Okay, let’s start fresh, shall we. I mean, fresh with an old shoot. We had another baby and there is just something about that whole process that drains my creativity for anything but cooking and gardening. And I’ve done a lot of that over the last year.
But I seem to be back to wanting to do this photography thing, despite my continuing dilemma with figuring out the point of it all, never feeling satisfied we’ve come up with something original and meaningful and all that jazz. I just love making hats and taking pictures of them. I can’t help it.
Though sort of garden-themed, this particular shoot happened before I’d even touched the soil outside our house. We’d moved in only a few months earlier and had started stripping some painted wallpaper off the living room walls. At some point we took a break and started to notice what a delicious texture we’d revealed.
So we took a break. A long break. We did this photoshoot with Kristin. A few years passed. We’re still on break. I know what I want to do with the room, but for now it’s only used for photoshoots. Someday it will have freshly plastered and textured walls with all sorts of cool faux painting. For now I cannot fathom taking the time for that, let alone the other projects we have going on around here- did I mention I’m making hats? And there are two babies that didn’t exist when we started peeling. If I wait long enough, they’ll be old enough to help, so maybe I’m just being prudent.
Anyhoo, we did this shoot, as I mentioned, and it was our first shoot in the new house. It was late February in New England, and I liked the idea of juxtaposing interior deterioration with fresh flowers, sort of a transition from the dead of Winter into the new life of Spring.
I collected branches from around the house and attached silk flowers, then filled the room with as many fresh ones as I could afford, which, it turned out, wasn’t as much as I’d hoped. It never is.
Things still looked good though. I was especially fond of the way the fireplace mantle (which needs to be totally replaced at some point since it OBVIOUSLY is not original) turned out. We spent a week removing white paint from the bricks, though I’m thinking they should be covered in tile some day and we probably wasted our time.
As is our thing, we used a mixture of lenses, and, looking back I am very impressed by the Meyer Optik Trioplan, which gets me unusual and beautiful results every time I bother to pull it out of my bag. The company is about as old as my house, so that’s a neat little coincidence and makes me feel like I do things on purpose.
I’ve been enjoying looking back at these older shoots that I never really had the chance to sit with. They either got slapped up into our portfolio or just totally ignored while I attempted to organize whatever it is we do into a “brand.” Not on my list of fun things to do, by the way.
I much prefer making hats and photographing them. Did I mention that?
***** Kayt
Credits
- Date: February, 2019
- Location: Worcester, MA
- Photography: Kayt Silvers and TJ Bynes
- Hair: Sam Kane
- Makeup: Iris Thomason
- Wardrobe and set styling: Kayt Silvers
- Model: Kristin Hollis @ Maggie Inc.