Angela MUA, Bohemian'lypse and Bluebonnets

Beginning this past February, we have had a whirlwind of a time. A friend and makeup artist from London came out to stay for three weeks. As a part of her visit we organized a minilypse, an iStockphoto-based event for multiple photographers. Then very recently I have found myself conforming to some of the trends here in central Texas, specifically bluebonnet portraits.

Angela Holthuis, a friend from London is a well known makeup artist with incredible talent. She came to visit with us for over three weeks in February and March. During her visit we had a good number of opportunities to satisfy our creative appetite. One of the first larger productions was themed on a showgirl backstage. Here is one photo showing the tension and conflict we held throughout the images. Elle LaMont played the distraught showgirl perfectly. Joe, a friend from church, dug into his harsh past to bring just the emotion needed for a threatening manager.

 The very next day we moved on to our largest of the personal sessions, Alice in Wonderland. Though we knew the movie was coming out, it was not intentional that we would photograph the weekend of its release. The majority of the costumes were conceived and created by Angela with Martina's dedicated help. Elle again was super, playing the Red Queen. William Donley truly became mad to play the Hatter. Tiffany Anger was our Alice to my delight. The real trooper in this shoot was Hawk who played the Rabbit. This is the first time we had worked together and she willingly hid her lovely face under a stuffy, plastic head.

 So much of the free time during Angela's visit was spent preparing for the Bohemian'lypse, a group photo shoot organized for iStockphoto contributors. Spanning two days, two cities and four locations we brought in a plethora of talented people. Most were not officially models, but rather people with specific talents like musicians, dancers and acrobats. It was great fun and the results are amazing. Be sure to take a more in-depth look at the light box of images on iStock. One of my most popular photos from the event is the three circus performers sitting in a caboose. The last location of the event was on Josh Baker's dad's property where he had a man-made 10 acre lake and a caboose.

 Through the last month, I have had the pleasure to photograph several head shots for actors and those studying to become actors. However, the latest highlight is a family portrait I was privileged to take this week. A Texas tradition, bluebonnet portraits are popular at this time of the year when they are at their fullest. This is the first time I have been asked to take bluebonnet portraits. It is for a family we have befriended whose remarkable talents and great interaction make for the most interesting portraits I have taken yet.