silverpopsicle

New Focus

2011-12-15T11:11:00.000-08:00

I'm going to take a slightly new focus for the blog. I've found from speaking to people that I hold information that I take for granted, and that others hold dear, like how to do make-up when getting photographed and body positioning so that you look your best and whatnot. So as soon as I have the time (with my two gorgeous babies) i'll start posting things with that kind of theme, so that all of us can look 100% fabulous 100% of the time.

Manipulation Firestorm

2011-07-26T12:32:00.000-07:00

my hubs is creating art at a cheetah's pace lately. and I have been slow to capture it on film due to my 3 weeks from giving birth status, and I am really sorry about it. So i've started working away on some things that I have shot, and there have been some real gems.

In this shot, he is holding a hand lacquered, hand made frame that is woven with painted canvas. it's gorgeous, and please visit www.kaleidotronic.blogspot.com to see a better photo of it. But I just loved the intensity on his face in this picture.

I went a little crazy with manipulations. Starting with an infrared filter, then HDR templating, finally culminating with some super-zoom on the outer edges of the shot, vignetteing, black and white, the whole enchilada.

I really love to bring out his freckles, they are so gorgeous and bring such depth and interest to a shot. The image would not be the same without them.

Hands of an Artiste'

2011-07-21T12:47:00.000-07:00

no denying baby hands are pretty much the most adorable structure on earth. but when you couple that with the creation of paintings, it really doesn't get much better than that.
i was having fun with different textures, keeping the hands in focus but altering the rest of the image, some with black and white, some with movement, i think the effect was really spot-on for what i wanted.
i know i probably sound like pollyanna in most of my posts, but really, how can anyone have a downturned view of the world when amazing moments like this are around every corner?

The Last Month x 2 poses

2011-07-18T07:23:00.000-07:00

Four more weeks. Wow. This is getting real. I decided to dress up for this one, since it will probably be my last. I hope I'm not taking photos on August 15!! I'd much rather be cuddling with my new little one. I've been thinking about it a lot, and I'm going to miss having this little guy tickling and wiggling inside my belly all day. It will be wonderful to see his little face though, and see how much love pours out of M and B towards him. How beautiful a thing to experience.

Bokeh M

2011-07-17T10:59:00.001-07:00

i love having the camera do things it doesn't want to. it tries so hard to defy me, but lately, i'm almost always winning. I love this shot of my bokeh baby. it seems that when the photo is less crisp and extra brightly colored, that appeals to me. i've always wondered if it had anything to do with my terrible eyesight. i have no idea.

Sleep

2011-07-11T07:50:00.000-07:00

I took this photo initially because i just love him in these underpants. and I never intended anything other than keeping them for blackmail. hahah, just kidding. But then, since I've joined Piccsy, i realized that there is a drastic imbalance of cheesecake woman photos to cheesecake mens. I mean, men are beautiful too, and have beautiful bodies, why aren't we observing them at the same rate? I really don't understand. Maybe Piccsy just has a lot of male subscribers, and that's just what they love. although, it doesn't totally make sense to me, because I appreciate the female form, why wouldnt the guys like the men fotos too? who knows.

Shadows of Summer

2011-07-07T20:06:00.000-07:00

our daisies and tiger lilies are in bloom. noteworthy point: tiger lilies do not photograph well, at least not for me. oh well, i have my beautiful girl and this lovely perfect daisy to concentrate on. I love the shadows above. I have no idea what is making that alienish impression on her arm, but it's goooooood. and what a treat to have the fly perched on the daisy. Flies are really pretty, in their iridescent body and gossamer wings, they just need better PR.

Americana

2011-07-06T05:34:00.001-07:00

these were taken at our local 4th of July parade, which i love. i like living in a place where such things are thought of as so important, you should have seen how many people were at this parade, it was like The Beatles were in town. This man in the above photo, i can't get over. How is this guy, that has the perfect look for this motorcycle, actually owning the thing and riding it around? in full gear? i love it so much. The below, modern sheriffs on horseback, reminded me of cavalry from the Civil War era. So proud, trotting solidly down the road, don't get in their way!

Happy Pinup Fourth of July from Silverpopsicle

2011-07-04T08:38:00.001-07:00

I love this picture. *BEWARE OF DANGER!!* Happy Fourth of July. I took a zillion photos at our local parade, and I'm sure some of them will be pretty awesome. I love living in a slightly "country" town where they have tractors and chickens in the parade, and lots of doggies.

Lots of Love and Viva America!

Being the Guest Artist for July

2011-07-01T20:52:00.000-07:00

so my stuff is up and on display at Orion Township Library. It looks great. I really agonized about what to put up and how to do it, but everything looks so good. So many people go through there, it's kind of cool that hundreds of people are going to see my work.

Comical

2011-06-28T16:33:00.001-07:00

i think he was jumping over me and I was laying on the floor. I made him jump about 75 times to get the perfect leap-smear. i thought this one was super successful. i worked with the shot quite a bit to make it look comic like and a little bit abstract, but there were some shadows and speed-smears that I didn't want to lose. it's nice to have such a great model to work with whenever you have a whim. it's so wonderful.

DIY Easy Maternity/Cozy Skirt

2011-06-22T18:14:00.001-07:00

so i hate to break it to you ladies, but if you are over 5'10'' tall, you are not going to find any maternity clothing that will work for you. Maternity clothes are expensive, fit horribly, and are only made for the average height woman, or at least NOT for the vertically gifted woman. So far I've been lucky, i had some long shirts from Express that I can wear, i bought some cheap bermudas at old navy/target... But i haven't had any luck finding a cozy skirt. They were all an odd length, odd fit, just not working.

I had a smock topped sundress from years ago (photo above), so i hemmed the bottom in the most haphazard ghetto way possible so that it hit at the knee, which is mucho flattering (below photo), and then *BAM* I've got a skirt I can wear everyday. I didn't cut any of the material off the bottom, so that if I would like to wear it as a dress again, i just take the crappy hem that I made out and then *BAM* dress again.

Detroit Tigers

2011-06-21T13:54:00.000-07:00

being a softball player, i always thought that baseball and softball were particularly interesting in that they action is all generated from one place on the field. In football the quarterback moves down the field with each play. but there is only one pitcher's mound.
the second center of motion is home plate. Things may have changed over the years, but you still only get 3 strikes and 4 balls.
Detroit is a beautiful city. With beautiful people and a unique energy.

8 Months x 3

2011-06-20T06:11:00.000-07:00

so we clearly didn't take these very seriously... Sorry. But these days, there's really nothing you can do about kids and dogs, and you really wouldn't want to anyways, because that din and chaos (not in a negative connotation) is what makes life full and beautiful.
I'm feeling good, but i have doctor's appts every other day, i feel like i'm being watched like a hawk. I sleep as much as possible, like a human house cat.
Actually today, i was a little sad thinking that i won't have my little traveler in my tummy 24/7 for much longer. He's been a good companion, and I've loved watching his little elbows and heels move across the skin of my belly. I am excited to meet him though... 8 more weeks.

Happy Father's Day from Silverpopsicle

2011-06-18T15:05:00.000-07:00

My hubs is the best father, he's the best husband too. He will do anything for our girl, and you can just see the *love* emitting from him when he's around her. She's the most important thing in the world to him, and there's just no question of that. I love watching it. So enjoy your day, all you special daddies. Love, Vanessa

Expressions

2011-06-16T07:01:00.000-07:00

it's so hard to get a look or expressions that you desire out of a subject. in my experience, i don't even try, i just snap a zillion shots and hopefully one will have something genuine about it. some people try so hard, that you can never get anything really good. which is why it's really great if you can get people in a group, having a good time, and then you can capture lots of *actual* smiles and happiness. My daughter since she is the most photographed child on earth, is an expert at eluding the camera, but every once in awhile, i'll capture something fabulous like this, i love this look so much.

Oscar

2011-06-14T17:25:00.001-07:00

i love this little guy. Look how peaceful he is laying there, napping in the sun.

Happy Birthday to my Love!

2011-06-10T13:41:00.000-07:00

happy birthday to the love of my life. I took the picture above, and then my amazing friend Tracy made the hilarious image below. I love fun people.

Think Pink

2011-06-09T20:04:00.000-07:00

deer had eaten this plant to stubs a couple of weeks ago. it's improperly planted in nearly full sun, and I just told Ben, "this thing is never going to flower." and yep, as soon as I said that, the next day it has these gorgeous bright pink blooms all over it. Way to be a jerk and stick it to me.

Perfection

2011-06-08T19:44:00.000-07:00

i saw this bloom outside my front door this morning. I knew if i waited, the heat would shrivel the bloom, so i took the shot. there wasn't really any natural light on the flower, it was in full shade, but i needed to capture that freshness of it, the delicate beauty that is so lush and full bodied.

the other day our new neighbors moved in and i was instantly sad that i wouldn't be able to photograph their gorgeous peonies when they bloomed, but then this appeared in our yard, which must have been a gift from the universe, because I didn't really expect this. So thank you.

Eau d'iris

2011-06-07T13:14:00.001-07:00

i feel like i live in a botanical preserve. so many gorgeous things sprouting all around me. some of my neighbors have red and yellow irises, but i haven't gotten to go over there and get a shot.
something about the iris is so complex, yet harmonious. everything works, but there are so many facets.
this bi-color variety is so beautiful, and large these blooms wouldn't even fit in the palm of my hand. My favorite used to be the Japanese variety (top photo), but now i have love for all of them. All my colorful children.

Spider Capitalist

2011-06-06T19:44:00.000-07:00

Nature is so beautiful and fascinating. Look at this: so the ants are assisting the peony in opening the bud, and then some industrious spider comes along and thinks, "Damn, this place is like Old Country Buffet! I'm setting up shop here." Everyone is getting something out of this. The ant that finds himself in the spiderweb has an abrupt end to the pleasure-cycle, but such is life.

I just read that in the symbiotic relationship of clownfish and anemones, there is a 3rd party benefactor as well... An algae living inside the anemone gets fertilized by the clownfish. Nature is so blown-out amazing.

Symbiotic Relationships

2011-06-06T19:19:00.001-07:00

I've been obsessed with the color of the flowers blooming lately. There are so many gorgeous blooms at my fingertips, it's like being a kid in a candy store. I've been thinking lately that photographing a flower is very similar to photographing a face. And i enjoy it just as much. One thing that I have been going crazy over is the relationship between these ants and the peonies. The peony apparently secretes some sweet liquid that the ants eat, which helps open the peony's buds. I've tried to capture these ants so many times the last couple days, it seems like they keep moving to the darker parts of the bud, or underneath. It's been driving me nuts. So this morning, i put a drop of honey on the top of one of the buds, and I finally got the ants to pose correctly. I could kick myself for not getting the whole leaf under the peony bud below. I'm so mad. Oh well.

Poppy

2011-06-02T18:27:00.001-07:00

i am an amazingly lucky girl. today an amazing gift was given to me, and it took me 1 second to snap the thing together and start shooting with it. it was like those movies where the Covert-Ops guy is given a new, fancy gun and he locks all the parts together lightening quick, ready to go slaughter who is needed. i've always been one to never ask for things, and despite of that, gifts keep falling in my lap, i need to start spreading out some of this good karma. I'm so lucky to have my wonderful family, that loves me even after everything, and i thank the universe for all that happens, and wish my good fortune onto all of you. Love, Vanessa

Fishing

2011-05-31T05:04:00.000-07:00

I was thinking the other day about how different my vision is at this moment. For a long time, i would have these ideas, and they would be really abstract and usually somewhat creepy, but at this point in time all i desire to see is warmth and love and hugs and family. I guess that is something very positive, but it is interesting to me. As if there has been some sort of shift in my cerebral cortex. For this moment in history the demons have left the building. :-)

J'adore Jouer Luminizing Moisture Tint

2011-05-24T12:03:00.000-07:00

i received this amazing product in my "Birchbox" this month (www.birchbox.com). For those that do not know, Birchbox is an AMAZING subscription service that sends you luxury beauty samples every single month. It's like the most delightful crack for a beauty product junkie like me. So inside, there was Jouer's Luminizing Moisture Tint. Something that I thought would be like any other moisturizer, i've tried millions. But once I put it on, it gave my skin this perfect, otherworldly glow, I ALMOST FORGOT TO PUT ON MY OTHER MAKEUP. seriously. So, in seeing that, i thought, i must record this moment of skin perfection for all history with a photograph. Thus, there is the above. The below is just because I've had Fellini films on the brain and I just can't shake them out.

Seven Months (Last trimester here at last!)

2011-05-23T12:42:00.000-07:00

well here we are. 28 weeks. finally into the 3rd trimester. I swear I can't believe that I'm going to have a baby boy in August. It's unreal. I'm feeling fine, it's just hilariously strange to have this big orb in place of your torso.

Negative Lamps

2011-05-18T12:20:00.001-07:00

I saw the idea for this on PetaPixel: http://www.petapixel.com/2011/04/11/create-an-artsy-lamp-using-unwanted-35mm-film-strips/

such a great idea, and furthers my view that photography is the best art form ever, because you can even create something beautiful with your lovely discarded film!
I cut the strips in half because my husband started the one below, and I just didn't want the point to be for people to try to make out the image in the negative frame. I wanted the film strips to just be a medium of their own, and for the focus to be on the shapes that are made with them. I feel that this was more successful, since I am a genius.

Baby Tattoo

2011-05-08T08:34:00.001-07:00

check out what my Babyboy had inked on his head. I'm so proud. *single tear*

Happy Mother's Day

2011-05-07T17:50:00.001-07:00

i hope you all enjoy your day, if you are a mother or not. I just think this is a wonderful day for everyone that loves and cares for other people, regardless of your childbearing status or gender. I myself will probably spend the day with my fam, eating treats and having fun.

Love to you all, Vanessa

6 more inches

2011-05-05T18:18:00.001-07:00

holy lord. I just read today that my belly is supposed to expand at least another 6 inches in diameter before I give birth. wow. i hope my body can handle that. it just didn't seem like i grew like this last time. This last week was a doozy, body wise. Lots of crazy pelvic pain and legs giving way beneath me, spasms in my left foot that were weirdly violent, and then this morning it felt that my knee joints were sliding apart with every step as i walked. But it's been a wonderful week, and I'm just thinking of how this Sunday is Mother's Day and I've been given the ultimate gift in my kick ass family. Cheers and Love to all my fellow Mommy's out there.

Time / Space

2011-04-28T12:54:00.000-07:00

the vision that i had of this shot was so different than what actually ended up happening. I wanted the overhead light to beam down like a beacon from above. But when I looked at the photo on the computer, it was kicking out very little light. So i figured the only option was to make it into a Time/Space portal and call it a day.

Evolution

2011-04-25T08:46:00.001-07:00

pregnancy is such an amazing journey, especially the second time around, when you know (somewhat) what to expect. The first time, i think i was fighting the changes in my body, i didn't understand that something else was in control, and it was very unnerving to me. Now, with my second child, I'm riding the changes like waves in the sea. I've handed over responsibility to nature, and am loving watching my belly swell as the baby grows inside me. I feel a different energy, and in awe in the process.

It depresses me that pretty much every single item in the media about a woman's pregnant body is about how she is going to need to lose weight after delivery. That to me, is missing the whole point. Like creating life is this inconvenience that just needs eradication afterwards, like acne.

Happy Easter from Silverpopsicle Photography

2011-04-24T07:40:00.001-07:00

have a wonderful day. enjoy all the Reese's Peanut Butter eggs that you can fit into your belly without puking. That is my goal. Love, Vanessa

RIP... Favorite Jeans

2011-04-21T13:34:00.000-07:00

RIP, Favorite Jeans. We got through 10 years and 1 and a half pregnancies together. You were the best 25 dollars that I've ever spent on anything. I wore you to holiday parties, sporting events, bar mitzvahs, you carried me through everything, in any weather, almost every single day. Yes, maybe I wasn't so good to you. I could have taken better care, maybe not wrestled in the mud, jumped into that pool with you on, but i don't think you'd have it any other way. You loved me unconditionally, and I, you back. I know there will be other jeans, but none like you. Rest well in that great closet in the sky. Love you, Vanessa

Open Window

2011-04-14T06:21:00.000-07:00

i'm so enamored with spring. I feel like this image is what i want to see when i close my eyes, ready for sleep. There is no greater artist than nature. I mean, look at the intricate spindling of the branches, reaching out there in a poetic pattern, perfect crosses and reaches and intersections, showing strength and grace and harmony all above our heads, every day, everywhere.

Bob Ross

2011-04-11T16:42:00.000-07:00

I love Bob Ross. I wish i had a more eloquent way to say it, but he's just so calming, so perfect, he's like televised Valium. I've been watching his show since I was small. and now I watch it on PBS with my daughter on lazy weekend afternoons. This day was so lovely and sunny, i thought it would be a great day for the IR. I took these shots of tops of trees. Where it seemed like the branches were reaching out to oblivion, just extending themselves to the very end. After editing, all that i could think of looking at these shots were the "happy little trees" that Bob would paint with the perfect little dabbling brushstrokes, not a care in the world.

Georgia

2011-04-04T19:45:00.001-07:00

I just thought this was a great shot to play with in editing. Lots of negative space, and a perfect subject to boot. You really can't go wrong here, even the raw image looked fabulous. I've been using 3 different editing programs, and honestly i just go by feel and look. I keep layering and playing with the image until i get the desired effect. There is no science to this, and I know that I could never duplicate an image (so don't ask :-)). It's almost like painting, when i watch my husband paint, he keeps going and going, always having an end effect in mind, but pushing and altering until it's done. I think this is a rather organic way to go about photography manipulation. I do not want my images to look like anyone else's, and I really don't want to do the same effect twice, because then where is the art in that? I don't like when i see images that are the same same same. It's like there is a mob mentality and the same things are found to be "good" in fads, that people think are novel. But are really just all the same. That is disheartening to me. Like are we really that simple minded as a people? I hope not.

Abstractionistic

2011-04-01T13:42:00.000-07:00

there is a constant need to see what can be done. i love playing with every single quality, pushing it beyond what it ever should have been. what is the point of living life if you can't play with it and have fun? color has been appealing to be in a major way lately, i was on a black and white kick for eons, but that just doesn't do it for me anymore. i want everything bright and crisp and glowy.

My best Arno Minkkinen impression

2011-03-31T13:10:00.000-07:00

the way that Arno Minkkinen transferred himself into his images is a constant inspiration of mine. I don't know if this shot is that successful in that goal. but it was fun to take. Mental note: it's hard for a person to keep their arm outstretched like that for a long period of time. So it was fun to just say, "nope, don't have it, just keep it up there, try again." LOL.

Spires

2011-03-29T14:46:00.000-07:00

good lighting on a slightly hazy day in Tybee. These spires provide such a visual interest as opposed to the abstract forms of the people below. They are reaching up to the sky, but also alternatively racing into the ground.

Hospital

2011-03-23T18:49:00.000-07:00

when there is so much inconsistency and turmoil in life, order really settles me. I love hospitals. I loved working in one. The order, the procedures, codes, protocol, i love all of that. it calms me. Everything is recorded for all to see, there is no such thing as hearsay. the caustic cleaning products of the hospital smell so good to me. i hate the things at home that have so much fragrance that they smell like a candle. Clean, orderly, safe, these are things that I am always after, conditions that I like to thrive in. When i go in there, i feel my whole body relax, i want to put back on the scrubs and the lab coat. I want nothing to be of question, you know what is going on, what you need to do next. I wish life were more like this.

1970s feel

2011-03-18T15:17:00.001-07:00

this will probably be the last of the *necklace series*. I really like playing with the color like this. All of the tones so remind me of the 1970s, not that I really remember much of them, maybe one year... It's all about my favorite things- strain, and seeing what i can do with an image to make it better than it ever thought it could be.

Focus

2011-03-17T16:19:00.000-07:00

most of the time, we always bring the light to the face. but sometimes the face doesn't need that. you can't fake the vibrancy, and you shouldn't try to make an artificial rendition of anything.

Looking Outward

2011-03-16T17:54:00.001-07:00

experimenting with different things. I just want to escape myself, and reach out toward the other sides of the world. Draping jewels are 1,000 eyes, peering in and deep and outward and beyond.

70's B movie poster

2011-03-16T05:49:00.001-07:00

i was playing with this altering software that was apparently developed by mathematicians that have nothing to do with photography. Obviously i had to see what it would do. I've always been amazed by the reach and scope of mathematics. For example, decades before "mad cow disease" was every seen or known to exist, a mathematician hypothesized it's existence using equations alone. Not being a numbers person, i can't even fathom the ability to do this. But I respect it.

The effect gave me a great result. I feel like it's a movie poster for a film called, "The Swamp Strangler" or something like that. A slime and algae covered creature rises out of the water during the night and uses a woman's own jewelry to end her life.

Pure Joy

2011-03-15T13:57:00.000-07:00

there is something about kids. just the absolute satisfaction with life, and that every moment is the best in the world. Jumping around in a bounce-house is tantamount to winning the lottery, and getting a chocolate chip cookie is as good as being named Queen of the World. It seems at some point we lose this, but maybe if we just take a good look at how these little people experience the universe, we can develop the same sort of simple satisfaction, and pure joy.

DIY Brown to Blonde

2011-03-02T13:15:00.001-08:00

I just can't leave my hair alone. My ombre'd ends were pretty much shredding off. So I decided to do something ala Ms. Klum below. The cut was not a problem. But the color... Since I had a dyed dark brown base, it did not want to turn blonde.

I tried some box haircolor 9A, Ash Blonde, and it turned my hair an actually nice sort of "Joan from MadMen" red. I'm not really upset with it, other than the fact it was not even a smidge of what I wanted.

I'm going to try some bleach on it in a couple days. I'll keep you updated.

Baby Glow

2011-02-28T18:53:00.000-08:00

this was just a casual shot. Actually it was supposed to be a photo of me and my daughter, but at the last second, she dropped down and did this pose. It's so cute. I added the glow to it, and i think she looks like a little angel. I love her.

Rendering

2011-02-27T16:26:00.000-08:00

i kind of want to draw and want to paint. I'm bored with a lot of things and it seems like everything needs to change.

Elongation

2011-02-22T12:07:00.001-08:00

for those that don't know, i'm pregnant. it's a wonderful, amazing miracle of life. I've been getting the usual stream of ideas in my head for photo projects, but this is the first time i've had to make accommodations for the changes my body is experiencing. Well, not really changes, but this is the first time I've seen the difference on film. I've always used my body as an athletic tool. It's been there to run me around and stretch up to catch things and climb up walls. Now looking at the shots i took for this project, i see a much softer, gentler rounder anatomy. It's amazing the total transformation that pregnancy places on your body and your life. You realize that all what you thought was important before, isn't important any more. You realize that all that really matters is love. And then you resign to that, and bask in your happiness.

More Choke

2011-02-16T12:10:00.000-08:00

i took this shot from many angles and i think that this one was successful as well. I like how the tethering is extremely taut and straight, and i like the glow on the wall.

Choke

2011-02-15T13:25:00.000-08:00

i saw this art piece the other day that was a series of wires stretched across a room and then lit, so that shadows of the wires were visible everywhere, it was really amazing. I loved the linear elements of it, and it really inspired me.

At first i wanted to do something with binding, but then that didn't feel right. I wanted to keep it simple. I think sometimes we feel tethered, and maybe at times it is ourselves making us feel that way. I just wanted to show something that equated a person being the instrument of her own demise. such as the movement of the arm will only increase the tension on the neck.

The Days

2011-02-04T16:33:00.000-08:00

*I did not take this picture*

the days go by. doing everything you can. and I try to retain a sunny attitude about everything, problems of the past couple weeks are clearing up. but then there's just something that comes up behind and slashes you in the back. sometimes i wonder if i'm being tested. I have no idea. it seems that way, what else could it be. there is no reason for any of it. i laugh sometimes when people think they can shift their lives into this preordained type of systematicness, that's really not how anything is going to go. sometimes i guess it does work out for people, but not so for me. I wouldn't change anything but one thing. and I do think that without that my life would be perfect. there's so much to do and see and be thankful for. but then there are the things that are awful and bring you to your knees. this is about that. i'm ready to take a stand against it. times up.

Multiple I.V.s

2011-02-03T13:30:00.001-08:00

had some frequent trips to the ER/hospital lately. which leads to fun I.V. venipunctures. For some reason, there is always a struggle to get the damn thing in. So several stab wounds later, I get these fun bruises and tape marks from tape so gummy it never goes away. Awesome.

Upside-Down

2011-02-02T17:57:00.001-08:00

I had a dream last night that i was on a plane with a team that I was on. It was a very small plane, with a propellor. Everyone was having a good time, but I was a little concerned that the pilot didn't really know what she was doing, since she was my German elementary school bus driver.
So when I realized this I began to get concerned. We flew low over Tiger Stadium while fireworks were being launched off after a game. I kept thinking, "We are going to get hit with one of these things!". And then the Blue Angels jet planes started flying straight at us. This was not good.
Finally we approached the airport. I knew no one was paying attention, so i jumped out of the in-motion flying plane. And standing on the runway, I grabbed the landing gear with my bare hands and pulled the plane out of the air onto the landing strip with safety.

Everyone got off the plane, happy, not knowing anything that transpired. I had wounds from landing the plane, and I pointed them out, but no one cared, everyone just wanted to go to Ponderosa.

Cha Cha 2

2011-01-26T13:11:00.000-08:00

another shot, same modus operandi.

Cha Cha

2011-01-26T12:45:00.000-08:00

I was wondering what my lack of ideas was stemming from, and then yesterday I went running for the first time in a long time, and ideas came flooding to me. Maybe that is what triggers the creative part of my brain. So be it.

I've never done pointe ballet, but i've always wondered how those women can stand on the tippiest toe like that. My goal was to try to stand on my toes, but I just kept collapsing, and/or falling over, so I decided to stay seated in the end. Safety First.

Explosive

2011-01-23T08:12:00.001-08:00

i love the IR camera. I had taken a ton of shots with it, and hadn't checked it in a long time. one thing that I really love about it, is the fact that you don't see your shots until you put them on the computer. it does have a small LCD screen, but it zaps the battery power right away, so i don't use it. I like the fact that you have to wait. it reminds me of film photography.

this shot was really beautiful to me, because it looks like a supernova is exploding in the window. i love the shards of light that are scattered around the outside of the frame. so beautiful.

The Darkness and the Light

2011-01-21T16:36:00.000-08:00

i love high contrast. and an amazing friend of mine sent me an email the other day about creative hand shadow puppets and i just had to try. My hand puppets looked pretty awful, but I just liked the play of the light hand to the dark hand right beside it. and to me it looks like the light one is reaching to the dark and the dark is trying to recede.

Sanctum

2011-01-20T12:50:00.001-08:00

just trying to find interesting angles and textures everywhere. i've seen so many lovely shots of stairwells, there are usually gorgeous shadows and lots of geometry going on. and for me, the treatment had to include some high contrast stuff, i wanted it to appear ghostly and a little secretive. but also i want to encourage you to go down these stairs and see what's there.

Electro-Shoes

2011-01-19T15:28:00.001-08:00

I really loved the electro blue fade. I did not plan that. I love the happy accidents. Still just trying to re-find my bearings.

The Normal

2011-01-18T11:55:00.000-08:00

i've been looking at the photography of a lot of other people lately, and i have been inspired to take the "Normal" and make it extraordinary. So many photos of trees and clouds and objects, the photographers job really is to make this into something beautiful, take something and spin it on it's head, not changing the object, but changing the way that people perceive it. That is beauty.

DIY Ombre Hair Results.

2011-01-15T18:08:00.000-08:00

Here it is. My daughter took this picture. I am very proud. :-)

I bought a Feria bleach blonding Kit. I threw the dye on my tips and let it sit there for almost an hour. i kept looking for the color to change, and it just wasn't for a long time. Must be the 70 layers of Natural Instincts that I have on there. Anyways, I washed it out, and I am very happy with the results. it was so easy, and it's fun, and if I didn't like it I could just cut it off. I've done so many things to my hair over the years, tried to give myself bright crayola red highlights in blond hair once which just ended up making my hair this pukey diffuse crimson color, it was awful. but i didn't care. hair is hair. you can cut it, it grows out. people should be more daring with their hair.

Ombre Hair

2011-01-14T09:49:00.001-08:00

going to try this today. Actually I started a couple days ago. It has been a process. First I colored my hair from the root to the ear with Natural Instincts in Suede (brown), because my hair is not quite that dark. Yesterday, i put Garnier Fructis "Vanilla Malt" (blonde) on my ends for 30 minutes, and it DIDN'T DO ANYTHING!!! no color change at all.
So today I'm going to go out and get some highlighting bleach to try again. Yeah, I probably should wait a couple days, but what the hell, I don't really care. The beauty of this is that you can just cut it off if you don't like it. My hair has been solid chocolate brown for awhile now and I'm just so bored with it. I do not want to go blonde, I don't want to be red, I just did those, so I think this is a nice change and a good choice. Plus, it's a bit punky and fun, and that's what I'm all about.

Portraits / Treatments

2011-01-11T07:06:00.001-08:00

you can't deny, portraits do look more dramatic in black and white. i always increase the contrast and the saturation of the black to make it look super intense. I try hard to keep things in color, i like the vibrancy, and i feel that the colors people choose tell a story.
sepia is so warm, i usually prefer it to black and white for pictures of people. even for inanimate object sometimes the golden glow just looks more friendly, more happy.
for this one i preserved the color, but faded it as much as possible. kind of giving it the feel of a vintage photograph.
pensive, out the window shots remind me of senior pictures, but I don't care. the light that dances on your face when you look out a window is beautiful, no matter what.

Practicing Portraits

2011-01-10T17:59:00.001-08:00

I may be doing some portraits soon, so I decided to practice. I was lucky that we had a good light day. It was overcast, but sunny. so the light kind of filtered through the clouds and wasn't too blinding, so that was wonderful.
there are so many angles of the head that you can work with, it's fun. and maybe a smile from time to time. I don't like people to look angry, or bored. One thing that I've learned is that it's hard to get most people to get rid of the "I'm getting my picture taken" look. I try to get people to relax and then it's almost better to just talk to them and take the shots mid-conversation.
Pulling the shoulders down *forcefully* and elongating the neck is key for me. I really like a long neck, and i think the shoulder pull-down gives a nice definition to the collarbone area, which is flattering.

Film with Color

2011-01-10T12:47:00.001-08:00

this makes me want sunshine and spring so bad. double image one taken over the other. the purple flowers are periwinkle. don't you just want to ride a bike down this street?
my husband and I in a heart made of light leaks and flares. i did saturate the color on iphoto. I can't wait for summer.

More Fun with Film

2011-01-07T11:30:00.001-08:00

having a lot of fun with film lately. I just read an article that kids born in 2011 will not even know what a film camera is. Not my kids. This was taken with the Holga, image over image.
in the same respect, i guess it is like a record player, something that no one listens to anymore, but others love it, and think there is nothing else that sounds better.
I love the nuance in feeling, the grit and the malleability of this camera, there is so much you can do, it's endless.
three images shot over one another? why not.

Altering Film

2011-01-06T09:41:00.001-08:00

yeah, so, what the hell, i decided to touch up the film images on iphoto. Not a whole lot of anything, just increasing saturation and contrast and cropping, etc. and I must say, I am a true lover of the ability to do this.
I know that with film you can do so much, and I remember seeing the images that Richard Avedon created but cutting and pasting and exposing and doing all these things to make every photo look incredible, but you can't deny the ease at which you can do things in the modern era.
everyone can be a photographer, and an artist, and i think that is wonderful. accessibility gives the gift of this to anybody. so we can all express ourselves in any way that we would like.
the world is our oyster, and i wouldn't have it any other way.

Film - Lomography

2011-01-05T11:13:00.000-08:00

someone was asking me about film the other day. and I was thinking, "yeah, i did that, i haven't looked at those in years." so here they are from 2007. I really liked using film, and using this camera, i loved not being able to see the image until it was developed, which took days. there was a Christmas-morning-esque mystery and surprise to it. I love this shot of B and I, we look like such babies.
I thought about altering these images on the computer today, but then i thought not. this is not what this medium is about. i thought, i should stay true to that.
I've always been fascinated by hands, I really like this shot. This is the very first shot i ever took with my Holga.
fun little portrait by B. the lighting is all natural, and perfect.

Untitled #1

2011-01-04T16:05:00.000-08:00

thanks to B for the cryptic name. I liked this one, because the first time I saw it, i had no idea what was going on. I had to flip the image a couple times. I like the darkness of it. it's like a ghoulish, darkness.

Hazy Mystical

2011-01-04T11:57:00.000-08:00

i'm still trying to get the wheels back on the wagon. and in my effort, I am trudging through the mud in my mind and forcing myself to get it going, no matter what. I picked up the IR camera today, which i haven't used in a couple weeks, and I really had no idea what i was going to do. the only thing i was going for was to overwhelm the camera into not using it's flash. so i sought out my brightest lights.
i loved this image. actually when i put the images on my computer, in the raw form i was like, "what am I looking at here." and to me, that is a really really good thing. then as i sharpened and colored and edited them, i began to see, oh, there's my face. wow. and my ring.
this one reminded me of an ultrasound picture. the little serene look that a baby has on it's face, when it really doesn't know that it's being seen. and there's a warm fluid haze. i like that.
no idea where this bar came from across the photo, but i like it. great linear light flare to the right too.

it just shows that there are so many happy accidents, that you just have to go out there and get into things. never be afraid, never be apprehensive. if you never try, you will never know. I actually feel like i'm getting ideas flowing back to my brain again. i may have to ask B if he will allow me to put makeup on him. we shall see.

What's old is new again.

2011-01-03T15:49:00.000-08:00

i know i've done this shot a thousand times. but sometimes you just have to go back to what you know, and start from there. I was at ground zero, and to move from there i had to start at the bottom step. i think from now on things are going to be different for me anyways, so going back to the basics is slightly therapeutic for me.

Simple

2011-01-02T14:23:00.000-08:00

i took a little break over the holidays. Not because I was exhausted, but just because my creative energy was sapped. I couldn't think of anything, and I had little drive to produce. It's funny because the last half of 2010 I was producing tons of photos, and I just had loads of ideas every single day. But this is how it goes.

So the other day, I just took my camera and I said, I'm just going to shoot anything I feel here and now. So I did. and what came out of it was pretty good. I thought this image was very simple, and i like the amount of negative space that is going on. my body position reflects exactly how I am feeling right now, and I feel that it is a true, honest piece, so i am happy.

It just shows that when you fall off of the horse, you just need to jump back on.

Portrait in Profile

2010-12-30T14:32:00.000-08:00

"don't say a word." I like doing portraits that totally obscure the features of the subject. That may be against the whole concept of portrait taking, but I don't care. I think to make the viewer think, and to maybe bring out some part of the character in a subject in a non-obvious way is more powerful.

Merry Christmas from Silverpopsicle

2010-12-24T06:39:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas from Silverpopsicle Photography. I hope Santa gets you everything that you desire!!

The Glass Ceiling

2010-12-22T05:43:00.000-08:00

At first look I thought this photo looked like the ribcage and innards of some great whale. Just because the beams are shining white like that, and the ribbons or whatever they are, are kind of hung in a random pattern, not really any order there, and I like it. So this kind of reflects death to me.

Saatchi Online

2010-12-22T05:31:00.000-08:00

I have my photography up on the *Saatchi Online* database now. Check it out - HERE.

It's a website that helps artists get exposure, and there are fun "showdowns" to enter and put your art up against other people looking for the same thing.

Les Objets De GLC

2010-12-18T12:25:00.000-08:00

there is beauty in everything. This is a coin machine. It's taken with the IR camera and I am just loving this insane ultra-sonic-boom-flare that happened somehow on the left side of the image.
when i took my camera this day, i thought, i may not shoot anything, but i might. so i should bring it. and I'm so glad I did. there were so many amazing angles and objects to capture. and obviously the IR makes everything look fabulously eerie.
there really isn't an object here, except for the sun. and the gorgeous full bubble-flare. i think the point is, that we don't need to try or look for anything, everything we need is right in front of us, we just need to open our eyes.

Carousel

2010-12-16T16:26:00.001-08:00

taken with the IR camera. I am having so much fun with that thing. This was taken indoors, and it was so so so bright. So much natural light streaming in, it was almost blinding, but with the IR the images turned out so dark. That's what I love about this camera, there's so much to do with the photographs, there's so much work to do, you really have to put the energy into it. But when you do, it pays off.

Vintage Dresses

2010-12-15T05:18:00.001-08:00

i used to like winter. i really don't like winter anymore. i don't like being cold. i don't like having to bundle up in layer after layer. Right now i have 2 pairs of pants, a long sleeve shirt and sweater on with a giant fuzzy robe over the top of everything. i just want to wear what i want to wear. there are so many amazing vintage dresses in my closet, like this one, that I wore all summer, and I just wish for the day that I can wear them again. even the vintage coats that I have, i'm still scared to really wear them in the winter. I just think if one speck of salt gets on them they will disintegrate. i guess this really is a luxury problem. so i'll stop now. maybe we should think about moving to a warmer climate.

Snow Angel

2010-12-14T18:01:00.000-08:00

just relaxed, nothing to worry about, making footprints in the snow. that's how it should be. my daughter has taught me so much, and i feel that I've learned and changed drastically since we had her. it's unreal, and I know everyone says this, but having a child changes your life so much that you don't remember what life was like before. or you think, as i think a lot of the time, what a waste my life was before i had her. nothing mattered until her. it's like now there is this profound drive to play and learn, and teach her everything. the love that you have and you feel from your child is more powerful than anything in the world. the experience of watching them grow and develop bends your mind into a million pieces as you struggle to wrap your brain around the awesomeness and complexity of it all. it brings so much joy, and takes you back to the days when you the simplest things would make you laugh. you can look past all the faults in the world after your look into your child's eyes, because at that moment, nothing else matters.

Do Work. aka Ben's Theater Accident.

2010-12-12T19:12:00.000-08:00

it's always fun to watch someone go about their work. when they are really in the zone and thinking about something hard, there's a piece of them that you see that is not always there. We've talked a lot about work personas, etc. But that's not really what i mean here, it's more like a channeling of the energies to complete a project that you really want to do. when I work with my photography i have a pile of stuff with me, sharpies, batteries, tripod, phone, flashlights, props of all weird kinds. in these photos are the things that Ben needs, calculators, paper, pencil... and it was all spread out on this gorgeous abstract painted runner (that Ben made and painted) and the whole effect looked so energetic. i couldn't stand it, so i took pictures of it.

IR Outdoors - Another One.

2010-12-12T18:16:00.001-08:00

today we had a ridiculous snowstorm. it's still going on, 12 hours later. I wanted so badly to go outside and get some snowy shots with the IR, because I thought, "in the summer, the IR makes a landscape look snowy, what will an actual snowy landscape look like?" but alas, i could not bring myself to go outside. that's just how I am. so I sat by the window and took this shot from inside. I love the reflections on the glass from the flash, and i think the image looks very antique like it could be from a newspaper in 1890.

IR Still Lives

2010-12-11T10:51:00.001-08:00

i don't do still lives that often. that is, unless wicked light or shadows are involved as in these. I am usually interested in telling some story, or evoking something, or diarizing some internal chasm of myself.

there is some fun simplicity to these. I love the way the upper image is so exposed out that your eye is mostly drawn to the shadow and the edge of the table. and the photo below, i think the spires of light coming out of the bulb glow were cute and fun.

sometimes we all need to get out of our box, and see where it takes us, it's healthy.

IR Portraits

2010-12-10T16:36:00.000-08:00

oh my goodness i love the butterfly shaped flares over the shoulder. i don't even understand how that can happen. i love using this camera for portraits because i think it suits my style so well. it's everything that I pretty much try to convert my conventional camera photos to be, except for the whiting out of my eyes. that's just a fun side effect.
there were some challenges. I put a wide variety of strange makeup on, and finally concluded that I should just go whacked out clockwork orange style with it, because I'm not going to get a conventional beauty shot. I just absolutely embraced the uniqueness of these results.

IR Outdoors

2010-12-10T10:53:00.000-08:00

So yesterday was a perfect, sunny winter day. I thought, despite the cold, we are going to go out and see how the IR camera performs out in the snow. So we bundled up, and hoofed it out in to the great white outside.

I love the effect. I love the darkening of the sky, and the detail that the IR imparted onto this tree. This box-elder is my favorite tree, i love the knotty asymmetricality of it. The owners of this house do not like it. Poor tree.
I played with the color a bit too. I could have just converted them to b/w, but when I did, i felt that I lost some of the magic of the composition. I think the images looked so otherworldly, they should have some saturated crayola-esque colors to go with the alien aspect.
Another huge plus, getting some gorgeous flares and light leaks. this is not a camera that is hard to overwhelm with light, in a fabulous way. I probably did major retinal damage to myself, since i was looking through the actual viewfinder for this shot. At first it was hard for me to focus in that way, hilarious, i know. The shadows turned out so wonderful too. Geez, what more could I ask for.
Massive, amazing lightflare-comet here. how much do you love?
This vibrant purple was in honor of my photography assistant. Whom i adore.

IR Photography - Learning Curve

2010-12-09T07:00:00.001-08:00

Day Two of IR Photography. I've figured out one thing... That I like the shots best when the flash is not activated. The images are more high contrast and have more purposeful foci, plus i like the purple cast. With the flash, the image is diffuse and reddish, and rather ordinary, maybe with some post-shot editing, I can get a cool effect.

Another thing I figured out is that you can do "light painting" with this camera. My daughter actually showed me this. Little genius.

IR Photography

2010-12-08T04:53:00.000-08:00

A friend let me borrow his *homemade* IR camera. First of all, Bravo to Ken for actually ripping a camera apart and creating this wonderful thing! I recieved the camera at 7pm, and by 11pm I had taken about 50 photos. I have no idea the proper usage of this amazing piece of equipment, so i was trying everything. Also, because it is not mine, I carry the camera around like a baby bird, nestled in my hands, so afraid to injure it.

I took this photo, and i am really loving the result of it. It's hilarious, because we are so used to seeing our image right after taking the photo. Because this is a hand-created rig, and it being IR (im sure) the LCD screen on the back of the camera does not show you an image, so i was shaking in excitement to see what I had done.

The most amazing thing was that I did absolutely zero editing on this image. I usually edit the socks off of all of my other shots. I didn't even have to crop this. This is exactly how the image was, directly from the camera, naked as the day it was born.

One thing that I have learned quickly about this format is that it doesn't let me take advantage of my favorite photography tool: Makeup, in the same way as i'm used to. I will have to adjust my technique if I am to employ the gracious assistance of cosmetics.

I love the "smudgyness" I love the glow of it, and I love the purple. it's so great. I can't wait to see what I do with it today!

Inspiration - Gloria Vanderbilt

2010-12-07T11:55:00.000-08:00

i saw this photo in Vogue the other day. i just love the sumptuousness of her posture on the sofa and the way her hands are positioned. it's as if her limbs were draped there like yards of duchess satin. her head and her clothing look oddly yet comfortably relaxed, like she had just been to a fabulous party and drank a lot of champagne. The thing that touches me most about this photo is the ease that I see in this woman. She is a mother, she is beautiful and she is comfortable. That makes me fall in love.

Playing Poker

2010-12-06T13:55:00.000-08:00

we really were playing poker. sunday night game. i have been thinking of doing some "first-person" projects, and this is the first. you are the other player, do you feel it? i had just looked at some amazing photos of Gloria Vanderbilt in Vogue that were taken in 1965. They had a very gritty, high contrast visionary quality, but the subject looked very refined.
he thinks he has a good hand. it's really hard when editing photos of people with gorgeous freckles. All i strive to do is preserve the freckles, not matter what. sometimes, i have to tell myself, we need to stay with the feel of the project, let them go, this once.
about to lay down the winning hand. again, as in other projects, much makeup was used. Also, i did this in a darkish room. I wanted the light low, so i could tease the contrast up and really blow it out.
also there is a giant pane of glass behind him. what i really wanted was so much flash that the other card player would be reflected in the glass. that ended up not looking very good, so i dropped that idea. more so, i enjoyed the almost complete blackness of the background, except for some odd light peeks.

The Eye

2010-12-03T19:49:00.000-08:00

what does it take to do a super-close up? what i found was that it takes lots of makeup, good lighting and tons of exposure.

the eye is the window into your soul, right? so what do you see in mine?

The 1960s

2010-12-02T19:11:00.000-08:00

*Original illustration by Cara Buchalter of Octavine Illustration.*

I was just listening to some amazing 1960s music, and I was just thinking about how no other generation, movement, style, sound, imaging, mentality has met my hardwiring like the 1960s has. I can give and take all other decades. I wonder if people feel as strongly as i do about the 60s about other decades, and to me that sounds hilarious and stupid. so think what you like.

I don't know what has drawn me, i've thought about it so many times. i think maybe watching too much Nick at Nite as a kid. It seemed like every show i watched from that era had a wonderful tongue-in-cheek quality, a luminescence, an optimism that i bonded to.

As far as the fashion and the style, i think it's all about geometry and proportions, i love the geometric and i love color. i also love extremes. But you could also argue that the 1980s had a lot of those qualities too, but it was very different.

A lot of wonderful music came out of the 1960s, amazing amazing music that moved mountains in my mind. Powerful singing, and passionate delivery, maybe that's the key right there. it just hit me at my core.

Low MegaPixels (aka Super-Low-Res)

2010-12-02T06:48:00.000-08:00

I was just talking to someone about this. Why are more megapixels just considered better? It's like saying impressionist painters suck. There should be all types of photography just like there are all types of painting styles appreciated. Here are two shots taken with my 1.8 megapixel children's camera without a flash. I think there is such charm to the gritty grainy quality and i love the way you can up the exposure on the computer and blow it out. it's such a cool effect.

Self Surgery

2010-11-29T14:03:00.001-08:00

I am so sick and tired of living in this pain, i honestly feel like taking matters into my own hands. I just want to remove my entire left arm, from the shoulder, just lop it off. This morning i had to throw the shoulder back into the socket, which is not a fun thing to do, especially not to do to yourself. No one knows what it's like to live in the body of another. Lots of people say that they have pain, and we can never pretend to know what things feel like to anyone. Brave faces glaze over everything.

Elk

2010-11-28T14:49:00.000-08:00

Four giant Elk mounted in my parents foyer. I love them. I took a zillion pictures. No one liked this picture but me. I think it's the only one that goes against type. I mean, I obviously shot it in b/w and sepia tones and warm neutrals, etc. But I've never seen mounted animals photographed in electric red and yellow. So I said, I don't care what everyone else thinks, this is my fav.

The Mistake.

2010-11-27T18:45:00.001-08:00

I was taking family holiday portraits and hilariously my tripod fell over and the camera actually took a shot. This is it. I thought about editing the image, but then i thought, this is not mine to alter. I think it's so gorgeous, the colors and the lighting on the branches and everything. I can't stand it, it's so beautiful. Way to go, wind gust/act of god/alien intervention.

Lost

2010-11-25T11:39:00.001-08:00

This is exactly how i feel today. and yes, that is my wedding dress. it just reflects light well, so don't hold it against me.

Forever i have had this feeling that I just don't understand how the majority of the world works around me. days like today, a "Family Holiday", i just don't understand this. It reminds me of episodes of Dexter, where he just has to try to pretend that he's normal and understands the emotions of those around him. I think, how do i feel about the people that I share genetics with? I don't think it's the same as others feel.

I try to think about the way I feel about my husband and daughter. I feel extreme love and adoration for them. I would step in front of a speeding train or catch a bullet for either of them. Is that the way that other people feel about the rest of their family?

Gosh, what does warmth mean to me? being incased in a lot of blankets. Piling on the couch with my daughter and husband, other than that I really can't say.

Being loved is still an emotion that I fight. Not really with people that I just meet, but with those i've known forever. I want to hold them away.

With my friends, i think i'm known as overly affectionate. I think i pour the love that i've been saving up onto them. I think of the goodness in them, and what I can constantly do to make their lives better and happier, and what I can say to make them feel wonderful.

But today is not about them. So i lay here and try to fight off shallow breathing, and try to concentrate on the fact that it is only one day. I can get through one day. I honestly wish I could tell you what I feel triggered these reactions in me, but my mind just comes up blank.

Happy Thanksgiving from Silverpopsicle

2010-11-24T12:51:00.001-08:00

Happy Thanksgiving! Enjoy your turkey and all the trimmings. I am thankful for you all.

Love, Vanessa