On our last night at The Sacred Door Trail opening ceremonies, I had stirred enough interest in my photography to obtain two playmates: Foxie Flambe and Melanie Malia.  This was a lovely break from my normal self-portrait style as I had both models and new ideas flowing my way.  The night began with Foxie quietly asking me if I would like to wear a feather mohawk to the final event of the day, a wonderful African drumming group called The Drum Brothers.  Of course! Silly question. After shaking all our inhibitions loose on the dance floor, we headed out into the meadow armed with my usual lights and Foxie’s LED hula-hoop.  In the end, the hoop became the toy of choice and I think we got some really different types of images, possibly even giving the light painters a run for their money.

The mohawks added such a fun element to the images that I am definitely thinking about adding some costumes back into my work.  I find that there is such a freedom in having a prop to work off of when making this type of image, whether it is a light, a costume, a person, or an object.  Since I am generally working alone these days, sans Aloyse Blair, I find that I need this element to create some sort of a storyline or the images can become very flat.  In my mind, the most successful images keep you wondering and never let you complete the sentence.  You must come back over and over, wondering what exactly are you viewing.  The images are like questions rather than punch lines. Props help me to create these types of images.  The hardest thing for me to do is work in full moon light without props, as you will be able to see in the next post.  Until then, enjoy the Fake Full Moon Mohawk Dancer, Spirograph, The Flaming Mohawk, The Exploding Cloud Heart, and Meditating Moon Panda.