Life on Mars

 I spent two days modeling at the Mid-Atlantic Regional School of Professional Photography, the MARS school,in Cape May, NJ in the first week of May. MARS is a week long and there are different classes taught by amazing photographers. Photographers come from all over to hone their skills and learn from the best.
My first day was May 4th, a Monday. I was so anxious Sunday night and that anxiousness carried over on my Monday morning drive to the Grand Hotel of Cape May where the MARS school is held each year.

I met Sue Engler, the model coordinator, in the lobby and she told me the schedule for the day. First thing was makeup with Deanna Carfagno(http://www.thumbtack.com/pa/royersford/makeup-artist/make-up-artist) 

 

Deanna was great to work with and shoots are always better when there's a makeup artist. 

Vintage glam was the theme for the first day. I modeled for Lindsay Adler's fashion  photography class, she is an absolutely amazing photographer and you all need to check out her work! (http://www.lindsayadlerphotography.com/)

Lindsay taught the class and then the class was able to use the things they just learned on the models.

There was a break after lunch before the class started up again so Sue snapped this photo of me enjoying the sun. I love the Grand hotel, the area where I was sitting had lovely glass ceilings.

The second half of the day took a colorful turn when Lindsay produced some holi powder

The powder felt cool on my face and it wasn't hard to remove but it does get everywhere. I think I still have some in the speaker on my phone, a colorful reminder of a fun day.

 Getting covered in holi powder was a lot of fun and I had fun on the drive home staring at people stopped next to me at red lights, it's the little things that amuse me.


The second day I modeled at the school I spent the first half of the day modeling for Lindsay Adler's class and the second half of the day modeling as a bride for Ken Sklute's class.

That red dress was so gorgeous and dramatic. I had a couple of different dress "floofers" that morning, they threw the train of the dress so it would float in the wind.  I had to make sure I was firmly grounded before being floofed or the weight of the dress would knock me over, it was powerful.

The second half of the day I modeled as a bride at the Southern Mansion. The Southern Mansion is absolutely gorgeous, the grounds are filled with pretty flowers and inside the mansion blew me away. 

 

This was at the Grand Hotel before everyone went to the Mansion. I got to choose the gown I wore, all of the gowns were beautiful but I wanted a frou-frouy one. The back of the dress had great details

Relaxing on the porch of the Southern Mansion

I did not want to leave this room, it was absolutely gorgeous. I stayed there for quite a long time with three photographers and I would love to stay for a weekend at the Southern Mansion.

I had a blast modeling at MARS and would love to do it next year. I met so many talented and nice people there, especially Sue Engler who was so nice and made sure all the models were taken care of.

More photos can be found on my page www.facebook.com/obf0908

Versano Photography

About two  weeks ago I worked with David and Gabriela, the husband and wife team that make up Versano Photography.
They decided that Valley Forge National Park for the shoot and it was a gorgeous location. I have been reluctant to travel to locations that require driving over bridges as I have some strange fear of them. I realized this is cutting me off from some beautiful and fun places.

It was a chilly spring evening and we met for the shoot just as the sun was beginning to set, it made for some lovely lighting.

The park was huge with lots of rolling hills and there were lots of great locations. I switched shirts half way through the shoot. I've been modeling for awhile and have become quite skilled at changing clothes in public. I always say I'm going to buy a changing tent but never seem to get around to it.

The sky was overcast all day and I was afraid it was going to rain. It didn't and the clouds made the sky look so dramatic. 

 David and Gabriela were easy to work with and I was happy I pushed my bridge anxieties aside to shoot with them. Pennsylvania is a beautiful state and I love exploring Philadelphia (tons of record stores!)

Rachel Adams Photography

Last month I had a photo shoot with Rachel Adams Photography (https://www.facebook.com/racheladamsphoto). It was great to get in front of the camera again after some time off. Rachel's work is dreamy and surreal, each week she shoots a different theme and the week I worked with her the theme was hippies. I've been gravitating towards this look lately.

 The shoot consisted of me and four other models and it was so much fun! Group shoots are great and unfortunately I don't do many of them. We all met at Rachel's house to get ready. When I'm getting ready for a shoot alone it can be stressful, my mind can sometimes betray me and I think of all the things that could possibly go wrong. Getting ready for the shoot with this group of girls was a lot of fun and completely stress free.

From left to right we have Hannah, Brianna, me, Paige and Steph

These are my favorite pants, the only patterned pair of pants I own, they're super flares. 

The shoot was at the perfect time of day, the light was so golden!

Isn't that little orange record player adorable? Also, check out the fringe jacket!

 I love that Rachel used  records for this shoot, being the vinyl junkie that I am. There were some good albums too. Rachel's mom selected "Meaty Beaty Big and Bouncy" (good album and my favorite album name), "Disraeli Gears" by Cream and Janis Joplin's greatest hits. 

One of the girls tuned into the Beatles station on Pandora and we got to model in the field listening to "Here Comes the Sun", it was great. 

Rachel runs a blog In a World of My Own (http://harleywonderland.blogspot.com/) where she shares photos and writes about her shoots.  To see all of the photos from this shoot head on over to Rachel's blog and my facebook page (facebook.com/obf0908)

Summer of 69

I've been looking through some of my old magazines lately, mainly summer issues, to get some style inspiration. These photos are from the June 1969 issue of Ladies' Home Journal. 

Here is Susan Saint James wearing a gorgeous bathing suit that is complimented by a body chain. I've been noticing body chains are becoming trendy again, see how fashion is cyclical. 

This is Susan Saint James again. This dress would be lovely for spring.

This is the last photo I have of Susan Saint James. I love her hat and this photo is great scarf inspiration. When it's too hot to wear a scarf around your neck you can wear it around your hat!

Isn't this swim dress cute. I've been hunting for a new bikini or one piece for this summer. 

This is a Kotex ad and it's something completely different than what Kotex ads are like today. Todays ads are all about the active tampon fan, this is glamour!

There were some beautiful hairstyles 

 and some unfortunate ones

I hope you all enjoyed these photos from the June 1969 issue of Ladies' Home Journal

Welcome Spring

Okay, so it's not officially Spring yet but it's going to be very soon. I am so tired of Winter and the frigid cold, I want to be outside without the air hurting my face.

Today wasn't that warm but I wanted to wear something springy and I wanted to wear one of my newest thrifted treasures, a pair of 1970s wool Bobbie Brooks super flares.

The pants came from the Salvation Army. I had to go back to the store to buy them since I didn't buy them the first time I was there. If you find something you love instantly at a thrift store buy it then!

I also got to wear my non-vintage psychedelic booties for the first time after buying them last month, I didn't want the ice and the snow to ruin them. 

 These remind me of The Beatles and Lady Miss Kier!

It's not visible in the photos but I was wearing this vintage floral necklace, it was a gift from a friend. 

I'm so happy Spring is soon, it means that being outside will be enjoyable and it means more outfit posts!

A Creative Thaw.

I haven't written in a while, the combination of the dullness and coldness of Winter left me feeling uncreative and unproductive in all aspects of my life. So, I took time away from blogging or doing anything creative.  Getting out of an uncreative slump is a bit rough especially with dreary weather. But , not doing anything isn't fun either.

I've been picking up some fantastic vintage and thrifted pieces in the past couple of months and I can't wait to feature them here soon.

This Thursday I shot with Chris Crois Photography (Instagram: Crois6) and I finally got to show off one of my coolest finds, a Lilli Ann Cape.

The cape is so mod and it was an awesome thrift find but it is too cold to sport it now.  Luckily, we were in a studio and I got to feel like a superhero in front of the city scape. I can't wait to post more about this cape, it is visually stunning!

The hat is one of four vintage hats I received recently. This one had a dramatic birdcage veil and it looked so neat against the cloud background.

Lastly, I just set up an instagram account to share vintage outfit photos (and cat photos). Temporarily, my username is: megansteigerwalt
I plan on changing it soon.

This outfit is made up of half vintage pieces and the other half are new pieces. The pants and sweater aren't vintage but the vest and fur coat are. It was freezing the day I wore this outfit but my outfits have been so bland lately due to the cold and I wanted to wear something flash.


I can't wait to share more of my vintage pieces with all of you soon.

Rethink Black Friday

Black Friday has always bothered me. When I was younger I could never figure out why people would want to wake up at 3 am to camp out in front of a store, two things I hate combined camping and lack of sleep. As I got older I noticed a huge shift, stores opening earlier and earlier. It's become almost this "Apocalypse Now" style mission to go out and buy a television.

Why not do something different this year? Support a local business, more specifically support your local record shop. The 28th will be Record Store Day throughout the United States. It's a day to celebrate the magical places known as record stores, the places where you can bond with someone over music. There will be exclusive releases that you can only buy that day and of course you can spend the day browsing through the crates.

I am extremely excited about some of the exclusives and I am counting down the days until Friday. I am the most excited for "From Genesis to Revelation" by Genesis

"From Genesis to Revelation" was released in 1969 and when it was first released it didn't sell well and was usually placed in the religious section of the record shop, I'm sure there were some surprised listeners. 

The Beatles, The Kinks, Joey Ramone, and David Bowie are also some of the artists that will have albums for sale you can see the complete list here http://www.recordstoreday.com/SpecialReleases

You can find out which stores in your area are participating here http://www.recordstoreday.com/Venues