Vintage Inspiration (Part 1)

I have been attempting to cultivate ideas for a new blog post for a wee bit now. As I've been nursing headaches, doing homework, and staying up late I have had a bit of an epiphany at night. I've come up with an idea and secured the motivation to try to write something. Honestly I'm shocked I haven't thought of this sooner because this is my main hobby and inspiration to start a blog in the first place. So this post I'll be discussing my photography. My motivation behind certain photo-shoots and what inspires my photography. Are you ready?!

Originally I was going to have a section in my Mood Board - September post all about my latest photography ideas but I realized I had quite a bit to say about it. So somehow my sneaky photography has obtained its very own post.

I'll start with the reason why I typically choose vintage styling for my photography. Vintage everything is a huge inspiration for me. From the movie "Midnight in Paris" to the Chet Baker song "My Funny Valentine". I watched Audrey Hepburn movies growing up and I found the fashion in her movies was so elegant with how the dresses give wonderful shapes perfect for photographs. My personal favorite Audrey Hepburn movie is "How to Steal a Million". It has art, fashion, mystery, and love. Audrey's outfits are iconic in this movie and instantly I was hooked. Although of course like most people who are delving into an Audrey Hepburn curiosity the first movie of hers I watched was "Breakfast at Tiffany's". While not my favorite it is equaling as enticing.

I don't just love the fashion of the past although I enjoy replicating it for my photo-shoots. I am a huge history nerd and I think it's interesting to try to portray what was going on in the past into my photography. Recently I created a photography book and I went with the theme of Film Noir, a popular french film style that displayed moody crime dramas. In order to properly incorporate the time period in which these films were popular into my own photography and capture that in just a photograph it took research. I took a lot of time looking up popular Film Noir styled films like "Laura", "Mildred Pierce", and "The Big Sleep" to see how scenes were filmed and how they used lighting, costumes, and staging to create the drama that Film Noir is known for.

My photography book is called "Shadows of Nostalgia" and I'm really proud of it. It is a mix of archival darkroom photography and digital photography. I spent about 8 months photographing, developing, printing, and formatting the book. It is so incredibly satisfying to start a project and see where it takes you. I ended up going in a different direction than I imagined I would but I kept true to my style and passions and wrapping up the entire project was less of a sigh of relief and more so breaking free of a wall in my way to success.

If you want to purchase my book or just see what the heck I'm huffing and puffing about you can click right here!

Part 2 of my Vintage Inspiration will be up soon! I have lots to say and next up will be my television show inspiration as well as the photographers I admire and strive to work up to their genius.

Until next time!

Sincerely & lovingly,