vintage – Ann Street Studio

Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance

October 29, 2014November 3, 2014Posted in LifestyleTagged 1920s, automobile, B&W, black and white, blackandwhite, california, car, cars, concours, film, mercedes, pebble beach, pebble beach concours d'elegance, pebblebeach, prewar, rolls royce, tri-x, tri-x 400, vintage, vintage cars11 Comments

It’s an interesting thing, the world of luxury cars. Growing up in Texas, luxury meant the biggest pickup truck on the road…but that was not for me. I dreamed about the cars they drove in Sabrina and what was in Jay Gatsby’s garage. I knew these cars were aesthetically special but beyond that my knowledge ended. Lord help me when it’s time to change the oil or, heaven forbid, a flat tire with the old car I just bought last fall. I’ll def be pulling one of these when that day comes…

So here I found myself at Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance as the guest of one of my favorite clients, Lincoln Motor Co. which as you know has a great history of classic motoring in America and I felt so honored to be their guest, diving into this world of antique perfection.

Here are 10 things I learned in the lap of luxury:

Do not touch the cars.
These car owners give a new meaning to “spotless“… the smallest particle of dust was no match.
Men will totally lose any logical thought in their head when one of these cars or if any of the new concept cars is present…or even in ear shot. (yes, we could hear them driving around from our hotel room)
Racetracks are LOUD. Earplugs next time… I wonder if Donna Karan makes a chic pair?
You don’t know rich until you know car culture rich. Jay Leno has said “Concours is where simple millionaires come to rub shoulders with billionaires.”
Once you show your automobile at the Concours, you can not enter again for 10 years.
One example I found through sly eavesdropping of how much it cost to restore an antique car: $500,000.
Cars in the 1920s (Duesenberg) had hidden bars stocked with crystal decanters and tumblers. I literally screamed when he opened the back of the seat to show me.
The prize car at auction while I was there went for $23 Million…. a car that I can’t figure out how it would ever make it past a speed bump.
After driving around Monterey Peninsula next to Lamborghinis, McLarens and classic Ferraris any other roadway in America looks disgusting… including the Hamptons. #gamechanger

It was an intoxicating passion to be around, and only something as perfectly beautiful as these cherished pieces of automobile history could distract from the ravishing California coast…

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From Germany with Love

July 11, 2014July 16, 2014Posted in TravelTagged 1950s, 1951, 1952, army, beck, berlin, berlin germany, black and white, cold war, familiy, family, germany, grandfather, henry, henry beck, henry v. beck, henryvbeck, old, old photographs, papa, poem, poetic, poetry, Polaroid, soldier, vintage, vintage photographs, war, war time, world war ii, worldwarii, wwii15 Comments

My father and I did a lot of talking about his dad, Henry V. Beck, while we were in Berlin. We wanted to see where he was at this extraordinary time of his life as an army man stationed overseas. I have some of these old photographs – we always love to compare how much my brother looks like him – and a very real and moving poem he wrote while so very far from the ones he loved. These artifacts sat for decades in an old army trunk in his closet and are now some of my most beloved possessions of this thoughtful and very elegant family man.

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Players Club

January 10, 2014January 13, 2014Posted in LifestyleTagged event, jazz, Leica, new year's eve, nye, NYEE, party, players club, playersclub, retro, vintage6 Comments

A night so full of life, dancing, love and music I could swear the gorgeous old wooden floors of Gramercy Park’s Players Club were going to crumble under the vibrations from jazz tidal-waves coming through the halls and echoing off the historic molding. The stomping of feet was so completely committed it was as if they would die if they stopped moving. Being a photographer gives you the certain advantage of being a true observer of life. I’ve been to so many wonderful parties around the world, but this night I saw something different. I saw people in love, I witnessed couples so lost in their own world, so wrapped up in each other’s embrace, it is as if nothing else existed – not the room, not the day before, not my camera and not tomorrow. So here is to 2014, here is to love, and to a group of people in New York keeping the old standards swinging into a new age…

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Hollywood Glamour

April 1, 2013April 25, 2013Posted in Fashion EditorialTagged beauty, estella, estella warren, fashion, fashion editorial, fred leighton, fredleighton, gold, love gold live, lovegold, lovegoldlive, marilyn monroe, vintage, WGC, world gold council5 Comments

I know when you think of Hollywood you think of the silver screen, but on my most recent trip to LA for Oscars weekend, it was more of a golden moment. And who is Hollywood’s golden girl? Marilyn Monroe, of course.

Thanks to LoveGold we had the privilege of accessing Fred Leighton’s vintage collection of gold jewelry so we could be inspired by glamour through the ages. These one of a kind vintage pieces have been worn by Hollywood’s royalty such as Nicole Kidman, Tilda Swinton, and Amy Adams. Styled by Kelly Framel with the help of our beautiful muse, model and actress Estella Warren, we strived to recreate the feminine glamour and playfulness that is so classically Marilyn, so captivatingly Hollywood and made of gold.

Above: Fred Leighton 22K yellow gold flower brooch by Zolotas (previously owned by Jackie O!!), Pale Pink Cocktail Dress by Peter Som

Above & Below: Fred Leighton 18K yellow gold scaled hoops by Cartier, rock crystal and yellow gold cocktail ring by David Webb, White Angelic Top by Badgley Mischka

Above: Fred Leighton 18K yellow gold mesh sculpted swallow evening bag by LaCloche (worn by the lovely Amy Adams at the 80th Annual Academy Awards), Baby Blue Dress & Coat by Donna Karan

Above & Below: Fred Leighton yellow gold and diamond winged victory brooch by Gaucherand Paris, 18K yellow gold and diamond retro cuff bracelet (worn by Maggie Gyllenhaal at the 82nd Annual Academy Awards), White Winged Cocktail Dress by Prabal Gurung

Above & Below: Fred Leighton pair of Victorian yellow gold, blue enamel tracery flower motif bangles, Golden Goddess Gown by Marchesa

Shot on Oscar weekend at the Chateau Marmont in West Hollywood featuring Fred Leighton vintage jewelry, starring the beautiful Estella Warren, Styled by Kelly Framel, Makeup by Patty Bunch for Benefit Cosmetics, Hair by Sam DiVine, Photography by yours truly~

Editorial made possible and very special thanks for our collaboration with LoveGold, an amazing organization that show cases incredible jewelry, designers and fashion all centered around this precious metal. Sign up to be a part of their golden world for more beauty and inspiration than imaginable!

He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not

November 30, 2012November 10, 2013Posted in CinemagraphsTagged 1960's, cinemagraphs, flower, flower child, hippy, lincoln, lincoln moto company, Lincoln2012, lincolninlove, retro, vintage14 Comments

It’s a revolution in an ever-changing world. The 1960s can at times be hard to understand, but can also be very intimate and soft. We were independent in a way we had never experienced before and maybe that is because we lost a lot and we loved a lot — and through the love we drove on and made it through…

The 1963 Lincoln Continental (a car often associated with JFK) was like a finely-tailored Italian suit; its elegant simplicity set the tone for a whole generation—they explored a more minimalistic way of living. The ’60s weren’t a decade of excess, they were a decade of young people finally having a voice in shaping their country.

It is with great honor Lincoln asked us to capture the romance of time through a series of Cinemagraphs with their classic cars so that we may all keep the memory of love going at any speed.

#LincolnLove

Riding in Cars with Boys

November 29, 2012March 28, 2014Posted in CinemagraphsTagged 1950s, 50s, automobile, beatnik, black and white, car, cinemagraph, dancing, lincoln, Lincoln2012, lincolnlove, maggielincoln, models, vintage11 Comments

When I think of the 1950s, I think of Marilyn Monroe, black & white movies, jazz, and drive-in theaters. I like to imagine cuddling up to my love on the big bench seats after the sun has set and being alone aside from the glowing headlights of night… It was a new age for America & the automobile was here to stay.

The 1953 Lincoln Capri was like a Dave Brubeck album—smooth and sophisticated, it was the perfect canvas for the budding starlets of the era. Marilyn Monroe owned one!

It is with great honor Lincoln asked us to capture the romance of time through a series of Cinemagraphs with their classic cars so that we may all keep the memory of love going at any speed.

#LincolnLove

1953 Lincoln Capri / Styling: Kelly Framel / Creative Direction: Maury Postal / Makeup: Porsche Cooper / Hair: Francis Anthony Rodriguez / Maggie wears: vintage beret, Zara sweater, vintage skirt from Early Halloween, KORS Michael Kors loafers / Josh wears: vintage glasses and sweater, Zara pants and shoes

Young Love

November 28, 2012March 28, 2014Posted in CinemagraphsTagged cinemagraph, lincoln, lincoln in love, lincoln motor company, Lincoln2012, lincolninlove, lincolnlove, lincolnmotorcompany, maggielincoln, prewar, retro, vintage8 Comments

I‘ll never forget the first date, being picked up in a car, wind in my hair and the sun setting on the horizon ahead. Everything was new and the possibilities were endless. From the first automobile still to this day, there is nothing like hitting the open road. In this pre-war era we started these memories and that history of freedom we love so much…

The 1941 Lincoln Continental was referred to by many, including Frank Lloyd Wright, as “the most beautiful car in the world” — Pablo Picasso also owned one

It is with great honor Lincoln asked us to capture the romance of time through a series of Cinemagraphs with their classic cars so that we may all keep the memory of love going at any speed.

#LincolnLove

1941 Lincoln Continental / Styling: Kelly Framel / Creative Direction: Maury Postal / Makeup: Porsche Cooper / Hair: Francis Anthony Rodriguez / Maggie wears: vintage cloche, scarf, and dress from Early Halloween, Hue stockings, Ivanka Trump shoes / Josh wears: vintage suit and tie from Early Halloween, vintage Tiffany watch, Rogue shoes

Vintage Finds…

January 26, 2012August 20, 2012Posted in Fashion EditorialTagged fashion, fashion editorial, Polaroid, retro, vintageLeave a comment

This morning I found a set of old polaroids buried in the bottom of my archive trunk and just as the details of this shoot have faded in my memory the polaroids have as well… I look at this delicate creature framed so sweetly in this old mansion and now, after all these years, I think of her as a beautiful bird in a cage, waiting to fly out into the light.

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A Swingin’ Summer

August 18, 2011Posted in UncategorizedTagged jazz, jessica kausen, MCNY, Museum of the City of New York, retro, summer, swing, vintageLeave a comment

Tucked away along Manhattan’s museum mile are the sweet summer evenings on the terrace at the Museum of the City of New York.

Watch the sunset over Central Park, sip an Old Fashioned and slip into the tunes of bygone times… Last night’s Live @ 1220 Fifth

July 20, 2011August 14, 2012Posted in UncategorizedTagged gpoyw, self portrait, vintageLeave a comment

GPOYW

Lunching at Barney’s

Dress: vintage, $40, NYC flea market.. big score.

June 28, 2011August 21, 2012Posted in CinemagraphsTagged cinemagraph, Dreamland Orchestra, gif, governors island, jazz, jazz age lawn party, menswear, Michael Arenella, music, vintageLeave a comment

Must you sing of days gone by
Must you always sigh
Tell me why your song is sad, never glad
Blue River, Blue River
Do you hold the memory Of a vanished dream

Words he sang while they danced away.

(Source: http://fromme-toyou.tumblr.com/post/6977794737/the-jazz-age)

The Jazz Age

June 27, 2011Posted in UncategorizedTagged 1920s, Dreamland Orchestra, favorite, governors island, jazz, jazz age lawn party, jazz in june, Michael Arenella, retro, vintageLeave a comment

Tucked away on an island off the southern tip of Manhattan is a bygone world brought back to life in the most roaring fashion with finger waves and pie contests, afternoon cocktails amidst the charleston, Model T’s and parasols under the enchanting tunes of Michael Arenella and his Dreamland Orchestra…This is the Governors Island Jazz Age Lawn Fest