Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Killer Jello...

Hello Lovelies~

I hope you are all doing well out there! A ton to share as usual. To start, I hinted about a new shoot last week and it is finally done and posted! This mini-series is entitled Everything's Alright Here and it features killer jello and crocodile smiles. You can see the rest of them here. I would like to send out a special thank you to Susan at North Star Vintage, who rented some of her vintage clothing to me for this shoot even though she usually just sells it. She's wonderful, stop by her online shop if you get a chance.


And while we're talking photography, I have finally gotten around to putting out a price list for sessions in my studio! (Link here.) If you are local, or are traveling to Maine this summer, feel free to drop me a line if you're interested in a sitting. I have more tricks up my sleeve than most and I can honestly say, whether I'm making a man wear tights for a lucha libre shoot, or giving a scythe to a child, everyone has a great time and comes back for more!


Oh! And more exciting news! My Sweetie has been wanting a tattoo for a really long time and over the weekend, she finally went for it. And never being one to do things halfway, she got a huge piece featuring Bela Lugosi on her upper arm. It came out amazingly. If you're in Maine anytime soon, or if you're local, Chad Chase at Venom Ink Tattoo in Sanford is a truly amazing tattoo artist. He specializes in horror and portraiture but he does a ton of other styles. Plus, he's a great guy. Thanks Chad!


And let's wrap up with a cool product I found last week that I wanted to share with you Lovelies: the gun blow dryer. Yes. That's right. It's a blow dryer, shaped like a gun. I found it on this site. Apparently, they aren't being produced yet, but when they are, I'll be the first in line. What a morbidly funny appliance, don't you think?

That's one way to get those tangles out...

Until next time: Unpleasant dreams...

Monday, May 23, 2011

Bowling You Over...

Hello Lovelies!

This is going to be a long one, my Dears. There's a lot going on here. First, I have some new work to show you hot and fresh from the studio! Here are a few of the shots from my Shriner Bowling Team series. We had such a good time and so many laughs, these boys were great. It's shoots like this that make this so much fun for me. Find the rest on my Flickr stream here.


We've had literally weeks of rain up here, but Saturday, I went down to Boston for the day and the sun was out all day long and I snapped this shot called Star Spangled Banners. I just listed it in my shop. Perfect art photo for summer!


I just shot yet another mini-series last weekend that I know you'll love. I will give you a hint, it involves the 3 things below in some way. Can you guess what the series is about??? Give it a shot and post your guesses here. I may give something to the person whose guess is closest to the idea.


And speaking of going to Boston, I actually went down just to see the Elegant Enigmas: The Art of Edward Gorey show at the Boston Athenaeum. Wow. I was blown away. The level of detail and pure creativity I saw was truly unparalleled. Gorey combines the ingenious lingual turns of Dr. Seuss with the unique imagery of Salvador Dali in my opinion. It's like nothing your eyes have ever seen probably. If you live close, I highly recommend checking it out. It closes this weekend. Great stuff.


While we're talking about artists, I wanted to introduce you to Alan Plowdrill's work. Alan is a photographer and he does work that I adore. He has a great eye and a great sense of humor and I want to be his friend. Check out his portfolio, especially his Pipe Up, Shut It, and Tashmen series. It will make you laugh and your eyes will like it. (Especially that dummy down there...)


And speaking of dummies, I'm going to wrap up with this epic photo I found in the LIFE Archives the other day. There really isn't much to say about it, except it's hilarious, oh, and it's my worst nightmare come to life.

Never turn your back on a dummy (or a clown for that matter).

Until next time: unpleasant dreams...

Monday, May 16, 2011

Shriners with Shiners...

Hello Lovelies~

I hope you are all well out there this week! We've been having a wet spring here in New England, which is great. (It makes me feel like I'm not missing much when I'm shooting in the studio on the weekends.) As promised, here are the latest shots, entitled Shriner with a Shiner (yes, those are parakeets), and Crazy Band. These were so much fun to do, the model was great and the outfit was drop-dead. I just listed them for sale in my shop if you like crazy things (which, if you're here, you do).


I just did another wonderful shoot this past weekend that I will share next week, so prepare yourselves, I'm cranking them out these days!

My Lovely and I just spent two wonderful days at the Brimfield Antique Show in Massachusetts, digging through boxes, climbing into tents and haggling with dealers and it was a ton of fun as always! I found some amazing pieces I'll be using in future shoots, as well as the loot pictured below. (I am getting those dark framed glasses converted into sunglasses for summer. I've been looking for a neat vintage pair for years and I'm really excited I found some!) More pictures on my Flickr page.


I just found an amazing artist: John Frame. He is a sculptor and stop-motion animation director who is making a film called The Tale of the Crippled Boy, a feature-length piece comprised of vignettes. His work is beautiful and amazing as you can tell from the stills below. He is taking donations to help him finish the project and I gave a little. If you like what you see and want to see the film finished, you may help out here. Amazing work.


Speaking of amazing, have you heard of Lisa Swerling's Glass Cathedrals? Wow you guys, she's neat. She takes little people and puts them into little worlds and then makes profound statements. It's been done, but never this concisely in my opinion and the little people are almost heartbreakingly wee down there. Take a peek, good stuff.


Until next time: unpleasant dreams...

Monday, May 9, 2011

Shipwrecks, Closets and Shriners...

Hello Lovelies~

I hope you are all well out there. Things here are crazy busy, but going really smoothly. (Which means a lot of work is being produced in a short period of time and it's all looking really good!) As promised, here are some of the shots from the sexy shipwreck shoot I did last weekend. You can see the whole series on my Flickr page. I want to thank the entire team of people who helped me and the models for being such troopers. It was a pleasure.


And here's a teaser for the shoot I just did this past weekend. I found a wonderful vintage Shriner parade outfit on Ebay and I couldn't pass it up. The outfit inspired the shoot and I think this one is going to blow your minds.


And speaking of mind-blowing photography, I discovered Eric Schaal via Etsy's Craft + Style Blogosphere post this past week. Schaal did a ton of work for LIFE Magazine among many others, and all of his work is compelling, but it's his Experimental Housing Storage photos that really amazed me. When closets were coming into vogue in homes of the 40's and 50's, LIFE commissioned Schaal to document as many as possible via scale models and real home photos. The results pop with Kodachrome hues and are deliciously voyeuristic. Take a look:


And speaking of amazing photographers, Celeste Canino does some amazing conceptual work that I've been enjoying. She seems to have some really fun clients who let her play with bright colors, over the top personalities and cutting edge concepts. She also uses a ton of different approaches (black and white, filters, hyper-saturation) depending on the project, which I admire. Peep it out:


Let's wrap up with some funny news, shall we? We all know the royal wedding was a huge deal, millions of people were watching and there was a lot of pressure to get everything perfect. Which is why it's hilarious to me that apparently, a very young bridesmaid snuck a "Wiggly Worm" into one of the group shots. Best. Photo. Ever.


Until next time: unpleasant dreams...

Monday, May 2, 2011

Sexy Shipwrecks...

Hello Lovelies~

I hope you are all doing well out there this week! I have been a very busy bee here lately. I'm particularly excited about a shoot I did on location for a client this past weekend. I don't want to spoil the surprise (because much work still needs to be done to prepare those shots), but they came out beautifully. I think you'll thoroughly enjoy them.

Here's a hint:


I have more exciting shoots over the coming weeks, so stay tuned!

Have you heard of the work of Alan Wolfson? It's amazing stuff you guys. He does very detailed sculptures of urban scenes in New York and elsewhere; subway cars, strip clubs, convenience stores. He uses photos of the actual sites for reference and his attention to detail is so amazing, you can't really tell a well-photographed piece of his work from the real thing. Check it out:


And while we're talking about great artists, let me introduce you to the work of Matt Sartain. His Misadventures series in particular caught my eye recently. It's comprised of almost cinematic quality photos that all but force you to make up a narrative to accompany them. (My favorite is that French nobleman in the mask gesturing to the hot air balloon.) I mean, really? It's beautiful, amazing stuff.


I would like to wrap up by recommending a documentary I had been meaning to see since I saw it mentioned on Lost At E Minor's site: Marwencol. I finally had an opportunity to see it and I was really moved. I don't want to spoil the story, because it's a good one, by turns hopefully, funny and heartbreaking. Suffice it to say, it had a strong affect on me and you should take a look and let me know what you think.


Until next time: unpleasant dreams...