Hot Sun, Cool Pics

Hello Lovelies~

I hope you're all well out there in blog land! So much to share as usual here. First, in the business arena, I photographed a great family last weekend in the studio and I thought I'd share some shots from that. Their son Sam will be featured in a new art shot that I will be sharing with you next week. They were so much fun to work with (and their son's hair is to die for), take a peek!

If you're not from Maine, you probably don't know what Moxie is. (I had never heard of it before I moved here.) It is a soda made from gentian root which has an unusual flavor. Every year, Lisbon Falls has the Moxie Festival and they kick it off with fireworks and a parade. I went to the parade last weekend and it was wonderful! One of the best parades I've seen in a long time. I got some great shots too (see some below and the rest on my Flickr page here).

Not to send you away from this blog, but I've mentioned in the past that I do another blog with my good friend, who is a writer. It's called Phantomas. I shoot pics and he writes original works of fiction to accompany them. Well, the blog has moved to Tumblr, where all the cool kids are apparently. Be sure to follow us over there if you like old buildings, fictional musings and pretty pictures (I think you'll enjoy our romps).

Have you guys heard of Ben Strawn? His work is amazing and like nothing I've ever seen before. He paints on clear plastic sheets and distresses them and layers them so you get an almost encaustic look, but softer. And some of them look like photographs with painting over the top. They remind me of the zoo scenes in that Batman movie that had the Penguin in it... was it 3? Anyway, I love it. I want one of his pieces so badly. Take a look.

Let's wrap up with a movie recommendation, shall we? Are there any horror fans out there? Well, you're in luck. I just watched Grace, a movie about a vampire baby that despite my initial misgivings, was really well done. Creepy and moody and the focus they use made things seem more urgent. I give it 4 out of 5 corncobs! Check it out.

Until next time: unpleasant dreams...

Empty Stations...

Hello Lovelies~

I hope you are all doing well out there. A lot of things happening here as usual! To start, I have listed a new print in the shop that I think is a nice spring piece. It's called Maine Train Station and it is being featured this week on Phantomas with a nice accompanying fictional short story entitled Pullman Berth. Beautiful stuff, take a peek:

Last week was my 8th anniversary with my Sweetie and we enjoyed a beautiful meal at Fore Street Restaurant in Portland to celebrate. If you're local and you haven't had the pleasure, you need to check it out. Beautiful atmosphere and the food really is delicious. I also got two beautiful bouquets of flowers straight from the Boston Flower Show. They make the house smell delicious. I am a lucky woman...

While we're on this bright, spring kick, I want to show you the work of Johnny Miller. Heard of him? He is a photographer and stylist who's done work for Martha Stewart Living among others. You know his stuff, it's the signature MSL look; bright, modern, clean, creative. On his site (linked above) he also has a section of personal work and I found the love letters he documented between his parents when his Dad was in Vietnam, an especially moving series. Check it out. Oh, and here's more of his great work:

It's been a long time since I've read a good book, life gets busy and most days, I fall into bed and watch a movie instead. But, I just got Alice Hoffman's The Red Garden (she wrote Practical Magic), and I can't wait to start it. It's whimsical and set in New England and I don't know much more about it because I've avoided spoiling it by reading the synopsis. Do you like Alice Hoffman? Have you read this book?

Until next time: unpleasant dreams...

Phantomas...

Hello Lovelies~

I hope you are all doing well. So much to share this week as usual. To start, I have completed my Mustache Ride Series and it ended on a strong note for sure. As you can tell from the shots below, there were many laughs. My sides actually hurt when it was all said and done. So much fun.

Remember Lovelies, I'm always taking new clients... :)

Some exciting news! I mentioned my new collaborative blog project entitled Phantomas in my last post. A good writer friend and I are doing weekly posts that combine photography and short fiction stories. The first post is up to give you a taste, follow along if you want to take the journey with us... it should be interesting.

Oh! My photography was just featured on the Sasquatch Magazine site out of Australia. It's a great magazine and I was flattered to be featured. Stop by and support the site, or better yet, subscribe and keep the cool art coming!

And speaking of cool art, have you seen Liz Wolfe's work yet? Holy smokes. I found her via StumbleUpon and uhm... I was blown away. She combines candy and bright colors and just a little bit of darkness to create a look I've never seen before... I know I'll never look at chicken feet the same way again. Or candy canes for that matter.

Strange news time. Did you Kiddies read about the frozen pig knuckle that flew off the back of a truck on the German autobahn and damaged a man's car? At those speeds, I imagine a fly would damage someone's car. Thankfully he was fine, but talk about when pigs fly...

It was kinda like this, only more knuckle.

Until next time: unpleasant dreams...

Studio 'Staches...

Hello Lovelies~

Hope you are all well! As I mentioned several posts ago, I now have a photography studio and I am shifting the focus of my work and Stapelia in general, to just photography. I am in the studio shooting every weekend now and I've created a new Flickr album for these exploits. Candids, studio and location shots will all be housed here, including my humorous new series that turns a dirty phrase on its ear entitled Mustache Rides. You have to see it to believe it, here's a peek:

In addition to the studio work, next week, I am starting a second blog in collaboration with a writer friend of mine entitled Phantomas, that mixes photography and fictional writing to create weekly forays into the unknown. If all goes according to plan, the first post will go up the 28th. It should be interesting, so set your feeds now!

Speaking of forays into the unknown, have you guys seen the work of Mike Doyle? Well, I say "work", but for him it's play that he just takes really seriously. Mike is a Lego artist who has fashioned 2 life-like abandoned houses out of only Legos, no paint, no glue and these houses are ridiculous. The detail? The amount of time spent? I'm always amazed when people use materials with strict constraints to make something beautiful... and these certainly are that.

Have I got a movie recommendation for you Kiddies. I can't believe I haven't suggested this one before: PIN. Heard of it? It's pretty obscure. My sister and I read the book years ago and it creeped us both out, and then we found a movie version. Uh uh. It's like Flowers in the Attic meets a life-sized anatomical teaching dummy. I won't spoil it for you, check it out and let me know what you think...

Yeah, PIN looks like a skinless Rene Auberjonois... yikes.

Until next time: unpleasant dreams...