Sun-Dappled Dracula & Other Things...

Hello Lovelies~

I hope you are all well out there. Things here are per the usual, very, very busy and very, very good! Whew. So much to share! To start, I am showing my CLUE series during the month of September at Elements in Biddeford, Maine. I am very excited about this show, mainly because of the venue. For those not familiar with Biddeford, trendy, hip, fun places are sorely lacking in that area and this cafe really brings a wonderful place to have meetings, do work or just enjoy a beverage. I love the entire vibe of the place and the people who run it, so when they asked me to show something, I enthusiastically agreed! If you're local, check out the work and the space and support a great local business!

Most of you know about my artistic work because that's what I like to hi-light here. It's more interesting at times to document that process than it is to share my lifestyle photography and styling, but really, that's what the bulk of my client work consists of. Recently, I had to put a tear sheet together to present to a couple of potential clients to show them what I can do and I realized that I like doing this work just as much as my artistic projects. Why? Because it's easy to make people look amazing in costume, but it's an altogether different animal to make people/life look amazing in a journalistic, "shoot it as you find it" way. I am always working to make my lifestyle work more distinct and signature as well as breathtakingly beautiful (no pressure). Haha. Here is some of that work now:

But I can't resist sharing those conceptual, artistic projects too and I shot the next two pieces in my Rein It In series this past weekend. Some process candids from that shoot are below. We're adding an Asian Bond Girl and a Vampire to the mix this go around in an effort to create the most diverse set of models possible for this series. What a blast this was. I think the quote of the day might have been when my Asian model got a look at herself in a mirror all done up and said: "Wow. I look really Asian." Hahaha. No, really? Goodness. I will post those next two shots very soon!

This vampire quite enjoys the sun, it seems...

All work and no play is very boring. So, I took a day off and grabbed one of my favorite little girls and we had a beach day! Taking a child to the beach is a totally different experience and I had a really good time. We met some friends and built sand castles (not very successfully: getting that sand to the right consistency is harder than it looks), had snacks, they went swimming and we laughed a whole lot. I'm really starting to dig this Maine beach thing...

Until next time: unpleasant dreams...

Cool Drinks, Warm Nights...

Hello Lovelies~

I hope this week finds you all doing well out there! I have been very well and so very busy with wonderful things I can't wait to share! To start, I have many things in the works, but I just finished a fun client project that I think you'll enjoy. These photos were for a Lyme's Disease Awareness website. The client wanted to convey a sense of strength and hope to her followers while also putting a fun twist on things. (Putting a fun twist on things is sort of my speciality, so of course, I was delighted to help!) This was also the first time I'd ever photographed 4 dogs at once. All that energy. But it was such fun. Take a look at the results. I think we did just fine, don't you?

I am getting ready to go to the Brimfield Antique Show this coming weekend and that means a ton of great new STAG things! So, despite the heat (it has been so warm up here, you guys), I listed some great new things to clean out the product queue a bit. Included in the latest product drop is: a novelty shrunken head(!!!), a great handmade lucite woodland decor piece with owls in it, a 1940's Bussman Brand lamp and a Mid-Century Modern trivet with some great fish on it. Take a look... and there's plenty more where that came from!

As I mentioned, it has been quite warm up here for Maine and I can't complain. We've had so much rain and that sun made for a beautiful 4th of July weekend! I spent it enjoying friends, walking on the beach, sipping cold beverages, putting my feet in the ocean, petting cute dogs, listening to some new records I've found and painting with glo sticks. Yeah, you heard me, painting with glo sticks. Once we found out they were non-toxic, my artsy friends and I decorated an entire driveway with glowing craziness and it was better than fireworks. Here was my weekend in pictures:

There is a great restaurant and independent movie house up here in Maine called the Frontier Room and it's my new favorite place. They have great food, but more appealing to me are the movies they show that you can't see anywhere else. Over the weekend I watched Blancanieves, a spin on Snow White involving bull fighting, silent film with text cards Charlie Chaplin styles and poison apples, dwarves, a wicked stepmother and more. I wasn't honestly expecting much, but I was blown away. So beautifully filmed and so noir. If you have a chance to see it, do. For me. Hahaha.

Plus, there's a gypsy wagon, and fireworks and also a cute dwarf...

Until next time: unpleasant dreams...

Cold Beach, Hot Cowboy...

Hello Lovelies~

I hope this Monday finds you all doing well out there! Things here are busy as usual. So much to share.

To start, my Westworld shoot is finally done and posted. Some of the shots are below, and the rest can be found over at Behance. This was such a fun project in so many ways. To start, it allowed me to put my own spin on one of my favorite 70's-era science fiction movies. Then, I got to work with a great crew and one of my favorite models who always brings his A-game even when it's 20 degrees out. We braved some runny noses, ice, finicky equipment that froze, and a dark, dirty coal furnace to get these shots and everyone nailed it, I think! I hope you enjoy...

Speaking of projects, I believe I mentioned starting another large-scale project a few posts back? (A project on-par with my Zom-B-Vex, Venomous Vixens and Cigar, Creeper & Dark pieces.) Well, the new series, which I've entitled Modern America, is inspired by the paintings of Norman Rockwell. Few know that Rockwell's paintings were in fact based on photographs he styled himself, so it's only fitting to take those paintings back to the photographic medium, I think. I will create 12 or so final works, based on his paintings, but I am giving each a modern twist by addressing issues, dynamics and aspects of modern life that in many cases, didn't even exist in his day. I shot the first piece over the weekend, and I will post that next week! Keep an eye on this series, it's going to be good, I think.

We had yet more snow over the weekend, but that didn't keep me from getting out to the beach and enjoying the misty pre-snow weather. It's quite meditative being out there: watching the waves and the sea gulls. I'm very lucky to be able to drive 15 minutes and be at the beach: it's one of the benefits of living in Maine, for sure. And I also found this strange piece of metal out there that was all beautiful and rusty. I have a little curio cabinet that I put beach things in and I added this to the collection. I hope it was off of a boat from somewhere very far away...

Until next time: unpleasant dreams...

Beaches, Zombies & Pretty Summer Dresses

Hello Lovelies~

I hope this week finds you all doing well out there. Things have been very busy over here in the Mill and I have a lot to share with you as usual! To start, I am finally done with my most recent client work entitled Beach Blanket Brain-Eating. What a great project! I was told to combine the Coppertone Girl with a pinup and to add a twist, like maybe instead of a dog, we could do a zombie. Well, I took that direction and ran with it and the results are below! I like to say it's The Birds meets Beach Blanket Bingo, meets Night of the Living Dead all in BRIGHT! VIBRANT! Technicolor! Haha. More shots can be seen here and some behind the scenes shots are here and the company that made the prosthetic we used featured one of my photos on their website HERE. Good stuff.

And here's your weekly reminder regarding my CLUE opening at the Masonic Lodge in Portland, Maine. Here's a link to the open and public event on Facebook, and here are the details: Friday, September 7th 5-8pm 415 Congress Street. Be there, or be square! (More importantly, I think there may be food...)

Over the weekend, I went out junking to get fresh things for the STAG shop (because things are literally selling left and right over there) and I scored some great man-related items that I will be listing very soon. Including one of these; a vintage leather fly lure case with some vintage flies inside. Pretty neat stuff.

But while I was out and about, I stopped by a new vintage clothing store in town and picked up a couple of things! Including the two vintage dresses below, a couple of other vintage dresses and a blouse, a couple of things for Stag and best of all, a pair of wing earrings that I adore (modeled by my Sweetie in this pic).

We rounded the weekend off with ice cream in the sun, Amy in one of her new dresses + an old classic truck, a visit to the local cigar shop and a cigar at dusk and best of all, my Monster Old Maid cards came in the mail! I love them. So fun and weird. I adore summer, don't you?

Here's to long days and hot nights.

Until next time: unpleasant dreams...