Masthead header

waking up

i’m not sure if i’ve ever actually shared here that i am also a commercial mua (make up artist). in fact, for 20 something years. over those years, i’ve also stepped in for wardrobe, propping and set styling.
this has served me well, especially when it comes to my own photo shoots. whether it’s conscious or subconscious, it all comes together and i love it more than i can ever say. i love beauty. i love styling. i love bringing out beauty in a person, a set, food…anything and everything.
so many times it’s with something as simple as a shade of lipstick or the perfect shabbiness of a found fabric. it’s magic and it’s wonderful to see the person or the object light up.
this past weekend, i was styling for a commercial. as soon as this actress walked up the rv steps for her make up…i knew i wanted {had} to photograph her. she, however, needed nothing from me. her creamy skin and her blue eyes framed by those red french cut bangs…perfection.
as much of an introvert as i am, i’ve gotten over being shy about asking for something i really want or have to have. it was a busy day, but i was going to quietly sneak this in. funny how i happened to have my gear with me…
i only had a few minutes, and i only took about 12 or so shots, but i did. and i loved it. i am waking up from my winter nap and feeling great.

merci jocelyn

February 28, 2011 - 9:21 pm

Lexi - I’m glad your waking up from winter 😉 Love!!

winter is my {stuck}

did i really just name this post…winter is my {stuck}.
i did and i promise it’s alright.

if you follow my bog, and thank you if you do, you will clearly notice an assortment of ‘projects’ showing up here for the last 8 weeks or so. there are a couple i haven’t added yet, they’ll show up soon enough. i usually have one or two ongoing, adding to as i can, or finding another i can’t live without. i love visual projects that revolve around photography and my interpretation. it is simply (outside of decorating, cooking and gardening) my thing. it’s a wonderful and much needed creative outlet that during the ‘season’ is challenging to keep up with.  at the end of ‘business’ this last year, i looked forward to a (greatly needed) break and being able to finish one, starting two, dabbling in another and now adding one more project with my daughter, lexi. last year was a most incredible year for my business and for me personally. but it was…very, very, very busy. nonstop kind of busy. the kind of busy where it was all i could do to stay on top of…my business. this is hard work. wonderful work, but hard work and you have to have the reserves to keep up. lots of my other loves and needs went to the sidelines. i have pages and pages filled with ideas for this business, newsletters i have put together, sketches of new garden and vegetable plots, walls brushed with colours and taped with fabrics i’m ‘trying out’ to see if i like, movies i’d love to see, dog eared books i want to finish (and start)…you get the picture. i’ve missed an entire sub generation of weeknight tv. i have no clue who or what anyone is talking about. where have i been? building my business. lovingly building my business. however, i must confess, i was so happy when the last order was picked up before the holidays and i was free…for a month or so. i let my shoulders down, thought about regrouping, breathing, working on some other things, finishing some other things. everything was going along perfectly fine until…the dreaded, awful feeling of being stuck came along…which brings me to a perfectly timed interview i listened to yesterday on creativity and rest and that was, for me, a much needed ‘hey, how i am feeling is ok.  i am allowed to be ‘stuck’ for a bit and need to refuel and have some down time creatively.’  any creative soul understands the unquenchable need to create in order to feel fulfilled. well, i love kelly’s answer to that and…”how our creativity isn’t linear – it’s cyclical.” you can listen to the entire interview on tara gentile’s wonderfully inspiring blog by her equally inspiring guest blogger kelly diels here.

so, now…it’s been a couple months since i’ve put together any kind of people shoot myself…i think i’m at the end of my needing a people break. on a whim, i asked one of my favorite people in the world, gabriella, if i could photograph her this afternoon.  it felt so good to be outside. the sun was low and it felt so wonderful on my face and to have to squint in it’s glow. it felt good to shoot, to be in control, to have a path and then veer off it because i saw a more interesting one. i needed this today in a big, huge, enormous way. winter may be my stuck, but it’s almost over and spring is my breath of fresh air.

sunshine and getting unstuck

February 19, 2011 - 3:32 pm

Maya Laurent - Love all of these but really love that last shot. Just beautiful.

February 28, 2011 - 9:32 pm

.kat. - These portraits are GORGEOUS!
I love the soft, vintage processing
you did on the last set. I want
her coat! 😀

March 6, 2011 - 10:16 am

julie diller - gina,you have some really nice shots here.

a winter journey . gray {weathered wood}

maybe because it’s winter and everything is pretty much gray…i knew this colour would be easy.
as i headed out, i did see lots of silvery gray branches and twigs and dried leaves.
i took those images.
i walked along the street feeling like i accomplished what i needed,
but, i was not enthused. i didn’t feel like i had found anything different. i love different.
i kept walking and before i knew it i had crossed the railroad tracks.
there was a long train on one side and an abandoned warehouse building on the other. i was a little isolated.
sometimes when i’m out taking pictures alone, i feel that the world is watching me.
with the train and empty buildings blocking the views, i felt more relaxed.
i let my shoulders down and i walked slower.
things started catching my eye.
things like dragons, and wild birds and otherwordly creatures and tribal like faces…
all in the fallen and broken branches on the ground. it was amazing. it was a wild,
untamed world just under my feet and all around me. one after the other after the other,
i felt them say…hey, over here…open . your . eyes…see . me
i did see them. i couldn’t get enough of them. i was enchanted.

amazing what we find when we open our eyes.

gray . weathered . textured . living . wild

Related Posts with Thumbnails
February 8, 2011 - 8:43 am

Alex - I LOVE your description, and after reading what you said, I saw some kind of out-of-world creature in each and every shot! I totally connected with what you wrote, and with your images, and I loved it! Thanks so much for sharing!

February 9, 2011 - 9:49 am

Laura - Very cool. I love the old, weathered look.

February 10, 2011 - 7:23 pm

Abbie - I love your perspective with these. Really cool textures!

February 10, 2011 - 8:44 pm

Jewell - very cool, indeed! i love your attention to every detail in presenting your images (this post and others). very inspiring:) I’m looking forward to tomorrow’s hue & texture!

February 13, 2011 - 7:59 am

Rosie bray - These are gorgeous. They look like creatures! Lovely images and lovely words.