In mid-November, my friend Nathan and I set aside a day to do something we had always wanted- explore some of Oklahoma’s “ghost towns”. They ranged from small towns to overgrown intersections in the middle of nowhere. In addition to these shots, more can be seen in older posts on my Instagram feed. Photos of me were taken by Nathan.
May 21st, 2013
I took Mark Zimmerman’s first and only other Night Photography class at UCO a few years ago now. It was easily one of my favorite classes in college, not to mention I made some of my best friends (Clifton, Jarrett, and Jon) during our outings to photograph Oklahoma in the wee hours of the morning. If these interest you, take a look back through past blog posts, as the guys and I have met up several times since the first class for Night Photography reunions.
We found out that Mark was planning on bringing the class back as a summer intersession class, so we tagged along to a cool property in Arcadia, Oklahoma and revisited some subjects that we shot several years ago. Here are a few of my favorites from our visit.
A final blog post about my zombies-meet-high-fashion photo series “Zombies Are People Too”. Even though there was only one photo from each shoot, model, and location, I had many favorites. It made it difficult to narrow my selections down for the final series. Introducing… the Zombie B-Sides! In other words, a few extra photos that I couldn’t just tuck away without ever showing. Along with these extra releases, this post features some behind the scenes photos with my makeup artist, Jessica, making the magic happen!
See the full, final series in this blog post, and some photos from the show opening at Brass Bell Studios in OKC in this one.
My self-portrait zombie shoot was assisted by Catie Bartlett.
My zombies-meet-high-fashion show debuted at Brass Bell Studios in Oklahoma City back in October of last year- finally posting some photos from the show! Thanks again SO much to everyone who came out, either to support me, or from sheer curiosity. I tried to put my camera down for most of it and just enjoy the culmination of so much work, and to that end I don’t have many photos. However, my camera got passed around to few different people, and the following photos are the result. See the full photo series that was debuted in this blog post. Here’s to the memory of a fun evening!
And yes, those are brain cookies.
This project was my baby for over an entire year. It’s no secret I’m completely drawn to the edgy and unusual. I had the inspiration back in a college photo class- many years before the project culminated in a successful show to debut the finalized series at Brass Bell Studios in Oklahoma City back in October. (No mistake that it shared the month with the best holiday- Halloween!) A huge thanks to everyone who came out to support me in one of the artistic accomplishments that I’m most proud of so far. But if you weren’t at the opening, I’m finally releasing the images online here on my blog, so I hope you enjoy!
“ZOMBIES ARE PEOPLE TOO” is a conceptual and artist portrait photography series. The photos force together the opposing aesthetic themes of high-end fashion and the dark style of a modified zombie. It has solidified into a group of styled photo shoots, employing traditional fashion models who are eerily made up to resemble the living dead. The scenes are set in locations across Oklahoma (and one in New York). Click the link below to view the trailer for the series, made by the very talented Andrew Sloat. It was filmed during Caitlin’s shoot in New York.
ZOMBIES ARE PEOPLE TOO – Art Show Trailer
You can also check out the Series mini site, created by Catie Bartlett, here.
I couldn’t have done any of this without the extremely talented Jessica Fulton, my HMUA for the entire project. She was able to execute my vision perfectly and stuck it out with me through the year and a half it took to complete the series. I’d also like to the thank the models who appeared in the photos- for humoring my crazy idea and being willing to go out in public with a pound of black makeup on their faces (especially the guys) and quite possibly scaring some children. Their names are listed with each photo.
Caitlin Sloat:
Evan Crowley:
Lindsey Robinson:
Chelsey Cope:
Brock Lay:
I even included a self-portrait, assisted by Catie Bartlett:
Caitlin Sloat:
Christa May:
Alberto Roubert:
I’ll be following up with some behind the scenes photos and a post about the show opening at Brass Bell. I may also share some B-sides (photos that were not part of the final series, but great none the less). So stay tuned for those!
I am so excited to finally announce the series that I’ve been working on for a looooong time, and the show where I will be debuting it! The theme is… wait for it…. ok, you already know- it’s zombies. Zombies meets high fashion, that is.
Brass Bell Studios will host a show opening for my conceptual editorial series, Zombies Are People Too, on Sunday, October 7th from 4:00pm- 7:00pm. Brass Bell Studio is located on the corner of NW 33rd & Villa in Oklahoma City. There is no admission cost, and the show will include a cash bar. After the opening, showings will be available by appointment during the month of October.
Check out the show website to watch the show trailer/sneak peek of one of the zombie shoots created by Andrew Sloat:
www.zombies-are-people-too.com
The idea was conceived years ago while doing a photo assignment for my fashion class. I made up my models to look like zombies to add some sort of creative interest in an otherwise very strait forward technical learning exercise. Since then, I’ve wanted to do an entire series, but take the time to do it right. It’s always been in the back of my mind. Last year, with the help of some awesome people, I decided to make it happen.
I’ve always been drawn to this dark aesthetic- kinda eery and creepy. I’m well-versed in B-horror movies, and Halloween is my favorite holiday. Obviously shooting weddings doesn’t really call for this style much (except of course in the case of the zombie engagement shoot), so when I have the opportunity to shoot photos with an edge, I’m very creatively motivated. I do however have an outlet in this realm when I’m working on some band promos or fashion shoots. (Now, I do want to clarify that the zombie aspect is truly meshed with fashion, so if scary movies aren’t your thing, rest assured that this will be fairly tame. Bloody/gory isn’t part of the vision in this case.)
For this series, I’ve worked with a handful of male and female models and the shoots take place in locations across Oklahoma. I couldn’t have done it without the help of Jessica Fulton, owner of Siren Beauty Lounge. She has been the makeup artist on the series, executing my vision perfectly! I’ve also worked with some fun and eager models who I’m excited to reveal at the show.
It has been a huge undertaking, but I’m extremely excited, and I think it will be the most personally important show I’ve done to date. Hope you can make it! Don’t forget to RSVP to the Facebook event!
RAW is an organization that hosts art shows in major cities across the country every month. I participated in OKC’s the second RAW show called Mixology. Thanks so much to every that bought tickets and came to support! I had a great time!
If you’re an artist looking for a venue to display your work, look at becoming a RAW artist! Even if you’re not in Oklahoma City, there may be one near you. Check out their website: http://www.rawartists.org/oklahomacity.
What makes them unique is the multi-sensory aspect they bring to the art show- featuring artists, musicians, fashion designers, models, hair and makeup artists, videographers, and more.
Click on the link below and find my name (#15) to see my video interview at the show!
Anna Lee RAW Video Interview
Blake Fischer:
My beautiful friend Caitlin participating as a model in the Nicole Moan ceramic corset fashion show:
One night, my friends and I flew to Mars and took photos of the landscape, aliens, and UFOs. Enjoy.
Clifton and Jon indulged me in a Harry Potter inspired photo. Nerdy fans like me should be able to tell who is who based on the pose.
On our way back from a wedding, Catie and I stumbled across a really neat abandoned property. We couldn’t resist checking it out! There were still all kinds of furnishings just left inside a few dilapidated buildings, now covered in vines and tall grass. Nature had completely taken over. It was really interesting! The photo of me was taken by Catie.
I was honored to have a photo of mine accepted again this year into the Momentum Art Show put on by OVAC. Here’s just a little glimpse at the awesome spectacle that is Momentum.
Here’s my piece hanging on the gallery wall titled “Hitchcock Dreams”. It was purchased within the first couple hours of the weekend-long show!
Momentum artists have the awesome opportunity to include works under $30 in the Momentum Market. Of course, I included my Foliage accessories, which did quite well! The exposure to such a targeted market was great. You can find out more about Foliage accessories in this Facebook album.
For the last couple years, Momentum has been held at the OKC Farmer’s Market. It’s a beautiful building that is probably most well-known for it’s eye-catching number of white, paper lanterns hanging from the ceiling. It has a great balcony for overlooking the room, from which I snagged this pano shot:
