A fish eye view of downtown LA

I love my city.
My fisheye adventure went much better than my Holga adventure. I will keep practicing and hopefully learn to take some real kick ass photos on this thing.
So yeah, I love my city. But I will be visiting my old city in a few days. hopefully when I get back, i'll have some rockin photos to upload. Until then. Merry Christmas and Happy New Years.

Ribbon Heart

Leftover ribbon from presents. A heart for you. A heart for me.

Holga failures

I completely failed at using my Holga. Out of 16 possible photos, only 4 came out, and one of those 4 came out well. So basically I'm left with
1. a really dark photo from my vintage photo shoot
2. A blurry photo of what i think is mel's diner in hollywood
3. A photo of Ashley laughting in front of Madame Tussands
4. Graffiti in the art's district


I'm hoping my photos from the fish eye come out much better. Stay tuned.

Lomography Gallery

I keep telling myself that I need to write more in this little blog, but I have alot of excuses why I haven't. I'm not going to bother to write any of them down. So just for your information, if you are in the Los Angeles area, and you would like to check out a free party that involves cameras plus music plus food, here is the place.

http://www.lomography.com/magazine/events/2010/12/04/a-very-lgs-la-holiday-party

Check it out.

Thoughts

After checking out "Please Excuse the Mess" at Thread show, I decided that I want to shoot more film. I have been slowly checking out the different photograhers and getting ideas on the diff types of photos I'd like to try. I don't have a scanner, so I don't know how I will show the photos once i have them,but I will try to post them online.

Happy Holidays!!

It is my favorite time of year. I just love wrapping up gifts and sending out greeting cards. I know some people find it a hassle. I just find it fun. I am finally lessening up my self imposed break, and beginning to look into doing shoots again. I still prolly won't do anything "creative" until the new year. I am always booking though. So if you need any last minute holiday photos, don't be afraid to ask. I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday season. Until I post again.

=)

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Waiting game

I know I haven't posted anything new in a little bit. That is because I don't have any shoots scheduled. I think I've been taking a little break. Hopefully I'll be back on the picture taking band wagon soon. Then I'll have more updates and fabulous pictures to share with everyone!

Robert

Normally I write about a shoot right after it happens. Well, that didn't happen this time. But alas, a week later, I will give you the basics. This shoot took place in the arts district and little Tokyo. One of my most favorite places to peruse. Otherwise it was pretty standard.
This is Robert. The styling is his. Enjoy.

Cindy

It was a an early Friday morning with a little cool breeze. People walking their dogs, men playing sports in the rec area. I see a young woman sitting by the basketball court, talking on her phone. Is that her? Must be. There's no other girls around. That was the start of my latest shoot at Venice Beach. I love how I can shoot beach and urban within two blocks of each other. Here are a few photos:

Friday

I met the sweetest girl today. Very soft spoken and polite. I will put up here photos within the next week or two.

Kit

Photos from my last week Monday nighttime shoot.

J & A

Here are some photos from my shoot that was inspired by the Sienna express on Nylon.

Time to go

I walked up from the esculators. Look around. Yes, I was at the right place. The kodak theatre. I sit down. I still have 15 mins until I have to meet the model. I call my mom. Then I sit and eat a white chocolate chip cookie. I notice this girl sitting next to me. My only thought is, I told the model I'm a tall black girl, and she's a tall black girl. Now he's going to have to guess which one of us it is.

A few mins later, she turns around, asks if she can use my cell phone. I tell her no at first. I mean I don't know who she is. What if she wants to steal my phone. Then she starts talking to me. Says she used to live in Houston, now she's here in LA, trying to became famous. Like we haven't heard all of that before. At least she was nice though. I gave her my card. Never know, she may use it. If she stays in LA. An older man from Vienna talked to us too. Wanted directions. Finally, my phone rings. It's the model. Time to go. '

Walk around until I find him. Cut up capris, white v-neck, blue trucker hat. Time to go shoot. We saw juggalo's and girls crying and sketchy homeless people. I guess it's all in a day's work in good old hollywood.

****A another photo from my around the world shoot****

London

This is my first little tibit from my Around the World or Pasadenca, CA shoot. We called this the back streets of london. This was his first shoot. He did a mighty fine job if I do say so myself. More to come, prolly later this weekend.

Tell the words to come out

All week, I've kind of felt like this shoot was doomed. The model cancelling, having such a hard time finding another one, just little things happening. Even with not being able to use the clothing designer. It just all kind of worked out. For example, walking to Ms. Andi's house, I told the MUA well, if the clothes don't work out, maybe I can buy some from the girl at the yard sale. And would you know it, two hours later, I was running up to her, asking her how much they cost, and nine dollars, two dresses, and one vest later, we had clothes. Ms. Andi also just happened to have a vintage couch delivered to her house at the perfect time to be used in our shoot. Not to mention, her apartment has roof access. I was like wow. It's all coming together. Sometimes, things just work out.

Imaginary trip

I spent the day on an imaginary trip. Three young fellows and I walked down the alleys of London, stood in front of a old building in Spain, hung out on the wall in Detroit, and spent a few minutes in good old downtown Pasadena, California. It was when we were in good old downtown Pasadena, or was it a sidewalk cafe in France, that a security guard came and told us we couldn't shoot there w/o a permit. I seem to be the queen of being told "You can't photograph here." That removal allowed us to visit many more wonderful imaginary places, and in three hours, got to explore the world a bit.

-LP

"I won't fall apart"

I have two shoots coming up this weekend. One of them, I've been working on for the last several weeks and it has taken alot out of me. Just in the organizing and getting everyone together. Sometimes I think I need an assistant just to deal with all the different aspects of photoshoots. My shoot that's causing me some stress is based on this video:
http://www.nylonmag.com/?section=article&parid=5019

I just love Savannah's style in this video. I want to thank the fabulous Andi for letting us use her apartment for this shoot. That was really awesome of her!

My shoot involving boys will take place tomorrow in Pasadena. I'm not even sure exactly what all we are doing, but I'm hoping it's as fun as the Downtown Alley shoot. It will involve the same boys, so hopefully it'll be as fun. Now if I can just drive by all of my favorite stores in that area.

Ladies and Gents, be on the lookout for new photos!!!

Oh and i have another night time shoot coming up. ;)

Slightly amusing

Venice Beach Fun Shoot! This day was interesting to say the least. Homeless men talking to me, watching skateboarders, sitting around and looking at lovely beach boys. The sun didn't come out until around 3pm. Just in time for the end of my first shoot and the start of the 2nd one. Ha. Enjoy!





And here's a photo from the day when the security guard decided to not use his gun. These boys are funny. Just random dancing and singing. Seems like they have fun with what they are given.

Say what?

Standing around, waiting for the models to finish getting ready. I see a security guard coming. I start packing up my stuff b/c I figure I know what he's going to say. Sorry it's private property, you can't (photo)shoot here. Instead he says, you guys are lucky I didn't shoot you. I have a gun. This is trespassing. I'm like huh, gun, shoot. Why would you do that when it's obvious where standing around with a camera? I was like uh okay. The good side? He actually let us stay for a bit and take photos. I guess once he asserted his authority. I learned my lesson though. You never know when a person has a gun and is willing to use it, so don't go on other's property even if it does look abandoned.

Page Master

Check out the pages that I've added to make this blog more website worthy!

Dreamscape

During my lovely night's sleep, I had this dream where I was trying and trying to take people's photos. The lighting was great, the posing was great, but my camera just would not work. I checked the battery, the settings, everything, but nope, the shutter would not click. I was just so frustrated in the dream. I wonder what it all means? I fear my camera breaking?

Luca

I did this shoot right before I left for beautiful Spain. Needless to say, I was lacking on my creativity that day. For some reason, after I got back from Houston, I just wasn't feeling creative or motivated. So I wasn't super happy with this shoot b/c I felt lacking. The photos aren't super creative, but I did get some decent shots. Thanks for being a good sport Luca.

August

I'm back from Spain. And all summer, I've been saying, once I'm back, I need to do some changes in my life. One of them being in photography. I was looking through some of my old photographs, and I realized that when I first started this portrait thing two years ago, I was a bit more creative. So I want to be more creative. Starting with a venice beach summer lovin' series. Those photos will be out soon, so be on the lookout!

Turn it up LOUD!

I'm wanting beach. Fun, cool tints, surfer boys (or girls), lazy, fun. Yeah. I'm wanting beach. I'm wanting venice. Be on the lookout. It will happen in August.


Today I was not inspired. At all. Damn. I hate not feeling the creativity. And the heat. Oh the heat.

Yeah, I'm definitly feeling the beach.

That was easy, but how I miss you

Grifith Park. A lovely saturday. Told her to dress like a farmgirl. We climbed, we got dirty, avoided horse poop. Overall a good shoot. =)










I know they look like the long lost Jonas brothers. This was the downtown alley shoot. It involved avoiding human poop, jumping fences, seeing baby rats, and lots of fun sneaking around.

What's your name again, come morning I'll need to know.

This is Alex. He works with me. He was nervous. I call these his magazine shots. The clothes and styling are his.

Hip Hop Parody

This was a crazy, windy, coldish day when just th ewekend before was warm and beautiful. At least the sun was kind of out and the model was pumped and ready to go. Which was great b/c the orginal model flaked right before the shoot and I had to find a model last minute. The idea for this shoot came from my little brother, who thought it would be cool if I did a hip hop parody, 80s/90s hip hop. It would have been better if I could have use of better accersories but oh well. So here are the photos. Oh and I got a parking ticket this day. Grrr to that, my first one ever!








More to russia

To Russia With Love

This idea, it started with a hat that I found onsale at Urban, and the idea just grew from there. This shoot is supposed to kind of have a Russian gypsy flare to it. The model you see here, is a very strong young woman. She has had a difficult past year or two with medical problems and doctors telling her she would never walk again. And look at her, strong and beautiful, and ready to show the world who she is. It was a gorgeous day at this park, with the make up done by Alondra, and the clothes the model's own or borrowed.

Meg

A new model. A revised idea. Welcome. This is Meg.

CM & BD

I wanted wilderness, a girl dressed in 60's hippi fashion. I wanted to catch some reluctant beauty. So I asked two of my friends if they'd want to do a hippi shoot. They both said yes. While sneaking down a dry stream bed, we came up with lovely hippi names for the models. Every good model (or actor) has to has a stage name. So here for the first time (under these names) are Ms. Clover Maple and Ms. Beau Dee. Topanga State Park has such loveliness. We got to explore the park a bit and get some really great photos too. Then we were off to the beach. We got to see a car driving into another car, but other than that the day went pretty smoothe.

Do you remember when we couldn't put it away?

I've done four shoots in four days. Talk about feeling exhausted. At the same time, I feel rejuvenated. Like I'm gotten my groove back. I feel pretty good about the shoots that happened this weekend. Not to mention I haven't done so many shoots with so many girls in a long time. It was nice. I ended the shoot today with some Baja Fresh with the model and MUA. That sprite felt soooo good going down my throat. It was a beautiful hot day with a little breeze. Perfect day to shoot. Here are some behind the scene shots I did with two of the photoshoots. Kind of like a sneak peek.





Be on the lookout for Ms. Clover Maple and Ms. Beau Dee with a 60's inspired hippi look.
Ms. Meg with a vintage school girl look.
Ms. Mila in "To Russia, With Love."

Rikko

A last minute shoot I did on Thursday. I did headshots for him and his son. His son likes to run around and chase birds. It was my first official shoot with a youngin. His dad wants to be an actor. I guess we'll see if big things happen or not. I don't normally post headshots, so enjoy this rare experience.

Saturday morning picnic

Yesterday was a nice day for a picnic in the park. Except it was kind of cool outside. My imagination said boy with shirt unbuttoned, but hey, sometimes it is a bit too cool for my fantasies. Maybe when it's warmer outside eh? So here's Madhatter. Picnic set up done by me. The clothes are his.

April Foolishness

Sometime I get really upset when I go to the shoot and I wait, and wait, and no ones there. Not today though. I think I kind of new the girl was probably there, but that I just wasn't seeing her. She said she tried to call and txt but I didn't answer my phone. Though she kind of acted like that was my fault. My conclusion is that she typed in my number wrong and since she never bothered to give me her number, granted I should have asked, but I didn't have hers, so yup, the shoot today didn't happen. I just figure things happen for a reason, and I will do the shoot at a later date.

Time to go, read, and enjoy the rest of my Friday.

Stay tuned.

Sometimes you win some,
sometimes you loose some.

It feels like lately I've been loosing some.

Or at least getting alot of reschedules.

A lot of photos should be on there way this next month.

Stay tuned...

Restroom fun

She's a singer. She at war with a friend, over who can do the strangest shoots. This takes place in a public restroom. Please excuse the germs in case they can be transmitted via cyber space.

Clothes and make up all done by MJ.
www.myspace.com/mjlawonline

Anais

I didn't feel good. The wind was blowing every which way. Needless to say, I'm not sure how much I truly remember about this photoshoot. The model was nice. She's an activist for model's rights. She wants to put on workshops to prepare the new model. I actually think that's a good idea. There are alot of creepos out there, not to mention alot of scams, and I think models should be informed, as well as photographers that are just learning the ropes. It's not good if you have to learn the hardway.

Because it was a windy day, I had real difficulty with my reflectors and keeping it on the spot where I wanted it. I'm getting to the point where I'm starting to depend on my reflector more. I needed it though b/c the sunlight coming in through the trees was messing up the lighting. So the shoot went alright. Saw some random dogs, all huge, which I could have done without. No snakes though. Thank god. Last summer, we ran into a rattler, and let me tell you, that wasn't all that fun. So here's a photo from that shoot.

Sentimental

It was a beautiful day. How could it not be? It was the first truely warm weekend in months. I get to the park, there are families out enjoying the day, it was a perfect day for the shoot. Now I will admit, I had some trouble getting in the feel of this shoot. But once we found the little green patch of grass, things started going much better. The model was a chatterbox. I bit of a nervous chatter box, but nice. Sometimes I get so tired on these shoots. It's like you walk around and you are trying to use your creatively to get a good shot, it's like you only have this one to two hours to do it. Sometimes everything works out, and you get beautifulness. Other times, I just feel disappointed. I don't know if it's a good thing or not, this feeling that I have that I'm never quite good enough. The model was a newbie, so that's always more work, or it takes more time for the models to get a hang of it. I did get some good photos that I like. To me that is all that matters. I want to create a good time for the models. Where they can feel comfortable and express who they are and I can try to capture that on camera. It doesn't always work, and sometimes personalities clash. But I do always try.

Wardrobe flakes

All I'm going to say is this. If you agree to do the shoot, for free or not, you talk to the photographer, set up the whole thing, and then say, "oh I'm just so busy, I can't do it." Then you should have said from the beginning that you can't do the shoot. Want to know why? We are ALL busy. You aren't the only one. And it took time for me to set everything up, just for you to flake and say "Oh I'm too busy." Too bad. Next time, say no. Cause honestly, If you think you're going to make it big by being "too busy" then you can think again.

Weekend roundup

Yesterday's photoshoot was all about the wind and the wilderness, while talking about model's rights of course.

Today's photoshoot encompassed the art of shooting in a public restroom and laughing at people's reactions when they walk in and see us in there.

At least they'll have an interesting story to tell.

Perfect weather

Last Saturday was a lovely warm day, the perfect day to drive to Pasadena and go on the hunt to find a park with a stage on it. I'm one of those people who go places w/o an address and hope for the best. At leat I was last Saturday. What a lovely little park it was, full of flowering trees and homeless people (or maybe just old people from a retirement home?). No one bothered us, so it was a good place to shoot. Hair, make up, and clothes by the lovely model. Photography of course by me.

Dry

Ideas. Sometimes I'm just running rampant with ideas and it is just a manner of putting the whole idea together. Other times I seem to be sucked dry. Right now I'm going through a dry spell...


Ideas would be welcome.

Shake, rattle, and run

Yesterday, this man stopped us during our shoot to tell us to beware of rattlesnakes. I told him it wouldn't be the first time I ran into them (while on a shoot). There was no appear of charlie (the rattlesnake) or any of his friends.

Sunday posting

My photoshoot yesterday was like having a little delicate flower in the mist of homeless people.

My photoshoot today was like having a needy little puppy in the midst of the garden of Eden.

I hate how others can shoot people down and those people become self conscious and unsure b/c of that. I know that happens a lot in this business, but it doesn't mean I have to like it.

Here's a photo from last week:

Time waster

Sometimes I think the hardest part of all of this is editing the photos. It takes so long b/c photoshop is so low on my computer. If I don't care much for the photos, I don't edit much b/c I just don't care to. But if I get alot of good shots, then I'm editing away and it sometimes takes days b/c I can only focus on it a little at time.

I have two shoots this weekend. It's supposed to be sunny and nice, so I'm hoping that means the shots will be sunny and nice. I'm wanting to be inspired. I hope I can be.

A silent star

The silent film shoot has been in the works for a while. One day at work, I was looking at photos and I came across one of Lillian Gish. One look and I was sold. I sat there thinking, I want to do a photoshoot with someone pretending to be her. And the idea was born. That's how alot of my ideas are born. Getting it all together, now that's a different story.

Trying to find make-up artists (mua) and wardrobe stylists that are willing to shoot for free is crazy hard. I have to ask so many different people. At least rejections don't bother me anymore. When it comes to that stuff, I just can't take it personally. I posted a casting call on Model Mayhem (MM) which is this great website that has really helped me move forward with my portfolio. I got tons of responses, so it was all about weeding through the responses and finding the right people for the job.

After rescheduling the shoot once and getting everyone's schedule together, the shoot was finally confirmed and ready to go. Only one problem: The wardrobe stylist cancelled, but at least she gave me a week's notice, so had to go shopping for vintage attire and assories (and on a budget too!). I went to my favorite store, Urban Outfitters and I found this cool hat for only $5. The vintage clothes shopping didn't go so well, let's just say I ended up with mostly nothing. I got saved. How? The model owns vintage clothes!

Day of shoot, I look out the window, there is a huge grey sky and the the clouds are just screaming, I want to rain! I'm thinking okay, if it rains, we'll just figure something out. I drive to the model's house and it's drizzling, the mua is already there, and we set off to begin the getting the model ready part of shooting. There was bleaching and curling and tons of powder to get the look just right. All in all, it took about 3 hours. I do have to say the MUA did a great job, I would recommend her to others.

We decided to use the model's house and neighborhood for the shoot since it was cloudy and could start raining at any time. At first, things weren't going all that great, the model was stiff, and was having trouble getting into the role of being a silent film star. I will say this, most models need a warm up before they start taking good photos. Once I told her to stand up and pretend to water the plants while looking away dreamily, she started to get into the role and the shoot went much better. The street scenes are my favorite. The mua helped me with poses and expressions for the model. (Pretend you are kissing someone, there you go!) We got her doing the classic pout and some carefree moves too. It's funny how people will stand and watch us, or to have men yell obscene comments or try to flirt just b/c they see some girl getting her photos taken. As photoshoots go, this one went smoothly and I got some shots I'm proud of.