Seances, Squids & Soldiers

Hello Lovelies~

I hope you all had a wonderful, relaxing holiday season. Mine was hectic and fun and over too fast! I have a lot to share with you this week. In the photography arena, I am done with Red Army #2. Only 2 left to go! I also played around with some new filters and techniques to create a sort of wood grain portrait of the same model. I love the moodiness of it. What do you think?

And, I just did some holiday portraits for a client I wanted to share. These wee ones were so cute and so photogenic, it was a pleasure. She was very happy with how these came out. See the rest here.

I have listed a print in the shop for the squid lovers out there. You may remember my Last One Standing portrait series for that competition that I showed you recently. Well, due to positive feedback, I've decided to offer the below shot as an archival print HERE.

Enough business, I want to share with you the best gift I received this holiday season! I am so excited about it. I have admired the work of Liza Corbett for a long time. Her softly executed portraits of women, and surreal landscapes are just spellbinding. Well, she had a show this month in California of some original work and I got one of the pieces for Christmas! The piece is seance-inspired and it's called Sweetheart Come. Take a look. (The hands and her veil are my two favorite things about this piece...)

I also took a spin through my local thrift store to take a look through their records (this is how I get all of my albums, they're so much cheaper there than at a record store). I was not disappointed. I found this classic Herb Alpert album I've wanted for awhile and a great Frank Sinatra and Friends Christmas album! Good stuff.

I would like to wrap up with a movie recommendation I recently re-watched and enjoyed immensely: Bell, Book & Candle. A campy classic starring Jimmy Stewart and Kim Novak, the movie follows some witches as they get up to mischief and Kim Novak's character eventually gets Jimmy Stewart to fall in love with her. Pretty pedestrian fare, but the outfits, the sets, the Zodiac Club, and the whole witch angle were wonderful. Take a gander if you need a movie to curl up to some night.

Until next time: unpleasant dreams...

Holiday Treats...

Hello Lovelies!

I hope all is well for you out there. I also hope if you celebrate the holidays, you have all your ducks in a row in that regard and don't have to dash out to the mall at the eleventh hour to get a gift for your Uncle Remus. Haha.

I have been so busy this season with commissions and orders (yay!) that we didn't even get a chance to decorate. But, much celebrating will be done with family and friends, so that's what it's all about anyway, right? I have another shot in my Red Army series to unveil next week (still working on it), but another handsome man looking stoic. Remember the first shot?

I just have to share this photo with you all. I have a gaggle of very cute nieces and one spent the night last weekend. She loves strawberries like they're candy. So, I came down the other morning to see her devouring an entire plate of them. I snapped this shot and posted it, and was promptly told by my friends and fans alike that this shot from a distance looks like a wee dismembered holding a strawberry. And... it kind of does. Take a look. Ha!

Speaking of the holidays, what are your top 5 wish gifts this season? Take a peek at my top 5, maybe it will spark some after-Christmas shopping ideas of your own.

1.) Diana F+ Camera 2.) Watchmen: Portraits 3.) Costume Party print - Emily Martin - Inside a Black Apple 4.) Tattoo-it-Yourself cards 5.) Demeter Fragrance - Gin & Tonic

Have you guys heard of the movie The Artist that just came out? I just read about it today on Slate and I am intrigued. The imagery and cinematography are so spot-on for the period you could mistake it for an actual film from the 20's. Take a look at these stills and if you've seen it, tell me what you thought.

Until next time: Happy Holidays and unpleasant dreams...

Pilgrims & Glitter

Hello Lovelies~

I hope you are all well out there as we approach the hectic holiday season. Things here are very good... and busy. To start, I finally have photos of my studio space to share! It's coming along very nicely, only a few things to do and it will be finished (but of course I am taking bookings). Here are a few shots and the rest can be seen on my Flickr page here.

A nice sitting area for meetings and guests.

The shooting area with plenty of natural light.

I love these Asian lamps, they had been gathering dust waiting to be rewired and I finally got them all finished up and back in service!

While I was visiting home, I think I mentioned doing a portrait session for my parents. Well, those are done, and here are a few. They own all those clothes, believe it or not. Kind of explains where I come from, eh? The rest are here.

And I mentioned in the last post that I was putting some corsages together for a holiday card shoot I had been commissioned to do. Well, here are some process shots of those, as well the finished product on the clients!

Do you have artists on your Christmas list? I may have found the answer to your gift-giving needs this season. The multiple book lists for artists on Wing's Art & Design blog sure peaked my interest. Many titles I had never even heard of, but I'll be picking up a few for sure. And that blog is worth a look-see anyway, lots of great gems there.

What is your favorite holiday movie and why? I want to hear them, Friends. I love, love, love Rankin Bass movies, so Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and Santa Clause is Comin' to Town are two of my favorites. I love the corny songs and the stop-motion animation no end. I also love another movie many wouldn't think of watching at Christmas-time: Gremlins. I mentioned it last year, and I'll mention it again, it's hilarious holiday fun. Come on, give me some movie ideas!

This behind the scenes shot from Santa Clause is Comin' to Town is the bees knees.

"Hi! I'm Mickey Rooney and I'm much cuter as a puppet!"

Until next time: unpleasant dreams...

Red Coats, Green Trees...

Hello Lovelies~

I hope this week finds you all doing well out there! So much to share as usual over here. To start, I moved into my brand new photography studio over the weekend and after much cleaning, organizing, hanging and decorating, it's ready for business! I will take pictures this week and post them for your viewing pleasure. It's going to be such a great place for creativity and commerce, I can tell!

In other business, I have finally finished the first shot in my Red Army mini-series. This series is a personal project that subtly shows the true power behind the man (or in this particular case, boy since his Mom kissed his cheek). More fun uniforms and striking men to follow!

I am doing a holiday portrait shoot this weekend for a couple and I decided to make custom boutonnieres to dress up their suits and give them some extra flair (because I'm all about the personal touches). And in the course of gathering materials, I found this amazing listing on Etsy for a huge lot of beautiful vintage corsages from VelvetFinch! Look at them all, you guys! So shiny and beautiful. I am all about accessorizing men in my photography with vintage and/or fresh flower boutonnieres and these are just great. (Too bad they are way out of my budget...)

And speaking of great photography (hehe), I have discovered yet more great vintage circus photography in color via The New Yorker that I just have to share. This work is by Sverre Braathen (an attorney by trade), who traveled with the circus in the 40's and 50's in his spare time, chronicling circus life. I think the colors and the people and his composition (especially that man flipping in mid-air without any blur), are on par with the greats. And of course, the subject matter is also intriguing. Follow the link for more images.

We're going to wrap up this week with some strange and disturbing art that I just have to share. As you know, I like taxidermy, I even own some. But I find the work of Les Deux Garçon completely disturbing and in many ways, wrong. Why? Because they put animal pieces together like they're toys and they put a dog head on a teddy bear body. That's why. However, I guess from an execution standpoint, it's beautiful. I could see it both ways. Here are some examples, what do you think, Faithful Readers?

Until next time: unpleasant dreams...