Mid-April dark pinup à la carte!

How’s it going, Hive? I’m still in Pennsylvania. Most likely, the last day for this trip. My grandfather has stabilized after his hip surgery. He’s got a litany of other issues from diabetes to failing kidneys so when he fell, I rushed out here with @guthrie fully expecting this to be the last time we saw him but it would seem he’s on the slow road to recovery. While I’m here, I was able to visit @joshbalz and a few other friends in Scranton while spending time with family and even finding some time for myself at a little coffee shop in Wilkes-Barre named Abide. All in all, what started as a somber visit has turned out to be the best possible outcome considering the risks.

Tonight, I thought I’d share a variety of some of my favorite dark pinup photos from over the years in a pinup à la carte, starting with a shoot from 2018 in Las Vegas. This one is especially relevant as Viva Las Vegas is happening right now in Vegas. This is the first year I won’t be attending in over a decade. I’m alright with that, especially considering where I’m at in my life right now. Pinup shoots aren’t a priority at all, but this session happened on the roof top of the Polo Towers on the Vegas Strip. I remember it was over 100º and we had to make use of our time because the model’s make-up was melting but even in such a difficult exposure, we managed to pull off this shot.

This second shot was from almost a a decade ago. I had recently gone through a break up and was trying to reestablish myself as an independent creative. The relationship I was in, I did rely on my partner as a muse for ideas. Both of these models were friends of mine and I called in favors from a brilliant hair and make-up artist that also experimented with costuming and wardrobe. Together we came up with this porcelain dolls concept and I found a park near my house that served as a fitting backdrop location. Both of these models have gone on to become professionals in the industry. For a complex shoot I’m thrilled the execution of this came out as good as it did.

Lastly, yet another dark fantasy shoot. The model and I have been friends for ages and we’ve worked together at least a dozen times. I started coming up with this narrative of a girl who lost her husband in a war and created something like a scarecrow of him in his military uniform as she struggled to let go of him after his death. More went into this shoot than almost anything I’ve done. I even drew the idea up on paper and passed it along to a professional special effects make-up artist that created the head. We shot in an abandoned attic of a nearby building and I love the ethereal aesthetic that came of this shoot. Thanks for reading!