photography
I have a new video fusion portrait of Samantha and her horse Nick. I am in love with this type of video it captures a special friendship between a girl and her horse. I was so fascinated by horses when I was growing up. I use to pretend I was riding one long before I ever did ride one. I think there is a certain freedom you feel being one with a horse. The beauty and the grace of a horse is magic, but there is also something a bit terrifying about the sheer power beneath you.
Click on the image to start playing the video.
This Cabin in the woods is truly a step back in time and many steps away from the hustle and bustles of everyday life. It is my favorite place on the planet, and I always love spending time at Camp Easy. Recently I spent a long weekend up in the mountains with my camera, 4 beautiful models, some amazing props, and some gorgeous gowns I created from thrift store finds. I am calling it my Camp Easy Couture Photo Shoot. This video shows some behind the scenes fun and some of the amazing photos that were created. I wanted to thank my beautiful models Erin, Samantha, Jillian and a special last minute appearance of the stunning Ashley. My vision was to create a setting of a "girls day out" sitting drinking tea, listen to music and creating fanciful stories to entertain themselves something my great grandmother might have done decades earlier in a similar spot with these very same objects.
I look for creative solutions to make a shoot a little extra interesting. I wanted to use the beautiful mountain setting to create a mood, but I also used props old and new to help me. Here are some behind the scenes tips that I used on this shoot.
I got the masks from Walmart and painted them different shades of white, off white and cream. Then I used hodge podge to apply some glitter and flowers to make them more photogenic. I was really happy with how they turned out here are some photos of before and after.
I have been collecting silk and fabric flowers over the years. I keep an eye out for them to go on clearance and then buy a bunch. One of my favorite stores is crate & barrel, but you could use some from Michaels or Joann Fabrics. We used white paint as a base over top of the silk flowers and then I went back in with tones of grey, yellow, purple and peach to create a hand painted vintage BEAUTIFUL flowers.
I went to the thrift store in the little sleepy town of Bedford, Va and spent 3 glorious hours looking around and finding treasures. I was surprised and delighted to find so many yummy things I could use. I just love spending time searching for hidden treasures at the thrift store. My goal was to find dresses or tops that I could turn into gowns. I used curtains and small pieces of fabric to make long skirts, which we pined in place. The girls kept their blue jeans and boots on under the gowns, so when I asked them to go into the tall grass they felt protected. I had some pearls and sparkly pins to strategically place them on the gowns to pull the look all together.
Camp Easy has been in my family for 5 generations and we don't like to throw anything away, so I had many props available. I got an old trunk out of the barn and did not even realize until I opened it that it had a picture of a women tacked on the inside... Bonus. The phonograph is one of my favorite props and it still works if you turn the record manually.
I was lucky to have some helpers for the behind the scenes video and I want to take time to thank Ashley for her help and a special thanks to Kelly and Elizabeth for jumping in for some photos themselves. Here are some amazing shots I got of the girls and their mothers.
I feel like I am dreaming when I visit Assateque Island because when you combine two of my favorite things the beach and horses I am not sure if I am still awake or in a state of dreaming. My new series called "Assateaque Dreaming" I feel I captured what this landscape make me feel like while I am there. Its a state where all the harsh sounds of city life fade away and the blue sky calms your senses and the ocean waves set you in a state of meditation. To create this dream state I used a lens called "the muse" by lensbaby. The select focus lens is perfect for creating beautiful soft out of focus images. In a world where everything is about the amount of pixels per inch and hyper sharp images, I wanted to create the opposite with these images where it was less about the pixels and more about the calming feeling the images create. I also wanted these images to have a soft color palette one that just made the viewer feel peace and serenity.
Assateaque Dreaming 2
As survivors of a shipwreck off the Virginia coast. While this dramatic tale of struggle and survival is popular, there are no records yet that confirm it. The most plausible explanation is that they are the descendants of horses that were brought to barrier islands like Assateague in the late 17th century by mainland owners to avoid fencing laws and taxation of livestock.
Assateaque Dreaming 1
“I feel like I am dreaming when I see these beautiful wild creatures on the white beautiful beaches of Assateaque Island. ”
Assateaque Dreaming 3
I am excited to announce three of my fine art images from my new series called "Assateaque Dreaming" are going to be featured at the FotoBazaar Gallery Show on the weekend of Oct 4th - 6th.
Come by Friday at 6:30pm for opening night which includes music by DJ Flux, light bites and open bar of beer and wine. There will be over 200 photographers and 1000+ photographs at attractive prices.
The gallery show is located right off the Noma-Gallaudet Metro stop. I would love it if you could join me to celebrate this special night.
To purchase tickets and get all the information go here.
