31.12.10

happy new year!

happy new years! i hope you guys are making some awesome resolutions... hopefully this year i will do project 365. i'm working on a giant list - 101 things i want to do in 1001 days which i will hopefully post soon.
what are your new years resolutions?

25.12.10

merry christmas

i hope you have a nice christmas... i'll be back to post once or twice next week before the new year!



24.12.10

the friday editorial: pussy west aka terry's spaghetti western


images from vogue paris december 2010/january 2011
models: crystal renn, abbey lee kershaw, eniko mihalik
photographer: terry richardson
stylist: julia von boehm

23.12.10

giveaway winner!


thank you so much to everyone who entered my first giveaway! i will be participating in another one in a few weeks so keep your eyes peeled.
the random number generator picked #12 out of 29 which was benita!

21.12.10

photographer feature: aaron feaver








This is a partial interview with Aaron Feaver... If you would like to see the full interview, please click HERE.

How old are you?
32

Where are you from and where do you live now?
I was born in South Carolina, lived in France, Cameroon, Texas, California, Oregon, and Colorado, and now I live in Los Angeles.

When did you discover your interest in photography?
I started taking pictures when I was about 20, when I worked in a camera store to pay my way through school.

Who/what influenced you to be a photographer?
I was first attracted to the gadget aspect of photography. Playing with all the dials and levers and getting the settings just right to take a "proper" picture. I always just dabbled, though, until I started getting into people/fashion photography.

Who are some photographers that you like that inspire you?
When I first saw Dusdin Condren's portraits, though, I realized that I wanted to do something just like that. I love a lot of photographers, though…too many to list. I started a blog just so I could try keeping track of them all.

What is your favorite thing to photograph?
People, by far, in cool clothes and settings.

Where do you find and how do you instruct your models?
Initially I photographed friends, and then moved on to amateur models from Model Mayhem. Now I mostly photograph models I get from agencies.

Do you listen to music while you shoot? If so, what is on your photo shoot play list?
I always listen to music, yeah. Mostly upbeat stuff from the last 50 years or so.

Can you list off all of your photography equipment and which of these items you use most often?
Oh it would take paragraphs to list all my equipment. I've narrowed down what I use regularly to a few cameras, though. For medium format film I use a Pentax 6x7. For 35mm I have a Canon AE-1 and a Nikon FM2, and sometimes I use an Olympus XA or Stylus or even a Vivitar Ultra Wide & Slim, which is kind of a toy camera. I use a couple of Polaroids; an SLR680, a 250 pack camera, and an old SX-70 sometimes, depending on the film. I also use a Canon digital camera.

What is your favorite lens and why?
Hmm I think my favorite is my 50mm f/1.4 lens for my Canon AE-1. It's small and light, but also much sharper than I'd ever need it to be. It makes great colors and gives a nice soft look to the out-of-focus areas.

Describe a day in your life:
Hmm…I had a shoot just a couple of days ago. I got up around 8 and made coffee for my girlfriend and myself. She made breakfast sandwiches and we ate in bed and read for a while. The model was styling the shoot, too, and she showed up around noon so we could go over the looks. The makeup artist and hair stylist came a little bit later and got to work. I just sat around chatting with people. This is all in my little home studio. It's really just an extra room in my apartment. Makeup and hair were done by about two, and we drove up the coast to Malibu and started taking pictures. We shot for an hour or so, until everyone was freezing, and then piled in the car and drove home. My girlfriend and I got thai food at a place on the beach, and then walked down to the water and I took some pictures of her in the surf. The end!

Do you have any advice for someone who is aspiring to become a photographer?
Hmm…I guess just find photos you like, figure out why you like them, and try to recreate them.

Other interesting things about you?
Haha. Well let's see, like I said I'm a graphic designer by day. I work for a little web studio in Venice, California, doing web design.

Have you ever eaten a crayon?
No!

Are you wearing socks right now?
Yes.

Last food that you ate?
I had an In-N-Out burger and fries for lunch, since there's one right by my film lab.

Your dream vacation?
Oh gosh, pretty much anywhere. I'd love to go take photos in Paris, or anywhere in the Mediterranean.

Do you like to sing in the shower?
Always, horribly.

Please check out more of Aaron Feaver's photography on
Feaverish Photography | Flickr | Facebook

20.12.10

midwinter's eve book and print giveaway

alright... it is time for my first giveaway on penny laine! up for grabs is a couple of my prints and "brief encounters with che guevara" by ben fountain.

the well-meaning protagonists of brief encounters with che guevara are caught-to both disastrous and hilarious effect-in the maelstrom of political and social upheaval surrounding them. ben fountain's prize-winning debut speaks to the intimate connection between the foreign, the familiar, and the inescapably human.

there are six options for your print choices, you can see them HERE

how to enter:

leave a comment on this post with your e-mail address and the two print numbers that you like from these choices.

if you are the winner i will e-mail you to get your mailing address! also, ho ho ho christmas spirit - if there are enough people who enter i might giveaway the rest of the photos as well :]

want an extra entry? become a follower!

this giveaway is part of the midwinter's eve giveaway hop... go there to see the other 115 blogs that are also hosting book-related giveaways from december 21-december 22!
[this giveaway has ended... no longer accepting entries, but come back in a few weeks for another one!]

much love monday

today i love:
  • the possibility of getting a new car in a couple of weeks. it is much needed. the only downside is finding the $$$ for it.
    • if you want to help me out in a way that won't cost you a single red cent, click up there in the top right corner and read some of my "recent articles" to help me make a few cents towards my cause :]
  • and... the first penny laine giveaway post will come up tonight/tomorrow morning so come back here and enter the giveaway! if the response is good there will be many more to come!

17.12.10

the friday editorial: here comes the son





images from fashion rocks 2008 from glamour magazine
models: sasha pivovarova and dhani harrison [son of george harrison from the beatles]
photographer: steven meisel

16.12.10

tilt

[image via marlenashores]


  • babetteworld's druzy jewelry which is beautiful and completely out of my price range... also on the list of things that i want for christmas
  • having too much leave at work... i had to take a day off yesterday so i wouldn't lose leave time. it was glorious, just hung around the house playing on tumblr, eating lovely carol lee donuts with my homemade mocha, hanging out with the baby man and my boyfriend.
  • the end of the semester. i took my final exam last night so my classes are officially over with for the semester. not taking anything next semester and i don't know if i will ever go back to virginia tech just because they don't offer anything that i am interested in... we shall see, but the feeling of freedom that i have right now is glorious!
  • to do lists... i'm going to make some a little later today because i am a notorious procrastinator and now that i don't have any school stuff to put off, i need to make sure i get ALL my fun stuff done before i forget about it.