Way down yonder in New Orleans

“Creole babies with flashin’ eyes  Softly whisper their tender sighs
Then stop….won’t you give your lady fair…a little smile
Stop..ya bet your life you’ll linger there…a little while

We’ve got heaven right here on earth
With those beautiful queens
Way down yonder in New…Orleans”

-Louis Armstrong

A trip down to the Big Easy made easy by her amazing local recommendations!

The breakdown: 

  • Breakfast at Satsuma Cafe in the Bywater followed by amazing thrift store treasures next door
  • A late morning stroll through the French Market bloody mary in hand
  • Seafood Po Boy’s, a  shoe shine on Jackson Square,  afternoon coffee and beignets at Cafe Du Monde
  • A trip on the St. Charles Streetcar followed by a walk through the mansions in the Garden District where the air actually smelled sweet 
  • The most amazing meal we had in NOLA at  Sylvain in the French Quarter which probably had something to do with the fact  it used to be a carriage house turned into a bordello where Faulkner used to visit his madam and write…. awesome.
  • Capping the evening off with Pimm’s Cup in hand and those flavorful NOLA parities…

All images shot with Pentax Spotmatic & Kodak 400VC film

Have a great Mardi Gras y’all!

To Marilyn, with Love

I have been really inspired recently by images of Marilyn Monroe that are slightly more intimate, not in the less-clothes kind of way but in an at home behind the scenes glamour effect. I loved the big soft sweater shoot she did at the end of her life on the beach and when she would wear softer makeup and curls. I channeled all these details into this Marilyn Monroe inspired shoot in collaboration with amazingly talented hair and makeup artist Ashley Donovan and the beautiful (and also blues singing) April Beck in Texas this past December.

There is actually another part to this shoot. Film vs Digital. Part of my job as a photographer is know what equipment to use when, the look each camera gives and making the choice of what tool is best to capture the vision. The first images are taken with my 5DMarkII and a 50mm 1.4 lens, the film set below is taken with my Minolta SRT101 35mm camera with Kodak400vc film. The digital are obviously much clearer and detailed while the film is dreamier and has this wonderful texture to it. How they each handle lights and darks are completely different as well as the color tones. I really love all the shots but for me personally, the last image in this post taken by film is my favorite of the shoot. Please do leave a comment and tell me your thoughts on film vs digital.