Three things I enjoy…taking photos, the Goat Farm, and my pal Lucky. This shoot had it all, baby! It also didn’t hurt that it was such a beautiful day, it seemed like springtime was being dangled on a stick in front of us, but just out of reach. Oh, GA! Lucky and I had a swell time goofing off, wandering around, and takin’ a bunch of pics for him to use for multiple biz/performing stuffs. You guys, he’s the voice of Dr. Krieger on “Archer“. If you have not seen this hilarious show, you should probably slap yourself. So you can hear his cool voice there, and you can see his handsome face here. Win, win!
I love when someone comes to me with a specific photography idea or style that they want to capture. Hayley had some inspiration from one of the great dames of our time, Mae West. I love Mae’s style, and knew that it fit Hayley perfectly. It was clear that this would be a wonderful bit of portrait play time. When someone has such a well-defined vision for their shoot, it’s a fun challenge for me to get what they imagine in their head to work its way into my camera. So, I couldn’t have been more pleased when Hayley gave me the thumbs-up after seeing what we got. We had the best time taking these pics, and our fabulous friend, Gina Rickicki, worked some major magic with hair and makeup. Hayley, you embody all the wit, sass, beauty, smarts, and moxie of Ms. West. As she said, “You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough”. Hayley, I think you’re doing in right.
I apologize for how sick you’re going to get of me rambling about how much I enjoy working on this Edward Gorey “Gashlycrumb Tinies“-inspired project. Sorry, but I’m just crazy excited about it. It combines several of my favorite things: Gorey, creepy portraiture, experimentation, collaboration, and wonderful people. I have adored Clifton since I met him, and was thrilled that he wanted to be a part of these shoots. We had fun planning the details of his shoot, and he played the score from “The Hours” while we shot, which couldn’t have been more perfect. He’s a talented actor, so he knew exactly how to portray this. He’s kinda fantastic, y’all.
I am really happy to be diving back in to my photo project based on The Gashlycrumb Tinies by Edward Gorey. Elicia is the absolute perfect person for a photo that combines child-like innocence with a truly unfortunate bear situation. She helped achieve the nearly impossible…..creating a photo that turns out exactly as I imagined it. Yay Elicia!! Originally, I thought that the trickiest part of the shoot would be the lighting. Actually, it was trying to not be totally creeped out by the stuffed critters. Seriously you guys, one of them makes womb sounds!
* We used Elicia’s last name for the pic since “E” was reserved for another of these shoots. Why can’t there be two Es in our alphabet?!
Anyhoo, I hope you enjoy the photo, and a good night’s rest. Because, the bears are coming for you!! Sleep tight!
Happy Halloween from me and my lil’ devil.
If cuteness is a crime, we are in some serious trouble. I just launched yet another portrait series I’ve been wanting to start for a while. I’m calling it “Mug Tots”, and we’ll be taking fun mug shot-type photos of little ones, along with their supposed bad deeds. My little buddies June and Henry were nice enough to volunteer. Man, I adore those two. June’s outfits could not have been better. Henry clearly had been out clubbing the night before with his hand stamp. Later in the day, Aja and McKenna stopped by to pick up a photo package. McKenna was in full princess attire, so thank goodness they wanted to get in on this too. Yay!
If you’re interested in doing a shoot like this with one of your kiddos, or if you know someone who might, let me know. I’ll be offering really inexpensive options for these (like, only $50 for the basics, and $100 for basics with extra stuff)!
Thanks so much to the super-awesome families who helped me get this started. Also, be careful going around town in case you run into one of these little troublemakers. : )
My first installment of the Edward Gorey-ish, “Gashlycrumb Tinies“-inspired photo project could have been called “the roommate edition”. So, this one could be called “the boyfriend edition”. One of my favorite things about the Gorey drawings is how subtly most of the deaths are portrayed, often as a “before” versus an “after”. This one is definitely implied, and you might have to look closely. One of my favorite things about Wade, is that there are too many favorite things to list. However, I will give an honorable mention to his wicked mustache.
I’m a big fan of the art work and stories of Edward Gorey. Like many folks, my favorite is his collection called “The Gashlycrumb Tinies”. Each drawing shows a child who’s name corresponds to one of the letters of the alphabet. Sounds cute, right? Well, the images also depict how each child dies. What I enjoy, is that most of the pictures imply the death rather than show the actual event. I decided to start a series of photographs inspired by Gorey’s unfortunate little characters. However, I’m using adults instead of children as the subjects. Also, I’m taking liberties with the names, genders, and how the deaths are interpreted. As I mentioned, these will be influenced by the originals. I think that’s more fun than simply trying to meticulously re-create something that’s already been done and is already wonderful in its initial form.
My first of these portraits is of my uber-cool friend, Linnea. I’m letting people pick which death they want to portray. She picked my favorite from the Gorey series…..ennui. So, we chatted about what that would look like to us, and snapped this pic. I may be a bit biased, but I think she totally nailed it. As in, this photo makes me so darn happy! Thanks Linnea, and I hope boredom never gets the best of you.
I’ll be continuing this series until I’ve covered the whole alphabet, so please stay tuned, and I hope you enjoy them!
Here’s a quick preview of some shoots I recently did with the ever-fabulous Jas Sams. Next time you see her, you should ask her if blondes or brunettes have more fun. However, I’m certain that she could have fun with any hair color. Also, you should totally check out her cool blog Smile Big and Pretty!
