It's going over well :)

We Go Nowhere

We Go Nowhere from Haley Vining on Vimeo.

Between the Pages

Today was the shoot with Alexa and Haley, based upon the "Fashion Execution" poem. I wanted to investigate the relationship between young women and the magazines they read. I took every magazine I could find, and looked through them, had the girls bring their clothes and interpret the photos, dressing and posing. This is a subject that I definitely want to pursue further. 

Location Prep:

The location for the shoot was a large marble and wood bathroom with a jacuzzi tub and vanity lights, mirrors, cabinets, granite countertops - something to give the air of privilege and pampering, and to set the stage for this private "fashion show." The master bathroom at my parents' house was the perfect location for the shoot, but it was very much their own, personal bathroom, so I spent the morning of the shoot placing all of their affects into bags and scrubbing the surfaces of the bathroom. 

Before 

After

I love being the wardrobe stylist and creative director of photoshoots, but until today, I had never acted as a MUA. Here is the shoot prep:

 me, applying Alexa's makeup. photo credit: Hailey Curtis

Here is a preview from the day:

A Never-Ending Story

Lesson for the day - it sometimes takes much more time to edit a film than it does to edit a photo shoot, and there's a small chance that I will be editing this forever. That being said - back to editing!

Sunday's Shoot

Inspiration

Source: flickr.com via Ms Sadie on Pinterest

Source: chasingkitesbyangie.blogspot.com via Claire on Pinterest

Source: crushculdesac.tumblr.com via Jessica on Pinterest

Source: weheartit.com via Lena on Pinterest

Source: the-electric.blogspot.com via Amanda on Pinterest

Fashion Execution

Writhing beneath the mesh, lips parted

Grating tulle flexing over cheekbones

Skin sucked between pale, jolting ribs

Hips sliding A-line, knee bent, toes pressed,

Feet arched, and head jerked, calculated

thrashing. Tugging with slender-boned fingers

wrenching the fenceposts down over her oiled

paper chest, knees smashed against each other,

malleable marble, crumbling into thighs

Zipping blue-veined goose-flesh into painted

black metal zips. Dry palms over palm oil scalp,

painted nails over painted face, acidic throat

cleared into the fabricated air and the sound

of heels being torn against plastic casing

of unsharpened pencils writing lines up the

legs and over the curves of near-hips

Wobble-walking before the blank wall, pulled

tight, caged, staring into the black eyes, the trigger

pulling, click. Shadow splashing against the wall

Sliding and in seconds, fading.

Epiphany

e·piph·a·ny

   [ih-pif-uh-nee]  Show IPA

noun, plural -nies.

1.

a sudden, intuitive perception of or insight into the reality or essential meaning of something, usually initiated by some simple, homely, or commonplace occurrence or experience.

Amidst the frustration of editing, row after row of pictures on my computer, of seeing the same layer masks, the same poses, I began to wonder what was stilling my creativity. What lid was capping my imagination. First, I dug into films and looked at other photographers to draw inspiration from them, but though ideas flickered up in the dark, they did not light the room. 

In my writing, I did not fear strangeness or risk, and washed my hands in a running tap of ideas. I wondered how to incorporate that type of creativity into my photography and spent this morning and early afternoon reading over my writing from the last few months, trying to trace back to my original inspiration. 

Somewhere in the early afternoon, I began to perceive each poem, each writing in a visual way and had an "epiphany" of sorts. Each image I had in my head, as I read, burned brighter than the ideas that I had been formulating for days, from a blank scene, though I had more tangible information to work with in those cases. 

I called Alexa, the model I'm working with on Sunday, and asked her to call me as soon as she got out of class, to fill her in on the direction the shoot was taking. Now, because the amount of potential inspiration was not overwhelming and the idea, and focus, and emotion I gathered for the shoot originated with my own writing, I felt as though I could take more control as a creative director and stylist.

I also got in touch with Mason to reschedule, because I formulated another idea from a separate piece of writing. All in all, I am very excited about the direction this project has taken and what it means for my productivity as a photographer and a writer. 

Cast of Characters for Sunday

For the shoot on Sunday, friends Mason and Alexa will be working with me and Hailey Curtis will be working as MUA and hair stylist. I'm trying to pursue the Back to the Future films as an inspiration for the storyline and style of this shoot.

Mason and Alexa

Back to the Future

HAIR AND MUA IDEAS

"Doc" revamped

Marty McFly revamped