Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Memorable Memorial Day...

Hello Lovelies~

I hope you are all doing well out there! I have so many things to share, this is going to be a long post. To start, my Clue book just went live today on Blurb. I received my copy last week and it's beautiful you guys; hard cover, full color, fun extras. This is the first of hopefully many books I will be offering. If you are interested, you may order your copy directly through Blurb at the link below (you may preview some of the book there as well). Pass it along and spread the word if you have friends/relatives you think would be interested!


Clue by Jessica Beebe | Make Your Own Book

Over the long holiday weekend, I flew out to Minnesota to visit my old college roommate and meet her kids and do a mini-shoot and some sight-seeing. What a good time we had! I photographed her kids throughout the weekend to catch them candidly. I really love shooting kids, they're so natural in front of the camera most of the time. Here are some of my favorites, such sweet babies:




We also visited the Spam Museum while we were out and about. (For those of you not familiar with Spam, it is processed lunch meat in a can that tastes like ham... kinda.) They take Spam really seriously at the museum, but of course, I think most of the visitors were judging it a bit in this day and age of organic, locally grown, hormone-free meats.



Speaking of organic and locally grown, we also visited a beautiful, vibrant farmer's market while I was there. Wow. Fresh produce, meat and eggs, baked goods, flowers, and even pickles! It was the first one I'd ever visited and I was amazed. I couldn't stop taking pictures, here are some. My favorite is this farmer and his wife who grow raspberries. So sweet and iconically American.






After I got back to Maine, we celebrated Memorial Day yesterday by going to a local park and having a picnic. The weather was gorgeous: a perfect summer day. The Lady's Slippers were in bloom all over the place and we hiked by the beach and just soaked it all in. A great season to live in Maine, you guys.




Well, that about wraps it up, tons of eye candy for you this week, eh? Oh, I'll send you off with this amazing vintage shot I found recently with the following caption: Max Schulze pours cocktails like the LZ-129 Frosted Cocktail (gin and orange juice) and the Maybach 12 (gin, kirsch and Benedictine) in the bar between the smoking room and the airlock on the German airship Hindenburg. Because of the highly flammable hydrogen on board, no one could leave the smoking room with a burning cigarette, cigar or pipe, and Schulze's duties included monitoring the airlock door. 


Oh, to live back in the day of Zeppelins, eh Lovelies?




Until next time: unpleasant dreams...

Monday, May 21, 2012

Pinned & Catalogued...

Hello Lovelies!

I hope you are all doing well out there. Things here are busy with a ton of things that are still under wraps/in the works. But soon, I will reveal all. In the meantime, I have finished laying out and putting together a book of my Clue shots. Once I receive my prototype copy and make sure all looks okay, I will put it up for sale via Blurb. It's a beautiful book full of little facts and photos: hard cover, dust jacket, full-color, 20 page art book professionally printed and shipped. I can't wait to show it off!



Speaking of amazing work, I recently stumbled upon an ad campaign via Lost in E Minor for the MASP Art School in Sao Paulo, Brazil. It depicts famous artists being dissected like frogs in a biology class and their insides are done in the style of each artist. Pure genius. Not only is the execution top-knotch (they're green, they're dead looking and they look exactly like the artists), but the idea is eye-catching and inspiring. I love it.




What else? Oh, this work by Kate Baylay is also amazing. Spindly and unsettling and anchored by some amazing imagery and line work, her pieces remind me of the illustrations done by Harry Clarke for Edgar Allen Poe's Tales of Mystery & Imagination. I love when I see imagery that isn't derivative at all, that's rare. And when I look at this work, I can't make heads or tales of it initially for that very reason: it's completely fresh. Great stuff.





Oh! And if you're afraid of heights, you may not want to watch this next video. Holy smokes. This circa 1938 video shows men washing the windows on the Empire State building. Fascinating (and terrifying) footage as it appears they didn't use scaffolding or those elevator platforms back then. Nope, they just tethered themselves in and leaned way out. Ugh. But neat.



And let's wrap up with this amazing photo via Black and WTF (a blog that has a ton of old black & white photos that are simply unexplainable). The caption reads: 1952 - Two Los Angeles policemen and a skeleton named "Mr. Statistic" attempt to warn drivers about traffic fatalities during Labor Day weekend. People really weren't subtle back then, were they? That is a straight up skeleton... Still, some pretty amazing imagery.


Until next time: unpleasant dreams...

Monday, May 14, 2012

It's a Wrap!

Hello Lovelies~

I hope you are all well out there. A lot to share as usual. To start, I have finished and posted my entire Clue series (including some fun candids) on Flickr and of course, Facebook. All of the shots are now available as fine art prints in my shop as well. More importantly, I am in the process of designing a small fine art book of the entire series that I plan to make available via Blurb when it's complete if you're interested in the entire set plus some history and candids. I will announce that when it's up and ready. I have gotten very positive feedback on this series so far. Thank you again to everyone who helped.




As I mentioned last post, I made my annual trek to the Brimfield Antique Show this past weekend. It was a blast as always. The weather was perfect and I found some great items both for the house and for future shoots. I am also planning a new little venture in the coming months, and you may see some of these items there soon! The rest of the haul can be seen here.

This was actually a late birthday gift from my parents. They know I love Shriner stuff. All hand-lettered and amazing...

This beautiful, strange and sultry painting was $12! I love her.

Some beautiful vintage formal vests and a tie. These will be used in shoots. They're coming back into vogue and you can't find them anywhere anymore.

Swim trunks, also for a shoot.



Speaking of vintage goodness, have you heard of Nadine Boughton? She calls herself a photographer, but her most recent work is actually collage. She combines pulp adventure covers with Better Homes and Gardens and various other idyllic living magazines to create funny and fresh imagery. Each one makes me laugh a little on the inside. Check them out!





I'd like to wrap up by showing off two photos I found at Brimfield. This first one reminded me so much of Alfred Hitchcock standing among cherry blossoms I had to look twice. Yes, it's somewhat out of focus, but I still adore it.


The second photo has a funny story behind it. My Sweetie and I were looking through a booth, and she picked up a mirror with a nude girl on the back of it. The man running the booth said: "Oh, you girls like interesting stuff, huh? Check this pile out." He handed us a stack of great vintage pin-ups and risque items (all harmless and quite funny by today's standards). My eyes lit up when I saw this snapshot taken of a canvas sign on a tent for a carnival burlesque show! I scored it for $1 and a little piece of history is mine.


Until next time: unpleasant dreams...

Monday, May 7, 2012

Clues for the Clueless...

Hello Lovelies~

So much to share, and it's all good stuff! To start, I am posting the big Clue project bit by bit this week on all my sites starting with the characters today on Facebook. The murder scenes will come out as the week goes on, so follow Facebook or my Flickr feed for those. Below are some of my favorite shots. I made them sort of look like game cards with a 50's twist. I had a blast shooting this series, and I want to send a huge thank you out to my models, my hair/makeup people, my costumer, my assistants, Blue Elephant Catering for allowing me access to the space, and of course the Masonic Lodge for also allowing us to get into mischief in their space.






What else? Oh! The huge Brimfield Antique Show is this week in Massachusetts and I will of course be going at the end of this week. You may remember some of these past scores if you've followed the blog for awhile. You never know what you'll find and it's a blast digging through junk, people watching and enjoying the spring weather outdoors. This time, I am on the prowl for specific items for upcoming shoots, including: Vintage men's swim trunks, women's cat eye sunglasses and rare costumes. Wish me luck, you guys!




Any of you out there have hip little kids who love temporary tattoos? Or do you yourself like temporary tattoos? Well, say goodbye to those cheap convenience store snakes and fairies and hello to Tattly! Designed by artists, Tattly temporary tattoos make you look hip and cool without a permanent commitment! There are tons of different designs from which to choose and of course, if you don't like it, you can scrub it off... These are some of my favorites:





I want to wrap up with a great shot I found recently on Pinterest. (Yep, I'm on there too: HERE.) I don't know why this photo is so captivating to me, but it is. This shot is by Henri Cartier Bresson, a master French photographer who took lifestyle shots much like Diane Arbus. But what I love about his work are the compositions, the eye for where things are in the frame, the light and the selective focus. Do you know his work? Do you have a favorite?



Until next time: Unpleasant dreams...