During my last year of high school and first year of university, I did a little bit of modelling. Mostly pin-up inspired photo shoots, but also some hair stuff and a couple of indie runway shows. It really all started because of my hair. A woman spotted my bright red locks at a show and asked if I’d walk in the runway show for her local shoe store. During that show, a photographer fell in love with my crimson ‘do and asked me to do a couple of themed pin-up shoots. Things kept rolling from there until I got too busy with university and advocacy work. When I was contacted by a Toronto agency about signing a contract with them, I realized it just wasn’t where I wanted to focus my energies for the time being.
When Camille Porthouse put out a call on Facebook a couple of months ago that she was looking to shoot tattooed gals with brightly coloured hair, I leapt at the opportunity. This was my first time meeting Camille and we developed an instant rapport. I love anyone who gets completely fired up about their work and let me tell you, she has so many incredible ideas running through that mind of hers. Our concept was ”rock ‘n roll pin-up” and we took to the colourful, graffiti-laden alleys of our city to make it come to life. I absolutely love how they came out. Take a peek…
I’m wearing… dress: Bodybag by Jude (purchased at From Mars) // shoes: Jeffrey Campbell // vintage skull ring // necklace & amethyst ring designed/made by me
This dress is one of the most extravagant purchases I’ve ever made and it had to be on layaway for several months before I could take it home. But it makes me feel like a superhero, so it was totally worth it.
And who knows, maybe I’ll be back in front of the camera sometime soon…
Do you have a garment that makes you feel like a total badass hanging in your closet? I’d love to hear!
Images Copyright 2013, Camille Porthouse Photography
2. Film doesn’t cost much to get developed. At Walmart, I get my film developed & scanned onto a CD for $5/roll. A roll of film costs another $5/roll for a basic film that I can easily find at walmart or a drug store. That’s $10/roll for 24-36 exposures, or $0.27 a picture. Not as bad as you thought, hopefully!
3.The price of film can be a good thing! The fact that film does cost something makes me very careful about when I choose to press the shutter. It forces me to focus on what I’m shooting and really think about whether or not I want to capture it. Funny how when you put a price tag – however small- on something, you become more aware of what you’re doing. That means I don’t have 5000 pictures that I’ll never look at again taking up my hard-drive. It also means I take great care with composition and lighting.
4. You will be forced to learn the basics of photography. You will quickly know what aperture, ISO, Shutter speed, and depth of field mean, and how to use or achieve them. I have trouble figuring out how to set these on my own on my DSLR! On my film cameras, it is so easy to locate and change your settings because there aren’t a million buttons to press.
5. Your film camera will never go more out of date. That’s a classic piece of equipment and it won’t be re-released every year with a few extra features and a bigger price tag.
6. That incredibly loud noise your camera makes when you press the shutter is addictive. You learn to love it, it will soothe you, and you’ll want to do it many times again..JPG)
7. There is a colour quality to film that is obvious and wonderful. Yes, you can recreate it in photoshop with digital images. It will cost you whatever photoshop costs nowadays ($699 for CS6, according to the app store). There’s a reason people try to recreate it, though.
Lastly, If all else fails, it’s a conversation starter. People will ask why you’re shooting film, and probably be fairly interested in your reasoning.
On Saturday night the skys opened up, flooding the streets. Cracks of thunder made me jolt in my seat while lightning lit up the sky. I find storms soothing though, with their heavy drops rhythmically slapping against the pavement outside. When the rain stopped, that damp smell of warm summer storms radiated off the streets. I was enchanted by how beautiful my moms roses looked with raindrops twinkling on their petals. I couldn’t resist snapping a few shots…
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