Group Shoot at the Lemp Brewery

The other day I was invited to join several other photographers & models on a shoot with no real agenda but to get together, meet people and make pictures.

The studio space is an entire floor on one building of the old Lemp Brewery in St. Louis. It's an incredible place shadowed by what it once was. There are people using sections of the now "business park" but it still felt very empty.

There were lighting set-ups spaced all around the floor. I used them some but found myself more interested in all of the fantastic natural light spilling in through the large windows and focused mainly on that. 

A lot of the girls brought bikinis and lingerie for their photos, which I got some of but for the most part wasn't too inspired by. Not this day at least. What I did love is that Meredith brought her guns. Pretty women with guns is a combination like tattoos & babies for me. I think it's just great.

Good Times With Pretty Ladies

Well, more accurately smokin hot ladies.

The other night Cobra Kai hosted their second evening of "Tassels & Tunes" (burlesque and a band). For January's show the band was Hope & Therapy who I am a fan of. You should check them out.

  Gogo McGregor returned to Mardi Crawler's stage bringing along friends Mimi Le Yu, Swifty Deeds, Rennee Risque and Swisher Sweetie. Rennee and Swisher are both newcomers but they rocked the stage like pros.

The night was also celebrating Missy's 30th birthday. Missy is one of Cobra Kai's creators. No one with a microphone forgot to remind everyone to buy her a drink and she got a special "boylesque" show from Swifty Deeds.

The finale number is probably my favorite out of all the shows I've seen yet. It was a "Mrs. Robinson" theme & super sexy. I loved it!

By the way, I think I have a crush on Mimi now.

Something Good From Something Tragic

I think what the Westboro Baptists didn't realize when they first started protesting is the more exposure they get, the less steam they have. When you catch people off guard at an emotional time preaching horrible things you're sure to anger them and get the reactions you're looking for. But the more people are aware of their existence, the more they understand what they're all about, the more common it will be to see people react appropriately. They should be ignored and dismissed.

Today some members of that "church" were in Bethalto IL to protest another military funeral, but as I drove into town I was overwhelmed with positive energy. All the major streets I came across were covered in American flags, big and small. People were gathering all along the side of the road to show support for Lcpl Kenneth Corzine and his family. Any business with a sign out front gave respects. I've never seen anything like it. It was incredibly moving.

I walked around quite a bit but never got as far as where the Westboro people were. I really didn't care to see them anyway. The overall feel to the day was not about them, at least not anywhere I was. It was all people sharing stories about their time in the service and other anti-protests they've been to. Sympathy for the family, respect and thanks for the troops. Hatred successfully absorbed in my book.

It was so cold out it took my entire drive back home and then some to warm my body back up & I wasn't there nearly as long as a lot of these people. They braved the cold for hours to be a part of something they really believed in. I'm so glad that I was there to experience this. It's amazing to see what people are capable of and to see so much good come out.

Baby Anna

In June my cousin Sarah had the first great grand baby on my mom's side of the family. They live in California until she's discharged from the Marines so we don't get to see them too much. I'm pretty sure it drives all the grandparents crazy to have to be so far away from the new cute little baby but she still gets pretty spoiled even at a distance.

They came home for Christmas so I got to take a few 6 month photos.

Cobra Kai's 2nd Anniversary Party

Cobra Kai is a local entertainment promotions group that I do some shoots for sometimes. The other night they were celebrating their second year and released their second volume compilation CD with tracks from some of the bands they've brought to town this past year.

I Stabbed My Landlord

Evan Mitchell One Man Band, who is always a good time, premiered his acoustic show and I think I can safely say is the first act to perform on the bar at Mardi Crawlers.

The boys from Benedict Arnold were just a blast. They put on a great show and had a lot of fun. I hadn't seen them play before but I'm sure I'll see them play again.

I Stabbed My Landlord singing a long with Scene of Irony.



Toy Drive

I hung out at Moonlight for a couple hours tonight for their toy drive. People could bring in toys or donate toward toys and get a free picture taken with Santa. I, of course was on hand to take the photos and print them out for everyone. The kids also got a goodie bag with cookies, stickers, some coupons for mom & dad and a few other things. All in all a good deal for making xmas a little better for some children.

We're getting together and doing it all over again on Saturday December 18th from 11-2 in the afternoon. So come on out and bring a toy. You don't have to stay for lunch, but if you do I recommend the house salad dressing. Best dressing ever. You might even want to put it on a salad. :)

...This one was pretty untrusting.

In The Movies

The other day I got word from the Alton Undead that they knew someone needing a cast for a small shoot he was doing. I think it was a class assignment where he needed to re-create a scene from a movie. He chose the bathroom scene in Full Metal Jacket.

I took a few stills and my husband played Pvt. Joker. Isn't he cute?

It was pretty cold down in the basement of the Milton school, those boys running around in their underwear were troopers. We had a good time though. It was fun.