Underwater Explorations

This Summer, I decided to explore the underwater world photographically.  I discovered many things, most importantly, how difficult it is.  There are many keys to producing a great underwater image, all of which I learned the hard way (by making mistakes).  I believe it is equally as challenging for the photographer and the model, both of us doing our best to stay calm and get into position, while not breathing and trying to manipulate our own weight in an anti-gravity chamber.  Clean water is a must and direct sunlight is a definite plus.  This eliminates as much murk as possible and the direct sunlight allows for the magical patterns of refracting starlight to fall upon the skin of the subject and create an atmospheric background.  I always began with a vague idea of what I was going for paired with a storage of inspiration from work I admire by Howard Schatz.  From that point, the images seemed to evolve naturally into their own context. Enjoy.

A Sultry Evening

An evening at the Van Ella headquarters is never predictable, as was proven at the last 'Sultry Salon'.  What began as a congregation of art, poetry, interpretive dance, acrobatics and gypsy-style music by The Royal We, would transform into an absinthe-minded fantasy blur after most had left.  I myself was in a daze and not sure what to think, but I had never felt more at-one with my camera. 

Mature content advisory:

Funky Wednesdays

The perfect mid-week getaway is at Schlafly Bottleworks on Wednesdays.  The fantastic beats of funk and soul came from Teddy Presberg's Resistance Organ Trio with guests Adam Hucke and Ben Reece on the horns.  Along with the great selection of Schlafly beer, this evening was quite perfect.

A full gallery here: http://virginiaharold.zenfolio.com/p781773043

Mesh

 Whenever I am in a slump, I go straight for film...in this case, old negatives.  I recently took the dive and got my very own negative scanner.  Ever since I've had it sitting here waiting for me to use it more, I've wondered what would happen if I sandwiched multiple negatives together and scanned them in that way. Here is the result of that.