iSpy with my plastic eye Exhibit in Association with Month of Photography - Los Angeles

Last December, the I Spy with My Plastic Eye exhibit opened at A&I Hollywood.

The exhibit has now travelled to 5th & Sunset Studios in West Los Angeles with a gallery reception this coming Friday, April 16.

Click here to see my previous blog entry on this exciting exhibit.

The fine art book that complements this exhibit will be for sale, featuring all images from the show with shot details and artists commentaries. The book is $40 and you can purchase it by clicking here.

Rayko's 3rd Annual International Juried Plastic Camera Show

I am honored to be a part of the RayKo 3rd International Juried Plastic Camera Show in San Francisco, California. The opening reception is February 26 and the show will be up until April 17.

Click here for more information about the RayKo Photo Center and the exhibition.

2009 - Year in Review Slideshow

You can also click here to view the 2009 Year in Review Slideshow.

I Spy with my Plastic Eye Exhibit at A&I Hollywood

Last night I attended the gallery reception for an exhibit I am a part of -- I Spy With My Plastic Eye.

The exhibit pays homage to the plastic camera and my print "Childhood Memories", shot with my Holgaroid, is one of many amazing images in the exhibit. I feel so honored that I was asked to participate in this show.

The exhibit is at A&I Hollywood and benefits WeSpark, which provides free cancer support services.

A fine art book sponsored by HP is available for sale, featuring all images from the show with shot details and artists commentaries. The book is $40 and you can purchase it by clicking here.





Here is Aline Smithson's foreword to the book:


I Spy With My Plastic Eye is an exhibition visualized by photographer Astor Morgan. The exhibit, brought to life by A&I, is a testament to the unique qualities of toy cameras. Each artist approached their imagery with a singular voice, using a variety of film types, techniques and cameras. The photographs in this book speak of gesture, of time passing, of simplicity and complexity, allowing for a wide range of expression. And all of this magic has been captured through an inexpensive plastic lens, part of an inexpensive plastic camera that inspires discovery and serendipity. And that is the best part.

-Aline Smithson

Vintage Santa Monica 2010 Desktop Calendar Now On Sale

The Vintage Santa Monica 2010 Desktop Calendar is finally on sale. I'm so happy at how this calendar turned out.

Images included in the calendar:

Sears
Zucky's
Bay Shore Bowl
Carousel Building
Station 26
John Adams
Foster's Freeze
Surf Liquor
Fairview Library

This version of the calendar is south side specific, fyi. Geez I wonder why?

The calendar is $13.95 and I accept credit cards, checks and money orders.

There is also FREE SHIPPING through December 5.

Click here to purchase.

Miss Scarlett

Holgaroid Images from the Ace Hotel & Swim Club in Palm Springs

Two Holgaroid images from my trip to the Ace Hotel & Swim Club in Palm Springs in June of this year.

Click here to read my previous entry on my trip to this fantastic hotel.

Happy 100th Birthday Santa Monica Pier

Happy 100th Birthday Santa Monica Pier.

My hope is that the images I have shot and will continue to shoot will pay tribute to a place that I love and hold close to my heart.

Santa Monica Pier images for sale on my Etsy site - click here.

See the images on Flick here.

A Little Piece of Home Journal

Don't you wish you could always have with you a little piece of home?

With Kolo's Essex Album customized by me you can.

Santa Monica, my hometown, has many iconic landmarks and I've included some of them in this lovely journal.

The Santa Monica Carousel and Ferris Wheel
Station 26 Lifeguard station
Vintage postcards of Santa Monica
A vintage map of Santa Monica from 1940
A glassine envelope where you can add a Santa Monica bus token or some other trinket

The rest of it is for YOU to fill out yourself with what you consider to be your personal little pieces of home.

The journal can also be additionally customized by adding a 2010 calendar (standard or accordion-style) or an address book.

Click here to purchase this beautiful little book.

Size of book - 5x5" x 3.6"
Each book has two inserts - photo sleeves (one already filled with an image) and
a blank journal insert which includes a glassine envelope. The address book or calendar can also be added for an additional fee.

There is also a pocket in the back of the book

Ace Hotel & Swim Club - Palm Springs

My good friend and fellow photographer, Laurie Bailey, came back from this hotel a couple of weeks ago and told me immediately that I had to go there myself. I went to their website and I was hooked!

The Ace Hotel & Swim Club in Palm Springs was a former Howard Johnson that had fallen into disrepair. It reopened as the Ace Hotel & Swim Club in February of this year.

I don't consider myself the queen of hip but I immediately felt at home in this hotel -- from the record player in your room, the vintage-looking bikes you can ride and the old GMC van near the swimming pool (I looked for a choke inside the van but alas there wasn't one, my Dad's 1969 Ford van had one).






When you hang out in the pool or eat in their great restaurant you hear Bill Withers, Johhny Cash and Nick Drake over their sound system. There is also a real and I mean real photo booth in their lobby (which I went a little crazy with since it takes credit cards). I mean you just can't beat it.





I asked hotel management if I could photograph their hotel and they immediately said yes. So I brought every camera I own and every type of film I had in my fridge and shot away. I even shot a roll of (don't freak out people)......Kodachrome film and used a pack of my very precious Polaroid Viva Type 80 film with my Holgaroid.



I will definitely be going back there some time this summer to shoot more.

One of My Favorite Blogs {frolic!}

One of my absolutely favorite style blogs is {frolic!} created and written by photo stylist/floral designer extraordinaire Chelsea Fuss. Chelsea wrote today about my Holgaroid work, wedding photography and Etsy store. I feel so honored to be a part of her blog and look forward to reading it every day.

Click here to view the blog entry.

Station 26 - Santa Monica Beach - Holgaroid Image

As many of you know I'm working on a Santa Monica project. I went to my favorite lifeguard station yesterday, Station 26, but realized once I got there that I forgot a necessary piece of equipment to shoot it TTV. So instead I whipped out my Holgaroid camera and shot this image.

Being on that beach yesterday morning at 8:30 am reminded me so much of hanging out at the beach with my Dad while he surfed the waves. It brought me right back to being 8 years old.

I came home yesterday and anxiously went to my computer to see if this film was still available on Polapremium. Much to my disappointment it is not and I have only one more pack of this film.

This image will eventually be available on my Etsy site.

Wedding Shot with my Holgaroid Camera

Jennifer Pawlack and Mark Claussen
Descanso Beach on Catalina Island

There is something out there that is even faster than a digital camera.........after 60 seconds I could literally hand to my bride an image of her in her exquisite wedding dress. With what you might ask? With my Holgaroid camera.

A Holgaroid is a plastic toy camera with a polaroid back attached. I used Chocolate Type 80 film which I bought from unsaleable.com

I first shot Jennifer with this camera as she was getting ready at the Zane Grey Hotel and then shot both her and Mark after she was married at Descanso Beach.

I'm totally in love with how these images turned out.