Quiet Snow & Geishas...

Hello Lovelies~

I hope you are all doing well out there as usual! Things here are going splendidly. A lot of different projects that stretch my photographic skills across the entire gamut; artistic shots, lifestyle shots, lifestyle shots that need to look artistic. I love the process and appreciate the opportunities!

To start, I am doing an exciting collaboration with one of my favorite makeup artists to enter a top secret competition next year. These are makeup-centered shots that push the envelope with techniques and execution. (I'm just there to make her look good photographically. Haha.) So, we're giving it our all and hoping for the best! Here is the first shot of the series that I'm calling Snow Geisha. This is my first time working with this model, but it won't be my last. I love her look and despite the fact that she's Native American, we were able to tip the scales to Asian with makeup. I hope you like it!

I have also dropped a ton of new things over at STAG this past week! Some of the items are pretty cool this time around, including this great 1970's wallpaper with gold backing, men's leather train travel slippers in a leather case, a wack-o merry-go-round cake kit and the cream on top: a rare set of 4 sake glasses that have nude women in the bottom of them. But only when you fill them with liquid! Stop on by and peep out the goods if you like vintage, or if you need a unique gift for someone!

Oh! And I wanted to share this amazing purchase I made recently with you Kiddies. I am not a big clothes person and I really like shoes even less. If I shop a couple of times a year, that's a good year for me. I just don't have the interest. But, when I saw these boots, I literally bought them immediately. I had to! They're so me: masculine and practical with a feminine touch. I can't wait to get them, I'll show you a picture when I do!

And I have found an amazing photographer - CGI man whose undersea series I wanted to share with you: Andreas Franke. Heard of him? No? Well, a quick trip to that website will give you a taste of the amazing. But, he did a series (and may still be shooting it), featuring underwater shipwreck photography, paired with images of the people who might have walked the decks back then! Mad men, fighters, lovers, people from Marie Antoinette's day, which doesn't even make sense, but who cares? Beautiful and fun imagery. Take a look:

And I am getting ready to start a huge personal project that has a lot to do with this guy. That's right: Norman Rockwell. It will probably take me all year (if not longer), to execute all of the shots I have in mind, but when it's done, it will be on par with my Zom-B-Vex, Cigar, Creeper & Dark Circus and Sideshow and Venomous Vixens projects. I can't wait to start!

And this is probably how he would have reacted to what I'm getting ready to do...

Until next time: unpleasant dreams...

Mommy?!

Hello Lovelies~

I hope you are all well out there! Things here are busy, busy as usual. A lot of interesting projects in the works and in production that I can't wait to share. But, for now, there's this amazing client project I just completed! A friend and client approached me to do her maternity shoot. I've worked with her on several of my own projects and she has a great sense of humor and an amazing personality. She wanted me to create a series of maternity photos for her that were funny and fun, not traditional. So, we did some brainstorming and came up with these. I call this the MOMMY?! Series. More here. Funny, aren't they?

And I was out this past weekend digging through some junk shops to find more great Stag items for you boys (and girls) who love vintage out there! I found some great things I will be listing soon, and also this little guy. Yeah, that's a wee stuffed alligator. His face and teeth make me laugh. I'm still not sure I'll be able to part with this particular item, he's keeping my other taxidermy things company right now... maybe soon. And you, dear readers, will be the first to know!

And speaking of weekends, I actually had a pretty good one! I spent half a day junking (one of my favorite things to do, quite frankly), with a very good friend. We found this amazing vintage skull patch that I thought looked great on the green, wool military jacket she was wearing, so we snapped it up and I worked my magic sewing it on. She was delighted with the results! (I love taking old things and making them useful again, even if just as adornment...) Then, a friend came over and we cooked up some soup and drank this wine, the label of which was photographed by Dean Bradshaw, an amazing photographer who I've followed for a long time. In fact, it was the label that made me get this particular brand (that's how everyone makes these choices, right???) and it ended up being pretty good. Then, I wrapped up my weekend by going for a long run around our Back Bay Trail (3 1/2 miles) in the freezing, windy, muddy cold. I loved it! I love the challenge of running outdoors in inclement conditions: it empties my head out and brings it back to the basics. Good stuff, you guys. Life is swell.

I have found a great photographer whose work I wanted to share with you this week. Andrzej Dragan is a photographer whose work I just happened upon recently. Well, I take that back, his name, I happened upon. His work I'm familiar with. He did the iconic image of Christopher Walken (below), and the series of aging stars that I love, including Marilyn Monroe (also below). Even his regular  portraits have an intensity and focus that I find fascinating. Check out his page, it's eye candy galore!

It's cold and flu season out there, so it's only appropriate to wrap up with this vintage ad for Listerine. Now, I don't know what the ad said (the copy is missing), but it says it helps with sore throats. I can't even imagine how it would help with that. Gargling? With Listerine? Really? Yikes (and yuck). That's like the myriad uses Lysol had back in the day that give me the heebies and the jeebies. Regardless, great illustration!

Until next time: unpleasant dreams...

Meanwhile...

Hello Lovelies~

I hope this week finds you all doing well out there! A lot of projects going on behind the scenes, so this will be a week of cool things I've found and want to share with you all! First, some teasers for you. Any science fiction fans out there? Anyone like 70's sci fi as much as I do? Well, if you do, you may recognize these movie stills. One of the projects I'm working on involves this movie.

And I have been hired this month to do a ton of what I call Chapters in Life shoots. What are those? Births, Engagements, Maternity, etc. One client wanted to put a funny spin on her maternity shots, soooo, we're doing this idea. Sort of. Just wait... it's going to be amazing with a capital "A."

I found a beautiful photo book that I wanted to share with you. It's called American Beauty and it's full of portraits of women in America today beautifully photographed. Now, granted, most of these women are wealthy and friends of the photographer's, but I think this is a project that could be done with strangers as well. I find portraits and short bios of a cross-section of American life to be a fascinating thing. But, until then, there's this upper-crust version to feast your eyes upon...

Any Dads out there? There's a great new magazine called Kindling Quarterly that's just for hip, modern daddies. The photography looks great from what I can tell and the articles are interesting too. They're actually printing this one, it's not just online like so many mags today, so if this peaks your interest, you can click that link and subscribe! Good stuff...

I'm sure most of you know there's a new Great Gatsby coming out this summer starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Carey Mulligan, but have you seen the trailer?! Wow. I wasn't planning on seeing it, actually. But the trailer made it look beautiful and emotional and relevant. It was directed by the same person who directed Moulin Rouge and Romeo + Juliet and his style sort of brings a sense of heightened drama and modern relevance to fairly traditional literature. I think he's done it again with this one. See the trailer here.

Until next time: unpleasant dreams...

Eye-Candy-Filled Year in Review...

Hello Lovelies!

I hope you are all doing well on this fine New Year's Day! We have had some wonderful winter weather up here in Maine that's totally put me in the mood to brew up some coffee, get under a blanket and read a good book. But we all know I can't sit still for long! So here are some of the things I've been working on lately and other things I've found that you may enjoy.

First, I was reviewing all of the wonderful projects I've had the pleasure of shooting this year and I felt extremely grateful to have the chance to work with so many great people. I decided to do up a little collage of the top shots and put out a message of thanks for a great 2012 and the hope for an even better 2013! (Whew, when you look at them all together, it's a lot!)

Also, in the STAG arena, I continue to list top-notch, vintage items almost weekly for you men (and women) of discerning taste out there! This week's haul includes a ton of great ties, a rare Naval Realm of the South Seas (crossing the Panama Canal) certificate in a vintage frame and all of the great things below. Good stuff, always!

And now, on to all of the great eye-candy I've found for you Kiddies! First, I found the Boston Public Library photo archive via one of my favorite blogs the other day, and about 3 hours later, I reluctantly pulled myself away to be more productive! What a fascinating library of images. My particular favorites are the images in the 'Amusement' folder, of course. The images below come from that folder, in fact.

And if you're in love with vintage black and white images like I am, and if you're familiar with Pinterest, then do I have a board for you! Photobooth Love has a ton of great, vintage images of famous and not-so-famous folks mugging for the camera. All those happy faces and the lighting in the old booths both, are amazing. It's also a mini cross section of American history featuring people from all walks of life, just living. Enjoy!

Let's wrap up with an amazing little piece of paper ephemera I would give my eye teeth to own. I found this deck of cards via And Everything Else Too, a great source of fantastic vintage. Dandy Candy is absolutely chock-full of 1950's candy imagery (eeeks!) and the backs are also adorned with some one-color little illustrations and don't even get me started on that box! Great all around. Take a peek and then swing on by that great blog and peep out the other great things...

Until next time: unpleasant dreams...