Period Piece

The 1920's were an era of revolution for women and fashion. As they emerged from the retraints of Victorian times to discover a new freedom of body and soul. Lately I have been inspired by this remarkable era, which still influences fashion today.

Hints of vintage can be found in new items, like this bright gold beret or polka dot halter both from Target.

More new retro inspiration from Target in this bowler style hat above paired with a true vintage coat and earrings I inherited from my Grandmother. Below is a sweet chemise by Gilligan & O'Malley.

Hair & Make up by Faith Brooks, Models Hannah B. and Mera W. both with Factor Model Managment, Atlanta.

All photos for this story were taken with the Leica M9

 

For more period inspiration look for a copy of Art Deco Graphics ...out of print but worth hunting for. Great films to add to your queue, Bonnie & Clyde and  the silent classic Diary of a Lost Girl. Finally, I have been listening non-stop to the album above by Erin McKeown who brings new life to some retro classics. 

all photos except bottom montage & content © Lara Rossignol

Small Subjects

I could not fully test out any camera without photographing the world's most challenging of subjects, the toddler. Madison Lea, the 18 month old daughter of my friends Bob & Betty, was definitely up to the task.

I can't tell you how much I love the quality of this lens. These were shot at 2.8 at 125, and 400 ASA with natural light. Sharp where they should be while maintaining a sweet, dreamy quality. Using a rangefinder with a fidgety child is not as difficult as you might think, once you become use to the focusing.

This image was converted from the DNG file into b&w with just a slight bit of red and yellow added. Another small subject below & the promise of spring (please!). Next week, I will have a few more Leica posts and a sweet little giveaway so till then...

 All photos for this story were shot with the Leica M9 

all photos & content © Lara Rossignol

Shooting in Black & White

The Leica M9 has the unusual option to alter the color saturation while shooting. It even allows you to shoot in black and white. I experimented, shooting a few portraits in this mode. Above with my friend and future WPBA star Amy Chen and below with another friend, David, a recent NY refugee living in L.A.

 I felt like these images had a wonderful, unique quality right out of the gate. I did little to enhance them though I did throw in a green filter to the top image. If you choose to shoot DNG files at the same time as jpeg, then you will be covered with a color version. On occasion it is interesting to see the world in shades of gray. 

all photos & content © Lara Rossignol

My Sister's House

My sister lives in one of those beautiful L.A. bungalows, built in the 30's, when Hollywood was filled with starlets and glamour. Glass knobs adorn her built in vanity and beautiful maroon tiles decorate her bathroom and kitchen. 

 All photos for this story were shot with the Leica M9. 

all photos & content © Lara Rossignol

Good Times at Hard Times

Hard Times Billiards is a legendary poolroom in Bellflower, California just south of Los Angeles. It is room known for attracting top money players and professionals from all over the world. Efren Reyes, who garners the status of a Michael Jordan in the Philippines, considers it his home away from home. It is a true players room and the site of the tournament I played in last weekend.

A unique separate tournament room, complete with stadium seating made it a perfect venue for the event. It is not fancy, maybe the very opposite of fancy, which I feel only lends to the charm. 

There was a time when many pool halls banned women from even entering but no longer. Above is my friend Shayla Neris, one of the organizers/players for the OB Cues Ladies Regional Tour in Texas. The top women's regional tour in the country, qualifying the most women to the 64 player field.

For me, it will always be the characters that make up a poolroom's distinctive personality. No two are a like and trust me, I have been to many all over the country. Above is Victor, who I spotted at the snooker tables where men gather to gamble for hours at a game called Golf. 

All photos for this story were shot with the Leica M9. 

all photos & content © Lara Rossignol

TGIF

 My tournament starts today and goes through the weekend so Pie will be taking an extended weekend break. Next week moreLeica images and reports from L.A.

all photos & content © Lara Rossignol

Love is Strange & Inspiring

As part of the new Blog it Forward mash up, we are asked to post about "what inspires us". Many many things do this for me, so you might think it hard to choose. It wasn't. Without hesitation the single biggest influence for me are Films and the first one that always comes to my mind is the haunting masterpiece Badlands. It was written and directed by Terrence Malick and released in 1973.

Based loosely on the Charles Starkweather and Caril Fugate case, who are considered the first American spree killers. It is a compelling story told with careful restraint by Malick and rich imagery from cinematographer Tak Fujimoto. So beautiful is the photography in this film, I have shown it in full to some of my classes.

This is one of my favorite sequences in the film, the imagery combined with Sissy's narration and the incredible score by George Aliceson Tipton. Below an interesting British promotion for it's release, notice the "X" rating.

A few years ago in NYC, I got the opportunity to photograph Sissy Spacek for a magazine. I can honestly say, despite all the famous people I have shot, I have never really been in awe of anyone, till this assignment. She put me quickly at ease though, her own nervousness about being photographed apparent. Then she asked if we had any beer, even though it was a rental studio there just happened to be single can of Budwieser in the fridge. She just had a few sips but it helped her relax. A  true Texas girl, she grew up twirling a baton and it was featured in the movie in a scene where she first meets Sheen's character. I brought a baton and she actually twirled it for me, fun images but is the ethereal image below that remains my favorite.

Now time to send you over to see what inspired Peanut Butter & Poetry and then tomorrow check out Pink Black & Grey  for even more inspiration.

montage & bottom photo © Lara Rossignol

For the Love of Leica

I am excited to announce that I am working with legendary camera maker, Leica. I am testing out one of their newest releases, the M9. An old-school rangefinder style camera in a sleek state of the art digital body.

I first fell in love with Leicas when I borrowed a M3 from a friend many years ago. An early model, it was tricky to load, so I only shot one roll with it. Luckily that was all I needed. There is something so magical about the way that it captured my subject, my then seven year old nephew Matthew. All of the images below came from that one, near perfect roll of film.

My first digital camera was a Leica Digilux 1 an exceptional point & shoot. I loved this camera, it helped pave my transition from film to digital. However with just 4 mega pixel and a fixed lens, it was a little limiting and I moved onto Canon SLRs.

Izzy at age 4 shot with a Leica Digilux

Over the next two weeks I will be shooting as much as possible with the M9 which arrived just as snow was blanketing the city last week. I also received a Leica Summilux-M 50mm 1.4 lens. With fading light I shot just a few quick set ups in my studio with stunning results.

I have to admit, I have become use to the auto focus on my Canon lens and I have not used a range finder since borrowing that M3 so many years ago. Focusing requires a careful alignment in the viewfinder, which can be tricky. It takes some getting use to but wow, I am loving the results. The images above and be below were shot at F2.8 or less.

 Simplicity is the genius of this camera, it is very easy to use with clear manual functions. It is also fairly compact and light weight. It also works well with my existing software, Lightroom and CS4. I have not had to download anything, which is very nice. I am excited to try shooting some portraits with this camera. David Farkas offers an excellent technical breakdown on his blog. 

Below are two images processed from DNG files which it uses rather than Raw. I am itching to shoot some human subjects, and will get my chance this weekend. In the mean time, my parent's rescue dog (note her torn ear) Daisy fills in as my first moving subject. You have the option to shoot in B&W but in this case I did the conversion in Lightroom. 

 

A simple still life of onions shot outdoors with indirect light. I swear the red onion looks so real. As though you could pick it up right off the screen.

I will be posting more images over the next two weeks and all will be tagged and also include the icon below for easy reference. 

 all photos & content © Lara Rossignol

Westward Ho

What a difference a day (or two) makes! While snow still blankets the south with even more to come, I headed to L.A. and 80º of beautiful, warm sunshine. I am playing in the RTC a qualifying tournament for the Women's Pro Billiards Tour.  It is a tough field and just getting into this event was an accomplishment. My plan is to relax, stay focused and have some fun and just maybe I will be able to add "Professional Poolplayer" to my résumé. I headed out a little early for some meetings with art directors and photo reps. 

Two must go tos when I am in my hometown are In-n-Out for my favorite fast food burger. I like mine animal style and with the fries well done. Then onto The Coffee Bean for one of their ice blended drinks. Similar to a frappachino but oh so much better. You don't hit ice chunks at the bottom. I opted for a caramel extreme, with extra coffee flavor & caffeine. At Christmas they had a pumpkin flavored which sounds weird but was really good. Neither of these are available back in Atlanta.

 

all photos & content © Lara Rossignol

snow day

The view from my studio at dusk just after the storm...

"Hot-lanta" was anything but as we got another big snow storm on Friday. Not really an ideal time but I guess that never is one. I scrapped my plans to play pool, stayed in and finished the terrific British miniseries,The Grand. If you watch it, be sure to check out the wonderful sets, some really fantastic period curtains, wallpapers and furntiure. 

 

Cross Culture

 I lovegyoza, which are asian style dumplings that you can find at most supermarkets now, evenKroger carries them. Traditionally they are steamed or panfried but I came up with this easy & tasty italian twist. Usually sold frozen, they are offered with a variety of fillings. I like the chicken & veggie style atTrader Joe's. I drop them into boiling water, just like you would any pasta and cook for about 8 minutes. In another pan I saute onion and peppers (any veggies you like will work) then add a basic bottled marinara sauce and someSriracha for a little kick. Let this simmer on low while you cook your gyoza, drain the dumplings then add them to sauce mixture. I also add a little cheese like havarti, gently stir till well combined and cheese is melted, season with s&p and serve. FYI:The plate is a rare & treasured piece ofPacific Pottery passed down to me from myAunt Midge. 

all photos & content © Lara Rossignol

Worth Watching

If you love fashion and have not watchedKell on Earth, I urge you to do so. This is a great behind the scenes look at the real world of fashion and marketing. Shown from the perspective of top fashion PR guruKelly Cutrone and her agencyPeople's Revolution. The harsh glare of glamour is revealed with this show's unrelenting focus on the realities of it all. In just the second episode you see Kelly get fired over the phone by adesigner after her staff screwed up the guest list for his fashion show. It is truthful and addictive.

ALL photos & content © Lara Rossignol

Accruing Pulp

I have long had a fascination withpulp fiction and it's kitschy yet intricate coverart. I originally shot the above image ofMariah O'Brien as part of a calendarpin up project with stylist turned photographerJonathan Skow. He scoured the studio prop departments to create sets and even had garments made to fit his vision. I in turn, studied many old photos to get an authentic feel to the lighting.

  I went through my ownpulp collecting phase a few years ago. Picking up tattered copies of this once popular genre at yard sales, used book stores and onebay. In the 50's and 60's these cheaply printed volumes gained huge popularity. Many were thinly veiled soft core porn, covering forbidden themes like homosexuality and adultery. They also reprinted many classics such asJane Eyre with more sultry covers. I recently read and enjoyedThe Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, a kind of modern daypulp style novel.

A classic pin up cover and great title makesThe Chastity of Gloria Boyd a favorite. While this early edition ofThe Hustler is treasured for obvious reasons. I could not resist this campy copy ofThe Bad Seed, a 1954 edition I found oneBay. I love the mix of typefaces andcubist influenced design.

If you can't get enough of this kind of eye candy you will enjoyPopkulture's flickr stream where he documents many morecovers from this period. His archive of vintage graphics also includes magazines, cigar boxes, greeting cards, motel signs and postacrds.

all photos & content © Lara Rossignol

Website Reno

new homepage with multiple images

I have been working on updating my site and adding a new "food & travel" section and a new homepage that shows off more of my range. I have written about my love for my site's host, Livebooks in a previous post. It is a lot of work and can be a bit daunting if not overwhelming. Much of my new section has come from work I have done for Piewacket and I am happy at how it has made me grow creatively, a very unexpected bonus.

Adding the section also required a reworking of my "Lifestyle" section, I thought about calling it "lifestyle & objects" but it seemed too fussy. Naming your portfolios is always tricky business. I think it is good to be specific about the content but you do not want to be too cute or pretentious. The creatives looking at your site just want to see the work that might be suited for their project, the easier you make it for them, the better.

Flow is also the other tough part, you want your images to work together but not to be boring. I like to stagger images between contrasting ones (people, object, people...). I also like to place b/w between color so they are not too close together. It is really a matter of personal taste and you just have to trust your instincts. 

all photos & content © Lara Rossignol

Practical Kawaii

I discovered the super kawaiietsy storeBoqinana via one of my favorite blogs,Lushlee.  Located in China, she has access to some fantastic fabrics as well as one of my favorite designers,Shinzi Katoh! Her prices are fantastic, this adorable cell phonecase was only $8 and this Shinzipurse was was just $20!

I love the details in this bag, so sweet. Shipping is also very reasonable and fairly fast, considering the distance. She also sells some very unique fabrics and craft items.

I want to thank Heather ofGathering Spriggs for featuring Pie as her blog of the week and also am also excited to have been nominated forThe Lovlies organized by the cool blogLovely Clusters. To vote for Pie just click on the image below and add a comment!

Wish You Were There

 I bought this lovely set of vintage silverware while shooting a guest blogpost forsfgirlbybay last week. One of the bloggers who has really inspired me, I was excited and honored to be asked to contribute.Wish You Were Here is a photographic travelogue and will be a regular monthly feature. My first post is on one of my favorite local must go spots,Star Provisions. They are selling these beautiful eclectic sets for $23.

Let the Sun Shine

I started cleaning up a bit yesterday and dug up this picture above from a year ago for a little motivation. My littlephoto studio space looks nothing like this right now. Being a small space it is easy for it to get out of control but it is much more functional when it is clean. Like many, I am ready for spring to be sprung!

Top left & bottom right for SpringSandpiper lookbooks 08 & 09.

 all photos & content © Lara Rossignol

Lillian Inspiration

I was asked recently which photographers I am inspired by...Arbus and Avedon always come to mind and there are a few others. Then just recently I discovered the wonderful Lillian Bassman. A contemporary of Avedon's she is still working at the age of 92! Her images, mostly in black & white, have a romantic and mysterious edge to them. Her models are often obscured in some way and the beauty of the light, so perfectly placed, makes it seem almost applied by hand. This excellent article in the NY Times details her career and recent resurgence. While the release of her newest book needs to be on every photography lovers bookshelf.

all photos © Lillian Bassman

Batter Up

I decided to use my left overmashed sweet potatoes to make Sweet Potato Bread using thisbanana bread recipe and just switching out bananas for taters. I used 1/2 a cup more sugar, since they do not have the natural sweetness bananas do. Along with one full size loaf, I used a couple of mini pans I got atikea to make a few gift size versions. It was quite tasty!

 all photos & content © Lara Rossignol