Tromp L'oeil - String Magazine

And now a kooky (creepy) little beauty tale that we shot in the summer and have just been patiently waiting for it to come out, just in time for Halloween. Gives you ideas for costumes, right? Fortunately we were working with the lovely Kristy, who looks gorgeous no matter what we do to her!

Photography - Fred Fraser
Art direction, hair, make-up, styling - Liz Dungate
Model Kristy @ Radkids

At the Ragged Edge of the World - Hacid Magazine

Usually we are all looking for the established designer label fashions and the world-wise experienced model, but in this case we had great chemistry with both a fresh face and a fresh fashion designer... I'm sure we'll be seeing more of both of them! And of course they were in the calm, capable hands of Benjamin and Samm, with me tagging along for some fun in the sun. :)

photography - Benjamin Kwan
hair & make-up - Liz Dungate
model - Veronica @ Charles Stuart
designer - Courtney Chow
photography assistant - Samm

Funny Girl - Photographer & Muse Magazine

Here's some new stuff after a long hiatus from posting. I've been busy, but somehow just haven't got around to blogging for quite some time. Or going to the gym. Maybe it's related?

Anyway, no promises on the exercising, but here's the first editorial. My concept was to use make-up to create playful and unusual "gags". Our model, Anastasia, was totally up for the game.

photography - Benjamin Kwan
art direction, hair, make-up, styling - Liz Dungate
model - Anastasia @ Liz Bell
photography assistant - Samm

Walking on sunshine

Well, the day was supposed to be overcast. Maybe even raining. We had a plan to be out in the elements and have something very different than what actually happened.

Because the sun shone. Relentlessly. All day. I even got burned.

But, we had Kristy with us and the whole day ahead of us and we made the most of it. And I think captured some beautiful moments. Here are a few of my favourites.

George Harrison moment.

Photography on film and digital - Fred Fraser
Hair, make-up, tickle trunk - Liz Dungate
Moments by Kristy @ Radkids

TLC - BTS

At long last! Exercising Restraint is the title of the spread, but "exercising restraint" was the reality of waiting a couple of years for this concept to be shot, and then a few more months for it to be published so that now I'm finally free to share the final images, as well as some behind-the-scenes snaps.

The original idea... a page out of my sketchbook from about 2 years ago.

Joanna ensuring everything is perfect while Fred prepares to make his 1-2 captures before moving on to the next look. Seriously, we knew it had to be just right, because when you don't shoot digital, you only get a couple of takes.

Bronte striking her "Joan of Arc" pose. Ok, a true Joan of Arc
pose probably involves armour, but doesn't she look heroic?

Fred checking focus and Bronte holding still... for a very long time.

I was really happy this hair, but alas it doesn't show this view in the
final images... of course this is why we have bts images. :)

Just like the old days, with the photographer's head hidden inside
the black drape to focus the camera.

The final images published in TLC.

To get a copy of TLC magazine (so many more great fashion stories to see), go here. To see bts of the set being made, check out my previous post.

Photography and set prep - Fred Fraser
Styling - Joanna Kulpa
Art direction/hair/make-up/set - Liz Dungate
Model - Bronte @ LizBell

Running away with the circus.

I never actually wanted to run away with the circus. My few circus experiences as a child only impressed me with the overwhelming reality of smelly elephants and resentful and fearful animals.

BUT, I love the idea of The Circus, that romantic, freaky, bigger than life, stranger than fiction carny world. Especially Victorian circus acts, freak shows, all that chicanery of fake oddities mixed in with genuinely rare physical anomalies or extraordinary performance talents.

Sooooo, as much as I complained about the work involved (ask Fred), I could not resist the challenge of creating a trompe-l'oeil mural of a Victorian circus audience to be the backdrop for our diptych portrait of Stephanie the Flame-Eater. Fred also thought it would be fun to have her in the role of a classic Strong Man as the fun flip-side to her more feminine performance.

We did have fun, and ate a lot of cookies, and in the end it was way better than running away with the circus... plus no animals were harmed in the making of these images.

Watch the two-minute timelapse of all the prep involved, it's amazing how fast it appears to come together, ha ha.


Photography and mysterious dark room techniques - Fred Fraser (also uncredited barbell construction)
Make-up and body airbrushing -  Dana Mooney
Set and styling - me
Performance (plus providing some of the fun wardrobe and genuine flame-eating props) - Stephanie

A life lived in colour

Or, maybe, a colourful life lived...

Either way, Frida Kahlo has been the inspiration for countless artists, historians, and... fashion spreads.

Aside from her native Mexican cultural influence, her bohemian lifestyle, her anguished personal life and association with (literally) giants in the art world, Frida could also be said to be an early adopter of the personal "brand". She had her own style and she remained true to it. Whatever you think of her art, she was committed and passionate, achieving an astounding body of work despite overwhelming physical and emotional odds.

So, when our brilliant stylist proposed that we do an outrageously colourful story based on Frida Kahlo, I was definitely inspired. And Fred having just finished drywalling our new massive wall, what better way than to break it in than with four different painted backdrop sets? And why not paint a few wooden chairs in fun colours and distress them to look old and worn? Why not indeed.

Here are some of my favourite shots, feel free to check out this month's Plaid Magazine to see the published story and more images.

 

photography - Fred Fraser
styling - Yvadnet Davis
model - Natalie @ Mode
hair/make-up/set dec - me