Engagements
Weddings
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Musicians
Henna is enjoying a bit of a renaissance.
Wait. That’s inaccurate. It implies that it was ever at some point unpopular.
Not true. More fair would be to say that the art of henna is gaining recognition here in the United States.
Not sure what I’m talking about? What is this henna thing of which I speak?
Quick lesson. Pay attention. There may be a pop quiz.
Henna is a plant. Dry it. Grind it into a powder. Mix it with an acidic liquid (like lemon juice) and a few other things. Now you have a paste. Put it in a tube and draw on your skin. Or someone else’s. It’ll be tricky. Ever tried drawing with toothpaste? Yeah. It’ll dry into a hardish crust. Leave it alone! Now the magic happens. The henna stains your skin. The longer you leave it on, the deeper the stain.
It’s kind of like a temporary tattoo.
You can also use henna as a hair dye. However, in the immortal words of the late Leslie Nielsen, that’s not important right now.
Henna has been around since the Bronze Age. It was used for ceremonies and celebrations, including bridal preparations. Henna is one of the oldest known wedding traditions. Yep, it even predates the chicken dance. Quite an achievement.
The application of henna, called Mehndi, is itself an “event” in preparation for a wedding. A bride’s hands, arms and feet are covered in intricate designs. Sometimes the groom is also decorated. In a traditional wedding, this social henna party gave the bride and groom an opportunity to get to know each other and bond. The deepness of the stain is said to represent the strength of the marriage to come.
Having henna applied can be a relaxing and pampering experience. You have no choice but to sit still for a couple of hours. Maybe a glass (or several) of wine will be involved. With all of the chaos leading up to a typical wedding day, it can be just a calming experience a bride needs. Or even one more bonding night for the bridal party. Not to mention that it’s a cool and unique addition to a wedding day appearance.
Interested? Visit Sam’s new Hannaya Healing fan page and give her a shout. Tell her Studio Orange sent ya.
Photo 10: Brody and Tsura
Taken on November 7, 2010
There was no question that one of the shots on this list would have to be of the new puppy, Tsura. But which one? I mean, I’m a photographer. Taking pictures is what I do. So I have a lot already of Tsura. Picking just one? Impossible. I had to try.
When we first got Tsura, she was 9 weeks old.
She was so cute that I can’t be so cruel as to put one of those photos here. Seriously. The cute would melt your brain. I can’t have that on my conscience.
So I chose a shot of her at around 5 months. Still stupid cute. Thing is though, I also took one of my other dog at the same time. I couldn’t leave him out. That means this is another cheat. Two shots for the price of one.
On the right is Brody.
Want one word to describe him? Here you go: goofball.
Brody is all gazelle legs and gigantic bat ears. Those ears. He hears conversations in China, I’m sure. And about the legs? He wasn’t built for the wood floors in my house. Doesn’t stop him from racing for the door to make a new best friend when someone visits. Brace yourself. His brakes don’t work very well.
On the left is Tsura. It’s a gypsy name that means “light of dawn.” Tsura is doing her best to redefine it to mean “ridiculous.”
The most cruel thing to do to her is to make her lay down and be still. She’ll manage for a second. Then the tail twitches. Then it’s swishing. Then she’s Army crawling across the floor toward you. “Still laying down, dad. See?”
But for all of her energy, she’ll happily crawl up beside you and go to sleep.
Both of these shots were in the front yard. The light and colors were perfect. I had to grab the camera.
Weird fact: my pets always seem to be test subjects for new gear. This time it was the 85mm lens (on Brody – used the 135L on Tsura).
And that, folks, brings us to the end of this journey. If you’ve been reading all of these, then thank you. I had fun putting it together. I plan to do it again next year.
Now, before I go, and in the spirit of every great television infomercial: But wait! There’s MORE!
Bonus shot: “TK-817 has been wanting the Jedi Telescope for months, but sadly, Imperial payday isn’t until Friday.”
Taken on December 4, 2010
Strategic Air and Space Museum. Ashland, Nebraska. Home to planes, rockets, and… Imperial Stormtroopers?
I ventured up to the SAC museum to find that it had been overrun by the 501st Legion. I would have had to instantly cut up my photography geek card had I missed this boon of awesome absurdity.
Great photos were everywhere. Mine for the taking. But my favorites were of a random Stormtrooper and his son shopping in the gift store.
Gas from Ashland to Lincoln and back: About $3.50
Admission to SAC Museum: $18.00
The sublime oddness of a Stormtrooper gazing longingly at a stack of Star Wars toys: PRICELESS
Photo 9: Mallory and Tim, commitment ceremony
Taken on August 21, 2010
9 billion degrees of sticky hell.
That about describes August in Lincoln, Nebraska. It may not be exactly like living on the surface of the sun, but that’s only because the sun is a dry heat.
Yet that didn’t stop Mallory and Tim from making the best of it and having fun with their formal shots just prior to their commitment ceremony.
Technically, we weren’t supposed to be in this location. That always adds to the fun. The threat of a trespassing ticket just adds to the romance. Or something like that.
Everything about this shot makes it one of my favorites of the day. I love the corrugated metal of the industrial bins.
The gravel road. Mallory and Tim standing almost too far apart to kiss, but Tim leaning forward to make it work anyway.
This is the sort of fun couples should aspire to for their formal shots.
Photo 8: “The circus is over, folks…”
Taken on August 8, 2010
Pop quiz: What kind of portrait sessions are my favorite?
If you answered anything other than “themed ones” you fail. Study my photos and try again.
One of Sam’s best friends, Sarah, came to Nebraska for a visit. One thing she wanted was to play dress up and do a photo shoot. Who am I to turn that down?
Sarah and Sam put together a couple of themes. One was 1940’s victory roll glamour. The other was vaudeville burlesque.
This is Sam. And Sarah. Yes. I cheated on this one and included two photos. If you really feel cheated by this, let me know. I won’t do anything about it, but I would like to know.
We were in the Creamery Building in downtown Lincoln. It’s a great building and the business owners inside are graciously accommodating to my photography antics.
We had a fantastic time. And generated more than one odd stare, too.
Photo 7: Morgan, Wyuka Cemetery
Taken on July 24, 2010
Morgan.
She’s a bellydancer. If you follow my photos, then you know.
She’s a favorite model of mine. Every few months we get together and have a blast shooting portraits of some sort or another.
We’ve both wanted to do a portrait session in Wyuka Cemetery for awhile now.
It’s the oldest cemetery in Lincoln. The visual awesome contained within is beyond compare in the city.
I was also wanting to experiment more with the world famous “Brenizer method” of panoramas.
It works like this: Use a long lens. You’ll be close to your subject, like head and shoulders. Open that aperture wide. Start shooting. A lot. Shoot, recompose, shoot, repeat. You want to cover your entire model and some surroundings. The background will be all crazy out of focus. That’s exactly what you want. Combine your images in an editor like you would any other panorama. Depending on how many images, your computer may catch fire. At the very least, it may weep.
The result is a portrait with a razor small depth of field effect.
Or, more simply, the result is magic.
I lot of you may have seen this one already. For those catching up, Morgan’s whispy outfit and the exaggerated background blur combined to make this a very ethereal image.
It was an instant favorite. I must print it large one day. Viewing it on a computer monitor doesn’t do it justice.