HudsonValleyGoodStuff

My short photo shoot with Woodstock photographer Franco Vogt: "We are all the same" Personal Project

 

Photographer Franco Vogt behind the camera

I found out via a mutual friend Abbe Aronson that photographer Franco Vogt needed to find 10 subjects to photograph for a Personal Project in Woodstock, I jumped at this chance! I love meeting photographers, and finding out what makes an artist tick. Vogt is a location-based portraiture photographer, but he wants to find more time for Personal Projects. Franco told me I could wear make up or not, and that the shoot would be short. Only my face would be photographed. He didn't want to give away his personal project until I met him at the shoot. The theme is:  We are all the same. Hmmm. 

I arrived at his shooting studio in his Woodstock home at 10 am last Friday.  It was a pleasure to meet him and his wife Lucia, and we had a few good laughs during the shoot. I'm always a bit nervous in front of the camera, but he reminded me to breathe, and I think I did okay in the end.  Vogt told me that the photographs of me and the 9 others are not meant to be glamorous. The photos will have the clinical neutral feel of a passport photo, and he will play with different fast moving images to reveal our similarities. 

I sat facing the camera, and followed his instruction: "Close your eyes, look down, and now slowly smile. Ok, now. Pretend that you are screaming. Ok, now look really pissed off!"  (This was the hardest look to pull off!) Then he shot about 5-10 minutes of video where he asked me to be very still and neutral and look into the camera.  At the end, I asked him if I could take a peak at the photos he took of me. "Oh, well you can look, but you might not like it," he said.

I took a quick look at one of the photos on his laptop. I wish my passport photos looked this good! I loved the one he showed me although it was not glamorous at all, and I kind of have bed hair.  Before I left he showed me a book of his 60/60 Personal Project where he shot 60 portraits of Woodstock area people in 60 days. (His wife Lucia coordinated the shoots, and told him where to go the day of the shoot to add to the spontaineity). Vogt only knew about a third of the people he photographed.  I loved flipping through the book because the portraits are stunning, and I recognized 30 of people in there. It is like a Who's Who in Woodstock in Saugerties. It was a nice way to start off a Friday morning. I can't wait to see how this Personal Project manifests itself! You can check out his extensive commercial photography portfolio and his Personal Projects at FrancoVogt.com. Here's hoping the photos came out okay, and I get invited to more of these Personal Projects!

Walk With Me Photography: Story-telling through beautiful un-posed photography

Two weeks ago my family spent a fun active hour in Saugerties being photographed by Carolina Weick, owner of Walk With Me Photography.  I won a gift certificate from Walk With Me Photography at Family Friendly Hudson Valley's first anniversary party last month which took place at MAC Park. (I think this was the first time I ever won any kind of door prize raffle so thank you to FFHV!)

 Walk With Me Photography offers different kinds of photography, but I won a gift certificate for a Story of the Day session (value $250) which includes an hour photo session. The idea is to have the photos tell a story of your day. Sometimes families invite her into their homes to photograph the kids in their natural setting, but I didn't want to have to deep clean and polish the house to prepare for this so I asked her if she could  photograph our family's outing to Saugerties Holiday in the Village. It's always a challenge for me to take photos during these holiday celebrations without disrupting the flow of it, and it is even harder to get a photo worthy of a Christmas card.

We met Weick and her assistant photographer at the Inquiring Minds bookstore, and set out for the festivities. I think we were all a bit self-conscious for the first minute or so but then we almost forgot these two lovely ladies were following us around with cameras.  We were all very happy with the photos she captured of us walking through Saugerties, one of our favorite towns, and I will treasure these photos forever because as Gretchen Rubin likes to say, "The days are long, but the years are short."  Walk With Me Photography is based in Port Ewen, and Carolina Weick travels all over the Hudson Valley on photography assignments.

Goddess Girl Event with Tamme Stitt Photography: Massage, mimosas, make-up, glamorous hair & goddess photo session!

When your day starts with a mimosa and outrageous cupcakes, followed by a 30 minute massage, you know  it's going to be a great day. This is how my morning as a goddess at Goddess Girl Events with Tamme Stitt Photography started two weeks ago. My appointment was for 10:15 am. Shortly after I got there, two more newbie goddesses arrived, Alyson and Sarah. Christine Huber Sepesi, introduced herself as the meeter and greeter, and offered us mimosas. Later I met a Mother/Daughter Goddess Girls pair.  The daughter had surprised her mom with a morning of pampering and photography as a gift. Mom had no idea what was in store for her. Her daughter explained to us that she never had nice photos of her mom. Even when her mom was young, she was always behind the camera or posing with the children. What a great surprise gift!

Photographer Tamme Stitt offers these Goddess Girls Events once a month at different Hudson Valley locations.  On Sunday, February 26th we met at Vivian Photography's SPACE in Highland.   While I was still nursing my mimosa, a very toned Christine Spiezio, LMT, popped out of a room and asked me if I was ready for my massage. Sure! The mimosa helped calm my nerves, but the massage was very much needed. Christine Spiezio LMT, who specializes in sports massage and medicinal massage, gave me a wonderful back and neck massage.

Why would I be nervous about a morning of pampering you may ask? Well, I rarely wear make-up. In fact, I didn't even have a professional make-up artist or hair-dresser for my wedding. I'm just a wash-n-go no-fuss kind of gal. The only other time I had my make-up done was for a friend's indie music video shoot in a Greenwich Village bar in the early 1990s. I have nothing against make-up, I just never developed the urge to wear too much of it.

About 15 minutes after my massage, I was whisked upstairs to get my hair and make-up done. Gina Truhe, make-up artist and Adrienne Nixon (of Trends Hair Design) , hair stylist had their work cut out for them. I had absolutely no ideas about what my goddess look should be so I told them they could do whatever they wanted.  Tamme Stitt put her two cents in, and they voted to give me a 1940s Hollywood glam look. Adrienne and Gina worked on me at the same time. Adrienne curled my hair with a curling iron, sprayed it, curled it, pinned me with a million bobbie pins. During the whole make-over process, I was faced away from the mirror so I didn't get to see my new goddess self until they were done with me. I couldn't believe how different I looked! It took a few minutes to get used to this new vision in the mirror, but I loved the new look.

Jewelry designer Nicole Pagano of Creekside Adornings was on hand to style me, and helped me choose a few beautiful jewelry pieces and dresses. There was a good selection of vintage dresses all from size 1-18.  I wear a size 12-14 dress, but the red dress you see here is a size 5-6. They make it work with strategically placed safety pins. In one shot Nicole held the dress together behind me and ducked!  The beige gown was gorgeous and slightly loose on me, but it still worked well  though had I brought a bustier or an invisible bra it would have looked even better. (Goddesses do have the option of bringing their own special outfits from home, by the way).

I followed somebody to the beautiful room at SPACE for the photo session. It was so novel for me. I felt a bit awkward for the first 5 minutes as Tamme directed me into different poses. ("Can you put your arm up like that, and look towards the window? Oh, my God! Awesome!")  Tamme has a way of making you feel very comfortable, as if you are bestfriends.

The biggest challenge of the morning was silencing my inner critic during the photo shoot. Mine was saying, "Whoa! She is getting a bit too close. Wish it was summer time so my flabby arms could at least be tan. Should have gone to the gym last week. I feel so silly!" After a few minutes though, I just thought, "Oh, who cares anyway? It's just me! Better relax before it's all over so she can get a few good shots. I better enjoy this moment. Yes, I am a goddess!"   About 15 minutes into the shoot, Tamme asked if I wanted a few outdoor shots. I loved the idea, especially since it was in the high 40s, not that cold to go out in a sleeveless dress.  We went back in, I changed into the red dress, and posed for a few more shots. Around 1pm, Tamme said, "We're done!" and that was my Goddess Girl day. 

When my husband picked me up he told me "You look so different, it's eerie!" (He meant this in a Wow way). We had a nice lunch at Yanni's in New Paltz, and I noticed that a few passerbys smiled at me as I was still sporting my Hollywood glam hair.  Tamme only started Goddess Girl Event on a whim last year, and it has become very popular. The slots get booked quickly. She holds them once a month. The rate is $295, which includes the massage, make-up, hair styling, mimosas, and yummy snacks. Prints are extra, but can be ordered on her site. Makes a great gift for that special woman in your life.    Of course, you don't have to wait for a Goddess Girl Event, you can book a photo session with Tamme Stitt in her Kingston studio or at an off-site location. She does family portraits, engagement photos, pregnancy photos, kids birthday parties, weddings, boudoir, and just about anything in between.

I'm so happy that Tamme Stitt Photography invited me to be a Goddess Girl. It was a fun novel experience, and I walked away with beautiful photos of my made up self, and a new appreciation for make-up artists and hair stylists. I'm going to buy a curling iron and a new lipstick soon.

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Photography by Tamme Stitt Photography & Goddess Girl Events!