I loved my Cabaret on the Bay Portrait Station and it has me thinking about offering Portrait Stations as part of my photo business. It would be so great to have this at weddings and other events, so the guests who want photos of themselves at the event will be sure to have them, instead of me running around and guessing who to photograph… well running around will still be a part of my event coverage, of course, but this would be a fun addition.
This is another ‘Paige and Jude Adventure in Stock Photography‘ photo shoot. Although once again, I have to give her credit for everything, the bed in a field idea, all the logistics, the models, and the props… well all the props except for the monkey mask and flower. Those were my genius ideas and they are sure to be a favorite for all the banks and insurance companies that are looking for generic photographs for their brochures.
The next photo shoot is on me, so I have to start brainstorming. Any suggestions?
When I moved to California in 2001, I learned about the concept of ‘community’ with these people.
That concept has shaped my life ever since, so it is only fitting that I now apply my theme of documenting communities to my own community.
So, welcome to my community. My community of characters, who I met one-way-or-another through Walker Creek Ranch, Marin County’s Outdoor Education School, celebrated life together last week with a Cabaret on the Bay Party.
I celebrated our celebration by taking portraits. A lot of portraits, and because my scanner is not the best, my color scans need a lot of work just so they look normal. But the glorious black and white, of which I may have fallen in love with all over again, is close to perfect, no tweaking necessary.
Enjoy.
Recently I received a phone call from a young woman who asked if I could photograph her textiles. My immediate response was, “Well, you may want a studio photographer. Someone who is better at making things look perfect. I only use natural light and my favorite studio is a barn.”
And she said, “Perfect.”
Then she went on to describe what she does and I said, “Perfect.”
Rebecca Burgess is her name, and Ecological Arts is her business. Rebecca creates textiles with fiber that is produced and dyed using sustainable practices. An example of a sustainable fiber that she uses is vegan silk. Vegan silk is made from cocoons after the worms have emerged; instead of the traditional silk that is made by boiling the cocoons with the the worms still in them…. a fun new farming practice to add to the list.
So Rebecca is doing super cool work with communities around the world, including the community she lives in, and she is making beautiful works of art that she wanted photographed in a natural way…. so we went to the barn. I tried a couple of other spots first, and they were ok… but the barn was the best. Simple, complimentary colors, and without wicker furniture to move out of the way.
This last photo is cool, because she is dying the wool with native California plants like coyote brush and coffee berry. She wanted this photo to demonstrate how protecting our native plants and planting with our native plants is not only beneficial for the soil, water table, and native animals, but it also can be fun to use for your next sustainable wool creation. Yay Rebecca!
Yay, we did it!
And wow, was it worth it… this little one might possibly have the cutest smile ever. If there is a baby near you, spread the word that I am back in the baby photo business and so so happy about it.
Sunday’s Un-Birthday Party was the Un-Official Launch of Paige and Jude Photo, a Partnership and Adventure in stock photography. Petaluma photographer, and my new friend, Jude Mooney, has been dreaming of stock for the past few years… and she decided in order to make her dream a reality, she needed a partner… and lucky for me…. she picked me. So we started our journey by having an un-birthday party in her brightly colored breakfast nook.
The un-birthday party went exactly as planned, well, except for lumpy icing, a grumpy young party go-er (not pictured here), and minor technical mishaps with camera settings… but all in all it was a successful first shoot
However, there was one other minor important point to mention. During the shoot, it took me a little while to get used to the artificial element that comes from staging everything, but I realize now that is because I am coming from a hands-off documentary photography approach, so it makes perfect sense.
But because of that feeling, and because the whole scene was Jude’s creation anyway, I let Jude do most of the photographing on Sunday. I did manage to capture some candid moments and I played with my beloved Rollei a little, but I look forward to jumping in more actively on the next shoot. I think learning how to produce and direct photo shoots is going to be a well-needed challenge for me. I also look forward to setting up some scenes that I have been imagining, but would probably never make into a reality my own. And most importantly, I look forward to just having fun with photography with another photographer…. so let the adventures begin! And maybe it was a real birthday afterall.
After warming up at a couple of practices, taking portraits of individuals and then group portraits, I finally went to my first Roller Derby Bout…. and I am so glad I did. Although deciding to go, after 6 hours photographing the Butter and Egg Parade in the hot sun, was not an easy decision to make. The Bout started at 10 pm Saturday night and at that point, I was far beyond ready for bed, but we rallied and made the journey to Cal-Skate in Rohnert Park. By the time we got there, the parking lot was packed and there was a line out the door. And well, who is surprised, when the event promises; hot females with attitudes, fish-net stockings, flying elbows, a well stocked beer garden, and a half-time belly dancing show by Black Sheep Belly Dance.
This is where I live. Petaluma, California, home of the Butter and Egg Day Parade for 27 years. This year the theme of the celebration was Petaluma’s 150th Birthday. The town celebrated in its usual style with a Cow Chip Throwing Contest, a Cutest Chick Contest and, of course, the parade, which I was assigned to photograph by the local paper, The Argus Courier. Here are my top favorites.
On more than one occasion I have said this town reminds me of Pleasantville, and in doing research for this post, I read that Petaluma has often been a favorite for movies because it has an “Americana” visual appeal. And one of the movies filmed here? Any guesses?
Recently, I was asked to join an art show, with the theme, Femme Fatale. And even though I wasn’t exactly sure what Femme Fatale meant, I said, “Yes please, count me in.” After a couple of hours googling the meaning, I found everything from Greek literature to photos of Pamela Anderson in a bikini. So I came up with a working definition… strong, sexy, female, who allures, yet maintains her independence and will do whatever it takes to remain independent and in control. Well, that’s the way I wanted to think about it. I am into strong females, but immediately I wanted to avoid the… vulnerable woman in her undies, looking sultry for the male audience. I wanted to blend genders roles and play with the role reversal idea. But that’s as far as I got with my previsualization
Then I heard a friend of mine had created his own burlesque act that he was starting to perform for select audiences… and the wheels in my brain started spinning. But even then I wasn’t able to say exactly what I wanted… but looking back now, there is no way I could have planned the photos we took together. With the help of Micah’s girlfriend, Teri, here’s what we came up with.
The problem now is deciding which photos to choose for the show…. any votes and comments are welcome!
I like these two as the ‘before’ photos.
Film versus digital again, this time the main difference is the shape of the photo… and I am having a hard time deciding between the two…. any thoughts?
This one is pretty much not going to make the cut, but I thought I would put it in and see if there were any votes for this one being in the show.
There are several digital variations of this one… but this is the only film one that I really like. It has a bizarre narrative feel to it. But I don’t know if it fits. OK… so I have to choose by tomorrow, so start casting your votes. Don’t worry about how many or what size… just tell me what you like and what you don’t.
…
somewhere between a handshake and two kisses 
