Cheers! 5 Years!

Hello Lovelies~

I hope this week finds you doing well out there! This is a milestone post for me. Why? Because with this post I have been blogging here at Stapelia for 5 years. That's a good long time for a blog to last and so many things have been shared with you loyal readers. During that time I: started an art print business, a photography business and a vintage men's goods business, I have had my work published in The Huffington Post and Laughing Squid, I have collaborated on over 200 conceptual photography projects, I got an actual photography studio and my work has grown by leaps and bounds! This is a perfect time to take stock in my progress and I am very proud of all I have accomplished with the help of some pretty amazing people. Most importantly, I still love doing it, so here's to 5 more!

Speaking of business, there's so much to share this week! I mentioned last week painting that parasol for that children's hospital out in Seattle. Well, that is done and is winging its way out to the West Coast and I am really pleased with how it came out. Take a look. Fun, huh? I hope it adds a bit of cheer to that space and helps them raise funds for such an amazing place.

And I mentioned last post that I had found an amazing piece that I would be offering very soon in STAG. Well, I finally had time to take some shots of it and here it is! This is a vintage Sportsman brand bird hunting coat in amazing condition. This coat weighs a ton and it is fashioned out of rubber and heavy suede with a liner. Those buckles in the front and the name, really give it some great touches. Why is the coat so heavy? No clue. But I suspect it's to protect the hunter from bird shot, which is amazing. Such a neat piece and it can be yours very, very soon.

I am all about neat old pieces this week. A friend recently gave me this amazing vintage doctor's bag that her father used for years as a veterinarian. So much history here and yet the bag still looks great. I cherish this piece, so I decided to restore the leather and brass fittings to make it into a neat shelf piece. I've gathered all the necessary tools to make it pretty again, now I'll get to work. I'll take a shot when it's done.

This past weekend, I went up north to a small town called Monmouth, to see a good friend perform in Doubt. The show was amazing, and I had wanted to see the inside of that theater for years. It is absolutely beautiful inside. Roughly 100 years old, this theater and library were built in literally the middle of nowhere for the people in Monmouth and neighboring towns. The craftsmanship and architectural details were astounding for a space in such a rural area. Wow. People really valued craftsmanship in everything they did back then no matter the location. One of the many reasons I adore old architecture. Take a look at some pics I took.

And speaking of beautiful, here are some pics I took of a beautiful sunset I saw when I was down at my studio in Saco the other evening and also some pretty, fresh flowers. Such a rarity this time of year. I love them.

And speaking of vintage beauty, I want to wrap up with an amazing company I recently discovered that makes gorgeous vintage-inspired signage of all kinds. I found the Sideshow Sign Co. via Pinterest and I was blown away. The website, the fonts, the construction by hand of all these beautiful signs, I was in heaven looking at it all. Some people really just get it. They get great aesthetic, they understand craftsmanship, they maintain a consistent level of quality. This company gets it. Take a look at some examples of their work. Amazing.

Until next time: unpleasant dreams...

Halloween Rain...

Hello Lovelies~

I hope you are all doing well out there this week! As usual, a whole bunch to share over here. To start, I was recently hired to do a new baby/family shoot for a lovely group of people. We took a quilt out to a beautiful local park and started snapping away. I think we got some really good shots and what a fun time we all had! (Goodness, I think photographing babies is my new favorite thing to do.) Take a look:

And, this month is The Stapelia Company's 5th anniversary! Can you believe it?! I scarcely can, myself. So many wonderful projects and opportunities during that time and I'm busier than ever, which is so good. To celebrate Stapelia's birthday every year, I shoot, design and print Halloween cards for clients, friends & family. (I'm way too busy at the holidays to send out Christmas cards, and I like Halloween much more, so it's my way of connecting with the people in my life through my work in a personal way.) Well, this year's card went out last week and I believe most people have gotten it, so here it is! (Also now available as a fine art print on Society6.)

I went to a wedding this past weekend way up north for some very dear friends of mine. What a beautiful day we had! And all of the guests stayed overnight in these beautiful, modern cabins right on a lake. Perfect autumn experience all around. I don't take my camera along to events like these, even just to get candids, especially if they've hired a wedding photographer. I find I have more fun if people don't know I'm a photographer. Point is, I didn't get any pictures of the day, except this shot of the wedding bouquets I took with my phone. Now, imagine all of those beautiful colors and textures multiplied a hundredfold into a full-blown wedding and you'll have some idea of how wonderful it all was! I wish them both nothing but happy years ahead...

The rest of my weekend consisted of doing fun Fall things like listening to ghost stories at Portland's Victoria Mansion (an historic mansion in the area that's beautifully ornate and was gas-lit for this particular event, which made for a creepy good time) and carving pumpkins! This year, I wanted to try a new idea out which involved inserting a gourd inside a pumpkin like a skull and then making it look like the pumpkin was blowing open to reveal the skull inside! It was a lot of work, but a friend and I managed to do it after several false starts. (Tip: definitely get doubles of everything for mistakes... Hahaha.) Take a look! Whew. I love Fall so very much.

And this car was just parked in Portland right by those beautiful fall trees, so needless to say, I had to take a picture!

Until next time: unpleasant dreams...

Meteors, Beaches & Summer's Last Month...

Hello Lovelies~

I hope this Monday finds you all happy and well out there! Things here have been so busy and so good, I hardly know where to begin.

To start, I have been working away at my secret project and I shot piece #5 in that series this past weekend. It went so well and the shots look so good. I am very excited about how this project is moving along and I can't wait to unveil the first 5-7 pieces this Fall. I am truly grateful to have so many people who are just as excited to make great work as I am, it really shows. Here are some candids from last weekend's shoot! (Yes, I was juggling dogs, kids and a vintage car, but we made it work.) Take a look:

I am in love with this Edsel station wagon. Truly.

As I always say: The beauty is in the details with my work. These pennants added a vintage vacation vibe to my latest shot.

The boys in costume and ready to go! So fun...

I just did a huge clothing drop over at STAG as well. Some nice, summery shirts as well as some long-sleeved early Fall flannels and even some bow ties. It really ran the gamut this week! I even dropped a jacket from a South Carolina State Hospital. (What does that even mean? I don't know...) Stop by the shop for all of your vintage needs, Gentlemen! More to come very soon...

In an effort to enjoy summer here in Maine, I have limited my work days a bit so I can spend time with friends, outdoors or even at the beach. This weekend was the first beach day I've ever done! I've walked by the beach, I've rolled my pants up and waded in, I've sat in the sand, of course. But to swim in the ocean or lay out? Never. It was such fun. Just relaxing and enjoying the sun on my face. And then I visited my good friends and picked some vegetables from their garden, laughed and ended the night watching for the Perseids meteor shower with a cigar and a glass of scotch (I've resigned myself to the fact that I'm a 55 year old man trapped in a woman's body... hahaha). It was such a perfect weekend, you guys. The last month of summer is shaping up to be a very good one.

Then there was this mossy mandible in the woods. That sounds like a Nancy Drew novel...

Orb Spider.

Then we smoked cigars like old men...

Kitten in a sweatshirt (she kind of liked it)...

It's been awhile since I've featured another photographer on here, and a friend just introduced me to the work of Iain McKell and I was blown away. In particular, the work in his book The New Gypsies caught my eye and held it. Much of this series looks like a National Geographic spread from the 70's: editorial, kodachromatic with that soft, warm focus. Normally, work like this doesn't interest me. I like work that does more than capture a moment, I like when it creates one. But here, as you flip through, a moment has been created. A wild, ancient, egalitarian, nomadic, fringe culture moment has been created and it's beautiful. Take a look:

Until next time: unpleasant dreams...

Double the Fun...

Hello Lovelies!

How are you all doing out there? Well, I hope. Things here are busy and also very good. Spring is just around the corner and the weather is finally giving us a break. (Not that winter weather kept me from shooting all season, but my models appreciate this break in the temperature. Haha!) So much to share!

To start, I have finished and entered my Double the Fun series into the portrait section of the Photoville Fence Project out of New York. I think I may have mentioned, I decided to photograph sets of twins for this contest and I put my own twist on it with the introduction of party things to formal portraiture. I hoped it would bring out personalities, and it did. This series became unintentionally tongue-in-cheek and I really like it. Here is the entire series in a layout and then a couple of close-ups.

And because I thought they were so cute, I made a couple of GIFs of the twins with the confetti and those are below. You can't tell here, but one of those girls really thought confetti was hilarious and I guess it is, come to think of it... Fun stuff.

What else? Oh! The next behind the scenes video of another one of my shoots has been put up. My Last Ones Standing series was the subject of this one and I think my videographer Jessica did a great job of capturing all the tiny details that make my photos unique and perfect. Such beautiful work she does. A huge thank you to her and to the entire crew for helping with that project. I have also added a video page to my portfolio if you'd rather follow along there: PORTFOLIO. One centralized place for all good things...



Last Ones Standing Shoot from Jessica Beebe on Vimeo.

And speaking of good things, this past Sunday was my birthday! What a wonderful day it was. I started the day off right getting kisses from my friends' baby who's 4 months old. She's one of my very favorite things. Such a sweet girl. The weather was beautiful and warm, I spent the day doing the things I love with some of my very favorite people and I got a ton of flowers and books. (Both of which I enjoy immensely.) It was a perfect day and I am so very lucky. Take a peek at some shots from the day below... Delicious, aren't they? I have a feeling this coming year is going to be a very good one.

Until next time: unpleasant dreams...