Cherry Trees & NFTs Blossom In Wooster Square

Wooster Square’s cherry blossoms served as a fitting seasonal backdrop Wednesday morning — for a photographer aiming to turn the trees’ ephemeral beauty into immortal crypto wealth.

Eddi M. was shooting photos of his subject, Alina, on the weekday morning to grow his portfolio, including his collection of non-fungible tokens; capture the pink flowers in bloom; and bask in the confidence boosts he seeks to inspire in his models.

They are among the waves of people who are descending on Wooster Square Park this week to soak in the brief, magical moment each year when the 72 Yoshino Japanese Cherry Blossom trees (planted in 1974) emerge in full bloom, transforming an urban neighborhood into a white-petaled wonderland. (A formal annual gathering, the neighborhood’s Cherry Blossom Festival, is scheduled to take place in the park this Sunday from noon to 4:30 p.m., resuming after a two-year pandemic hiatus.)

Eddi and Alina took a break from taking pictures to promote their work and share their stories on the ​“Word on the Street” segment of WNHH FM’s LoveBabz LoveTalk. 

Though both had big plans for the remaining daylight hours, at 10 a.m. the pair were able to find presence and peace in Wooster Square Park, where rosy blossoms were blowing in the wind and blanketing the sidewalk.

“If you’re not confident, you’re not feeling good… there’s no point,” Eddi M. said of the portrait sessions. 

While Alina was honoring the 4/20 holiday by making plans to get stoned, snack, explore the natural environment and lose track of reality, Eddi M. was brainstorming how to pair crypto and cannabis in order to stay on course in building his NFT business.

After preparing portraits of Alina, Eddi M. had two more photoshoots scheduled — and intentions to blast his followers’ social media feeds with digital art advertisements (find Eddi M.‘s work here and here). The next day, the East Haven resident would be off to Miami to photograph a whole new city scene.

Alina, meanwhile, was ready to book it to the beach in Ansonia with her best friend until sunset. ​“After this photoshoot, you’ve lost me for the day,” she said.

For Eddi M., photography is his main gig. For Alina, who hails from Meriden, modeling is a side interest.

She started posing for pictures after meeting Eddi months back at a bridal shoot, while she was casually trying on wedding dresses for her friend, the owner of Jacqueline Bridal Kouture in Wallingford.

As Alina was advertising the notion of perpetuity through white gowns, Eddi M. was pondering another form of forever — blockchain art.

He offered an elevator explanation of NFTs, a cryptographic token system designed to track authenticity of unique artworks and assets (learn more here) that he has started producing and collecting over the past year: ​“You sign a contract, and that contract is there forever,” he said. It’s like a house — ​”Someone can say, oh, I own this house — but when the owner comes with the paper that he owns the house, you can’t say anything. With NFTs, you own that [the art]. It’s always in the blockchain.”

But, Eddi M. added, it’s not just about bringing in some bucks.

More than making money or documenting the changing seasons, he loves taking portraits of people.

“Money is one thing, it’s like paper. But when you have another person… who, let’s say is shy or not confident and it’s their first time doing a photoshoot… it boosts their confidence. They see a different perspective of themselves. They love themselves. And that has no value.”

The cherry blossoms, he said, create the ideal environment to draw his subjects’ personalities to the forefront of his photos.

“The colors are very good,” he said of the flowers. ​“They match with black and red,” brights hues that bring out the boldness of his models.

“It’s a look you don’t get anywhere else,” Eddi M. argued — and a reason why artists and onlookers travel from across the state to see New Haven’s parks.

Alina agreed with Eddi M.’s philosophy of photography. ​“Our first photoshoot was bad — I didn’t come up with anything by myself,” she remembered. ​“He helps me a lot,” she said of Eddi. ​“He’s like, put your hand up!”

Working as a model has expanded her self-esteem, she said — but ​“I’m still a shy girl,” she maintained. 

Her favorite aspect of modeling work is getting the opportunity to get outdoors. 

“I like sunflowers,” she said, even more than cherry blossoms. The pair pose out in ​“whole fields and fields of sunflowers — he’ll have me climbing trees!” Alina said — a different kind of high.

Just as photography and the nature of human growth is Eddi M.’s passion, spending time outside is Alina’s.

“I can work all day, but when I get out I’m driving straight to the beach,” she said, grabbing a floating plastic bag out of the air and placing it into a trash can.

“I love nature. That’s kind of like what I do.”