We are in the midst of spring and everyone’s gardens are in full bloom. Mayberry actually looks inviting at this time of year so it seems odd that I write about a recent shoot we named Gray Gardens. This foray into fashion doesn’t include the typical Mom’s that I dress up to be fashion icons of my past or about my cynicism directed at being stuck in suburbia but instead it is a celebration of what can be achieved anywhere with all the right players.
My dear friend, hairstylist extraordinaire, Christine Zilinski asked if I would shoot a fashion story to highlight some amazing hairstyles and techniques she learned on her recent travels with the artistic team for Davines. Time for both of us busy moms and business owners is in short supply and even though I love the idea of shooting fashion (that’s the real reason I conceived this blog in the first place) I was skeptical that we could truly find talent in the burbs. I begged her to see models from NYC but she was relentless about her search for local talent.
To my astonishment the team she put together rivaled any crew with NYC fashion credits (I mean I originally started in this business as a fashion stylist so I think I can say this with certainty) and I am hoping this fashion shoot brings them the credentials to venture out of the “burbs”, into the spotlight of the big fashion cities all over the globe. Of course I am also hoping that everyone that sees these images will recognize that I can shoot way more then just children’s lifestyle photography .
So this post is not only about the beauty I am starting to appreciate out her in “Mayberry” but also about friendship and collaboration. Talent in this day and age is everywhere and if you keep your standards high anything can be achieved anywhere. Don’t you think?
Thank you to my crew ( Jeff Salmon and Dee Cleare who are also dear friends and helped me schlep and light this story in a cold dank warehouse in Mayberry – Hence the name Gray Gardens)
Fashion Credits and more thanks : Hair created by Christine Zilinski, Davines Artistic team and Owner of Salon Concrete, Make-Up by Juan Dejesus , Models Kat and Alex from Red Bank Barbizon , Clothing Top Shop Styled by Larry Wolf (a very talented accessory designer as well) Shoes by Luxury Rebel
I love whiny woman singer/song writers. At least that’s what I name my playlists that include my favorite female vocalists. Their struggles in love and life speak directly to me since the mid 60’s when the genre was filled with what have become the folk heroes of an entire generation. Janis Joplin, Carole King and Carly Simon are but a few that make a consistent rotation in my ITunes catalogue.
But Joni Mitchell was one of my first discoveries. A cousin gave me one of her albums as a gift and I swear I wore out the vinyl playing it over and over on my portable stereo record player (portable back then was about 10 lbs!). Big Yellow Taxi, Both Sides Now, Help Me and California are the songs that still speak to me some 40 years after their release.
Speaking of California (the state not the song) I just got back to Mayberry after a whirlwind 5 day trip to LA LA land that included a meet up with childhood friends (they too held up well some 40 years later), an intense professional branding session (change is coming), a portrait shoot (3 adorable kids on the Santa Monica Pier) and even an internet date (that didn’t work out so well).
All it was really the catharsis for an even bigger life-changing event, keeping a promise to my son. I quit smoking….
Again a big thank you to Nichole, a very talented makeup and hair artist, who worked with me on the previous post of Bardot and my muse Dana M who also posed as Bardot on the last post insisting that Joni was really her doppelganger… Didn’t realize till I got her out in the sunlight that she was right. The cigarette in the above picture was a first for her and one of the last ones for me….
by suebarr on March 6, 2012
in empowing woman,Hair Stylists,Ingenue,Make Up,Mom,photography,Real Housewives,Real Moms,Suburban Bliss,Uncategorized
Brigit Bardot is truly the quintessential blond bombshell, a natural beauty, exhaling in every breath an innocent sexuality. Unobtainable to most women (no matter how hard they try out here in the burbs) and a fantasy unobtainable to most men.
I have always been fascinated with her. Not so much for her looks (I realized early on in life, any attempt at trying to even reproduce her looks on myself would have been cartoonish at best) but her comfort with being beautiful and sexual and still having a voice. I always thought of her as the polar opposite of her American contemporary Marilyn Monroe.
She had enough sense to retire from the industry at 40 but still use her notoriety to publically fight for the rights of animals, a cause that was dear to her. How many of us are willing to acknowledge our longevity within our industry in front of or behind the camera. It definitely has an expiration date. Doing the same thing day in and day out and expecting different results is insanity. Going forward we must change or wither away.
I have been thinking a lot about the successsful woman I know. So many are giving up their dreams and professions to embark on new unrelated career paths. One friend after years as stylist is studying to become a financial advisor. Another with a successful career as a film publicist is now in graduate school to become a landscape architect. It seems woman change careers and men just change wives ( a bit general but you do see my point).
I too am ready for a change. Not so drastic as my friends but something that will bring me closer to attaining the professional and personal success I covet. So I am on my way to Los Angelos to work with “Photo Therapists” and get a new vision on my beloved profession…so stay tuned “Change is coming”
A Special thank you to Nichole, a very talented makeup and hair artist, who braved the morning with my felines to recreate images of Bardot and Dana M, not only a beautiful and an easy subject to photograph but a smart savy mother of 2 little ones. She has a PHD from Purdue is an accomplished, singer, songwriter and presently a practicing yoga instructor.
I’m staying with the Laugh In theme on this one. After we accomplished the “Goldie Hawn” version of this Suburban Bliss shoot, I took Kelly outside to a little corner of my backyard (mind you my backyard is little to begin with so you can only imagine the corner I cramped her into). I shot her in the late afternoon light with just a reflector to enhance the moment. The purpose was to capture her as just a pretty woman she is. No theme in mind. Since she still has the body paint on from the “Sock It to Me” shoot she looks pretty groovy, don’t you think?
We never just stop during the course of our day or week and look at ourselves for the attractive woman we are. Having businesses, kids and homes just about takes over our entire being. Recently I lost a lot of weight (Thank you Dr Emma) and am realizing that I am still an attractive woman with a lot of “Joie de Vivre” in me! … I’m glad my ulterior motive wasn’t to please a man or society but to just be happy with my own reflection.
Ultimately I am pleasing some men:) and almost everyone I have come in contact with has noticed and been so complimentary to the results (BTW, thank you for noticing). It feels good to throw on a pair of jeans and a t-shirt or a simple sundress and not hide beneath layers and layers of cloth. I am wearing more jewelry though! It seems my nature is to accessorize and because I’m not hiding rolls of fat, I can wear a new pair of earrings that calls attention to my neck or tons rings because I don’t have fat puffy fingers anymore.
Life has little twists and turns and we sometimes get lost in all the muck along the way. So today’s Suburban Bliss is about rediscovering who we are by way of shedding a few of those pounds and adding maybe a new bangle to our already sparkling personas.
Thank You Kelly for being such an incredible subject, Christine for the great hairstyles (at a moments notice) and Ann Marie for the inventive body painting.
Laugh In was the first show on TV that I begged my parents to let me stay up and watch. I was all of 10 when it premiered and most of the gags were way over my head, but I just loved the silliness of it all. I don’t think there is anything close to it now on the tube (traditional or u-tube) that has it’s simple purity. Yes, there were risqué jokes, scantily clad woman in bikinis, politically incorrect remarks and sexual innuendo’s. But it wasn’t crass and it certainly didn’t make you feel uncomfortable watching it ,especially with your parents next to you, which is the case with so much that’s in the media these days. The late 60′s, early 70′s was the start of this revolution that has evolved into a full out bombardment on our innocence ( especially our kids). Please can’t we just be silly again!
Goldie Hawn was by far my favorite character on Laugh In. She had the funniest laugh and a downright goofy delivery to all her gags. I love her even more now, seeing the woman she matured into. It was fun to re-create her character with Kelly Silver, a suburban mom of 2 adorable girls.
Kelly and I met over 8 years ago through a German Client who had me photograph him in NY. She was this hot English singer that was dating him and I took some shots of both of them together. It was a strange shoot as it had no purpose (well maybe it did but nobody told me what it was for) but it paid well and it was a relatively easy day (remember my specialty is kids). This assignment was photographing a handsome guy that loved the camera and an added plus, he brought a beautiful accessory to enhance the shots. Fast forward 8 years later and I get an email from Kelly, reintroducing herself and letting me know we are practically neighbors. She too is a suburban mom and a working DJ and we are booked on the same gig in August. Small world! Suburban Bliss is reconnecting to old acquaintances and becoming fast friends. Someone else stuck in the burbs to act just plain silly with.
Thanks to Christine @ Salon Concrete for creating the great hairstyles of era I miss so much and Ann Marie Bontempo for her intensely great body painting and especially her patience and dedication to detail.
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