and when I thought of the Bahamas, I just thought of palm trees, coconuts, island living.

And when I actually moved here, I got to see that it's actually a city.

It's the capital of the Bahamas.

Nassau is the hub, Nassau is the the big city.

And there are many types of Bahamians who live in Nassau.

And culturally, it's a melting pot.

Damianos: There's so much going on.

It's kind of leading the way out of all of the islands in the Bahamas in the fashion and entertainment industry.

Lightbourne: And, so, even though we're a small island, right, the city is small, compared to Miami or New York or Toronto, it's just as diverse.

So you get this massive melting of different types of cultures -- the way we speak, the food we eat, the way we dress.

Narrator: It's here in Nassau that artists, musicians, and photographers, Robyn Damianos and Scharad Lightbourne find their inspirations and muses.

I started out modeling in Milan for "Vogue" magazine about 20 years ago.

I was very lucky in that I got to work with a few of the world's top fashion photographers.

When I moved back to the Bahamas, I brought all of that with me.

I made the decision to switch to the other side of the lens and frame my own concepts, and I was inspired by everyone that I met when I moved back here -- the designers, the models, the makeup artists, the creatives.

Narrator: But what if they had to capture their visions of the Bahamas into an image, a single frame that tells a story?

What might that look like and how would they capture that creatively?

Good question.

So the way that I'm going to bring all of this into one photograph is by telling a story, right?

Even though it's an image, there's always a backstory.

There's always a why was this person photographed?

And most of my subjects always have an interesting story.

Damianos: Scharad is amazing.

He's an awesome person and he is one of the most talented photographers in the Bahamas, in my opinion.

He can shoot just about anything.

The work that Scharad does is on an international level.

He is one of the best photographers in the Bahamas, and he inspires me.

So Bahamians are very, very interesting people.

So we are extraordinary.

We have all these different talents and skills that aren't always necessarily celebrated.

And, so, as a photographer, I want to be able to bring that out.

So when people see the people that I photograph, it makes them want to know who that person is.

They want to say, "Well, where is she from?

Like, why did he choose her?

I did not know that about this person."

And it makes us even more interesting as people.

And, so, that interest, that backstory, that extraordinariness -- I just made that word up -- all of these different things that you put into this photograph come from these threads of background and family and history and education.

And, so, that is what I put into the person or the people that I photograph.

Narrator: For Scharad's first photo, he has an artist in mind whose work is literally painted all over the city of Nassau.

Lightbourne: When I first came across Allan's work, I'm like, "This dude is like Leonardo da Vinci."

He's like a modern day Renaissance painter.

Art, for me, was always something natural.

When I say natural, I mean, like, I grew up seeing it around the house.

My uncle used to draw all the time.

I used to mimic him.

And it's something that I just used to do.

♪♪ Lightbourne: The one thing about Allan that a lot of people may not understand is he so unaware of his talent.

He'll act, "Uh..." He's the kind of guy he's like, "Allan, this is amazing."

Like, he'll take salt, he'll take ink, he'll take dried leaves outside and create portraits and scenes and anything that he puts his mind to.

He can literally take any thing, anything and make it a masterpiece.

♪♪ ♪♪ Narrator: For Scharad, there is a period of planning before even a single frame is shot.

Deciding the location to photograph Allan was just as important as what he might wear.

Lightbourne: So we're in Allan's studio.

So this is his environment.

This is his world.

This is where he gets his inspiration to create the work that he does.

So I wanted to shoot him in his own studio because I wanted his world to be the backdrop.

♪♪ I wanted him to be seen in his own environment.

So what I plan to do is immerse him in his own environment, maybe juxtapose some things here and there.

And I really want a very strong portrait of the artist.

So I don't want Allan to think of, okay, we're shooting in my studio.

I want him to -- when he sees the final image, he sees who he really is because Allan never sees who he is, right?

So I want to come into his world.

I bought a few of my own studio elements here, so I'm going to interject and insert them where I see the composition coming together and photograph Allan really where he can't -- He won't see it until he sees the final image.

"Is this what people see when they see me as an artist?"

Right?

That's what I -- That's the goal.

That's the goal today.

♪♪ Narrator: For Robyn's photographs, she intends to bring her extensive knowledge in the fashion industry and tie that with the culture of the Bahamas.

Robyn's work is effortless.

It's this really cool combination of island flair meets New York Fashion Week.

Damianos: I had always been interested in fashion photography, and I just really love to create images that use the beauty of the Bahamas as my backdrop.

Lightbourne: She has this amazing ability to pull in so much of the colors of the island with the fashion that she's photographing.

She always pulls in to the fact that we live in New Providence on this beautiful island surrounded by beautiful beaches and water.

And she pulls it into her work.

Like, it's so immersed in her work.

And she sticks to that.

She's really got a great eye for marrying the two.

Damianos: To frame my concepts, I wanted to create a high-energy image that captures the excitement and the talent of the people who I've met since moving to the Bahamas from Australia so many years ago.

I'll be working with Theodore Elliott, who is a fashion designer here in Nassau.

So when Bahama Hand Prints approached me to do a collaborative collection with them for last season, obviously Robyn was the photographer of choice.

Bahama Hand Prints, they do these beautiful tropical designs.

They're very unique and well known in the Bahamas.

Elliot: The entire collection and what you'll be capturing in this photo shoot is what I'd like to refer to as the essence of the Bahamas, the essence of the islands.

When I was coming up with this collection, in my mind, I really thought, you know, this is the label of the Bahamas.

His collaboration with them was so inspiring.

I loved the patterns and the colors.

The whole concept of Bahama Hand Prints is the colors of the Bahamas.

Obviously, we are very blessed to live in one of the most beautiful places in the world.

Narrator: Robyn is meticulous at thinking through everything that will be inside the frame of her photographs.

With her fashion background, the fabric and the pattern are extremely important to the story she wants to tell.

As I look around, there were a lot of other prints, but ours were so unique.

Ours was in the unique process and category because it depicted what we were all about as Bahamians.

We depicted a sea life, a culture, and Bahamian gardens, we depicted our islands.

And that itself, it just gave me the love to do this more and more and more and more.

As I say, he really is the heart and soul of this business.

He understands it.

He knows it.

He eats, sleeps, and breathes it and he has a real passion for the colors and the brand.

Williams: I have a vast knowledge in screen printing and embroidery, so there's no turning back.

This is my lifestyle.

It's like a lifestyle to me.

And, so, I love this and I will continue to do it.

Van Onselen: Les will print, on a good day, hand printed, he will do about 240 yards a day.

So that would be... Yeah, he really -- he can move.

Narrator: For Scharad's next portrait session, he felt the need to go in a different and unique direction.

I did this weird survey on Facebook like two years ago where I said, "Tag some extraordinary Bahamians or tag Bahamians who are doing incredible things, whether they lived in the country or outside the country."

I wanted to know who they were.

And, so, a lot of people were tagging this Aisha Bowe.

I'm like, "Who is Aisha Bowe?

I've never heard of her."

And, so, I Googled her and NASA came up, engineer came up.

All these big words that I couldn't pronounce came up underneath her name, and it made me more curious about who she is.

And as I read, the more and more things that I came upon, in my mind, I'm like, "This woman is brilliant, right?

She's a brilliant, brilliant woman whose background is something that typically is dominated by men."

If you would have told me 20 years ago that I would have a career in engineering, I would have thought you would have been mad.

As someone who started their degrees in aerospace engineering with pre-algebra in a community college, I've always been fascinated by what people can do if they're challenged to think more of themselves than what they've been told previously.

And she, you know, she's a little bit of a fashionista and she's stylish and she's beautiful and she's got great skin and great hair.

And, so, it's like this complete package.

I love when it's more than just on the surface.

♪ I'm right beside you ♪ ♪ Good or bad ♪ ♪ You know I got you ♪ Lightbourne: The look, right?

The dress.

Aisha's dress is being made by Ria Smith, who's a Bahamian designer.

In fact, the entire team is comprised of Bahamians, and that's really important to me.

So you'll see, like, the hair and the makeup and the dress and shoes and everything.

The whole team is 100% Bahamian.

And that's again, like I said, that's that's really important.

And the dress is definitely going to be the main feature of the shoot.

So the location is the Bahamas' Clifton Heritage Park.

It's a protected park.

It's on the most western side of New Providence.

Beautiful, beautiful area.

But there's one particular area.

I photographed there tons of times, but every time I photographed there, I've always gotten something different from it.

It could easily be seen as from another planet, right?

The way that I would photograph her and the way that I plan to light her, I think that it's going to give off this almost like, "Where are they?"

But when we put her in her dress and position her on these rocks, it's going to be out of this world.

♪♪ ♪ I know it's hard, but we got to try ♪ ♪ We can't let this... ♪ So the way that I would portray Aisha's strengths is through the way that I see her, not the way that she sees herself.

And, so, I always -- I think one of my strengths as a photographer is to be able to bring out something in somebody that they don't necessarily see.

♪♪ ♪ Diamonds in the dark ♪ ♪ We shine, shine ♪ ♪ Like diamonds ♪ ♪ Shining, shining, yeah, yeah ♪ And that's the beauty of portraiture, right?

When you shoot a portrait of somebody, you capture their image or their likeness, and when the public sees the image, it makes them more curious about who the person is.

So, my vision of Aisha is this strong, powerful, brilliant woman who's done incredible things and is super smart and has been in the aeronautical field and space and just all these different things that I think of when I think about her.

And, so, I'm going to try to create this image where she is seen as a figure of strength, right?

A figure of -- When I think about engineering, I think about gears and metal, and so, all of that is playing into how she's going to be styled, her hair, her makeup.

And when people see the final image, especially where we're photographing her... ♪ Shining, shining, yeah, yeah ♪ ...they will see how all of that stuff that I described about Aisha, how all of that is going to play into the final image.

We are going to be shooting at Compass Point Beach Resort, which is located on Love Beach.

It's one of my favorite beaches here.

It is spectacular.

There's a ballerina named Courtney Spears.

She's with Alvin Ailey in New York.

And she recently signed with Wilhelmina, which is one of the top modeling agencies in New York.

And when I saw her pictures, she just really, really inspired me.

I knew that she would be able to give us the movements and the image that we were going for.

I like to do all things that are about creativity and expressing yourself, and it all kind of stems from my love of my country and my home and the culture that has been instilled in me through my family and my roots.

Damianos: For the makeup, I wanted to keep it simple.

We went for a very natural look.

My friend, Gayle, did the makeup and she was amazing.

Courtney's natural beauty shone through, and all we did was add a pop of blue-colored liner to connect her with the blues in the background of the image.

We had a bit of a rough start in the morning.

It was a little overcast and cloudy, but luckily enough, the sun came out and we were able to head down to the beach.

Nassau has a lot of history, and one of the biggest events here is Junkanoo, which happens once a year.

Narrator: Every year after Christmas, the streets are packed to celebrate Junkanoo, which consists of parades, live music, and features ornamental and exotic costumes.

Damianos: When I first moved to the Bahamas, I was captivated by Junkanoo.

So much energy and so much creativity.

They have so much passion.

Narrator: Junkanoo is a major part of Bahamian culture and history.

Today, the festivities are just as lively and eagerly anticipated by Bahamians as it was by their enslaved ancestors.

Imagine an entire island coming together to celebrate their colorful heritage in a late night street party with goatskin drums thundering into the early morning.

Now, that is Junkanoo.

♪♪ So, combining the history and the culture of Junkanoo with a fashion shoot, I feel like it was a new idea that we could attempt and see how it went.

I connected with a Junkanoo artist named Jolene, and she designed this beautiful headpiece.

The focus of the headpiece was the Bahama Hand Prints fabric, and from there, we added the feathers and the traditional themes from Junkanoo.

So, we started off with a few portraits, just, you know, to warm up because me and Courtney, we hadn't shot before.

So this was a chance for us to get to know each other.

And I took her aside and we started working on just a few closeups and finding her angles.

She quickly picked up my way of guiding in posing.

The overall feeling that I get from the image is it's very uplifting.

It's a happy image.

It's bright.

The colors represent the happiness in the Bahamas that you feel when you're here.

♪ Can you show me what I've been missing?

♪ Narrator: Robyn and Courtney change locations for a different look and feel... ...until they end up on a picture perfect Bahamian beach.

Damianos: I try to let my models do what they do naturally and be themselves, but I'll also give little tips like, "Your light is here.

Let's move a bit this way.

Shift to the left."

You know, all the little tips that can help them just adjust slightly to give that extra power in the image.

So, after the portrait, I wanted to focus on some full-length shots that would showcase Theodore Elliot's pants.

And we had amazing light.

Even though we started late, we were still able to work with the natural light.

The colors were popping.

They were so amazing against the background.

We had blue skies, turquoise water.

The sun was amazing.

The model looked amazing, the pants looked amazing.

Everything came together.

Courtney is a dancer, so her natural movements come out through dance.

Who she is comes out through dance.

And we wanted to capture her moving.

So I asked her to be herself and show me what she felt as a dancer.

How did she feel in the clothing?

How could she make them move?

She blew me away.

She was incredible.

She is so talented.

Everything came together.

What I wanted to create was this powerful image full of energy.

It had to be uplifting and positive.

I wanted my model, Courtney, to soar into the sky and soar into the future in the way that Nassau, New Providence, is leading the way into the future out of all the islands in the Bahamas.

♪♪ ♪♪ ♪ Hey, Mami, you ♪ ♪ No matter what we goin' though ♪ Damianos: Her movements are so graceful and so powerful at the same time.

She was able to create these dramatic movements with the pants.

We did a few twists.

We did a few turns.

She was jumping.

She was leaping.

Her movements and her gaze, everything came together perfectly.

She brought Theodore Elliot's pants to life.

The final image is spectacular.

♪ Baby, you're not alone ♪ ♪ A different kind of love ♪ Culture, I think, comes from the people.

And it's our stories.

It's our experiences.

It's our history.

Damianos: I'm so happy with how the images turned out.

They're exactly what I pictured and I couldn't be happier.

Lightbourne: Photographers are -- We are iconoclasts.

We're historians.

We're educators.

We're storytellers because we take in all this stuff, and when you live in such a cultural place like Nassau, and as an artist, as a visual artist, I feel that it plays into my work.

Damianos: She brought the colors and the patterns from Bahama Hand Prints to life.

The makeup was perfect.

She was natural and beautiful.

She was herself.

But she create-- She brought it all together in that she gave the image the energy it needed.

If you had photographed the product just by itself against the ocean and the sky, sure, that would have been beautiful.

Courtney is the one that brought it all together in that image.

♪♪ I'm so, so happy with how it came out.

She is leaping above the ocean of the Bahamas up into the sky.

She is soaring and there's so much energy.

♪♪ Narrator: For Robyn and Scharad, this is more than just art.

They are dreamers, and their dreams are of a young Nassau that is sending waves of talent and energy around the world.

Nassau is soaring, and here is the proof, captured forever by these dreamers.

The only remaining question is, how high will the creative Nassau fly?

♪ I'm right beside you ♪ ♪ Good or bad, you know I got you ♪ ♪ Brick by brick, side by side ♪ ♪ We'll find our way ♪ ♪ Find our way in this crazy world together ♪ ♪♪ ♪ And if we stay focused ♪ ♪ Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah ♪ ♪ With her eyes wide open ♪ ♪ Yeah ♪ ♪ Nothing can stop us ♪ ♪ They said we'd never get this far ♪ ♪ But here we are ♪ ♪ Dance ♪ ♪ No matter how they try to stop our shine ♪ ♪ We wake the whole world up with our light ♪