Blog2017-02-28T14:11:43+00:00

That 70s Shoot

We've already rolled right past the summer solstice, and it's feeling like the whole year is flying by at alarming, energetic speed. I recall starting 2024 with an ambitious list of shoots I wanted to crank out. Things haven't turned out exactly as planned. This was one such shoot. It began as a Hol [...]

Portrait of Grace

I've had plenty of shoots where I had to dramatically adapt- the weather turned out all wrong, the location cancelled without warning us, equipment failed, some vital prop didn't arrive on time. We've done some of our best work under those circumstances; I've always felt the best art exists on the e [...]

Analemma

The earth's orbit around the sun is not a perfect circle. One consequence of this is that the earliest sunset of the year does not actually coincide with the winter solstice, but instead happens about two weeks earlier. In 2023, that date happened to be December 8th, one day before I found myself ou [...]

In the Weeds

Saying that I'm VERY behind on blogging would be a bit of an understatement. I am completely drowning in things I am behind on, and there is an ocean of blog posts I should have written over my head. I keep thinking I want to change things here, to focus on things we ARE doing, instead of things we [...]

Anomaly

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 p [...]

Too Much Pink

I know, I know- we disappeared again; literally fell off the face of the internet. Maybe it's not the best way to run a business, but TJ and I are still adjusting to our post-baby, post-Covid life, and while we've continued to photograph, we've reverted to our natural ways of completing a project an [...]

The Pumpkin Song

A little over two years ago (cannot believe that I'm saying that), after a month or so of collecting pumpkins, assorted squash, corn stalks, dried miscanthus grass, and hay bales; braving finnicky, frozen October mornings to get a 8x12 foot canvas backdrop painted in various olive tones; and designi [...]

New Beginnings

After going so long without a post I feel like some kind of explanation is in order. This is probably an over compensation, but here it goes anyway. Our on-line absence was not for lack of content, though between a scheduled maternity leave and the general paralysis imposed by Covid, we certainly we [...]

Denim on Denim

Some sets work better as blog posts than as portfolio posts, and I'm not sure why. Especially since our site is set up to feel bloggy all around. Maybe it's that some sets are best if seen in full, rather than carefully edited to a concise collection. Maybe some sets are too free spirited in the fir [...]

Nella Penombra

"Penombra" is Italian for dim-light, or half-light, which describes my favorite lighting conditions perfectly. Unfortunately for me, I have this thing about sleeping until it's a little lighter than that, and I like eating dinner, so my natural half-light photography opportunities are minimal. Once [...]

Dime Store Valentine

In what seems to have become a great Silvers & Bynes tradition, we put together a Valentine's-themed shoot (see our favorite previous example here). This time, I wasn't so interested in my mood or anyone else's, I just wanted to make really cool photos with unusual lighting, a funky set, and 80s [...]

One Night in Chinatown

Some shoots are self-explanatory. I have no idea if this one qualifies. 1980's vintage rhinestone cowgirl styling in Chinatown may or may not have been an obvious choice. But why not? *****Kayt Credits: Date: Saturday July 22nd, 2017 Location: Chinatown-Boston, MA Photography: Kayt Silvers and TJ By [...]

Disco Dreaming

This shoot was just about a year ago, but all my metallic nail polish is still missing, lost somewhere in my collection of random fabric and backdrop materials. I need those polishes again this weekend when TJ and I reunite with most of this amazing team for a new project, but I'm starting to think [...]

Laundry Day

Thanks to Instagram, everyone shoots the same thing. At some point, a photo of a girl in a laundromat must have become very popular, because it's such a ubiquitous portrait it's hard to not find one in someone's feed. As usual, I was oblivious to that until after my shoot. One thing I noticed though [...]

Meyer Optik Trioplan 50: First Impressions

Sometime during the summer of 2016 I backed the Meyer Optik Goerlitz Trioplan 50mm Kickstarter project. It was so long ago I'm not even sure what initially caught my eye, other than the fact that I love playing with new lenses and I'd been searching for something other than the swirly Petzval thing [...]

Can’t Find My Way Home

                    *****Kayt Credits: Date: Sunday, October 23rd, 2016 Location: LaMountain Bros. Inc, Oxford, MA Model: Sierra Lanea Hair, makeup, wardrobe styling: Kayt Silvers Assistant: Jesse Russell [...]

Postcards From Nowhere: Redemptionland

There is no more Route 1 Miniature Golf, it's been gone for almost a year now. Honestly, I'm sort of getting tired of memorializing photos. I have so many from quirky and amazing places that simply no longer exist. Parts of Worcester I don't see every day have changed so fast in the last few years t [...]

Harvest Time Farm Shoot

Hard to believe that this shoot was over a year ago, but that just seems to be the way of things lately. The concept was simple- lush, ripe tomatoes, green pastures, sweat, and dirty fingernails; the very best of August. It wasn't hard to capture. Credits: Date: Sunday August 21, 2016 Location: the [...]

1930s Themed Woodland Shoot

This shoot was an astounding two years ago, when we were relentlessly testing and I was figuring out ways to use all the random bits of wardrobe I'd collected. I'd been given the real 1930s vintage gold lace dress some months before, and knew I wanted to photograph it as an unconventional vintage po [...]

French New Wave

My favorite movie is Peirrot Le Fou. I watched it the first time without subtitles and only caught about half of what was going on. It didn't matter. If you watched our first film La Mort de L'Amour, or our latest trailer Ceci N'est Pas Un Film, my obsession with French New Wave, and Jean Luc Goddar [...]

New England Road Trip Shoot

Like most females with an account on Pinterest, I have a fondness for old postcards. My particular favorites, however, don't come from exotic places. I most enjoy seeing postcards from my own backyard, places that seem banal; that I take for granted. That's the premise, at least, behind a series of [...]

Meet Me at Ralph’s

It was just about one year ago that this shoot happened, an utterly overwhelming day of hectic creativity and collaboration. It was our third attempt that spring at scheduling a shoot at Ralph's Rock Diner in Worcester, Massachusetts- weather and model cancellations had gotten in our way before, eac [...]

Shooting with Delight Worthyn (2017): Part II

After we had finished up the insanity that was the shoot with Alena, we shifted gears back to our more usual cinematic vintage. Delight had an incredible vintage coat she had added quilted detail to, as well as a lacy slip thing we'd actually photographed a long way back. LaToya had been working on [...]

Shooting with Delight Worthyn (2017): Part I

Our first shoot with Delight Worthyn was on a chilly, drizzly day in October 2014 (see the story here). Our second shoot with Delight Worthyn was on a chilly, drizzly day in April 2017. There was no difference in the weather, but the background had changed from the industrial detritus of Holyoke, MA [...]

Shooting with Delight Worthyn (2014)

Since the early spring of 2014, we've worked with Delight Worthyn's clothing and accessory designs many, many times (see here, here, here, and here for a small sample). But we've actually only had the chance to work with her in person twice. The first time was to shoot a lookbook on a drizzly day in [...]

Shooting An Editorial

This shoot wasn't our first editorial, and it wasn't the first time we attempted to cover six looks with a consistent theme. But I do feel like it was the first time we came close to creating the kind of thing I wanted to be creating (maybe second, see the shoot we'd done a couple weeks before here) [...]

Livy

I have lost all concept of time. 2017 is zooming by, and I still have plenty from 2016 that I haven't shared yet. I just realized that it's been a little over a year since this little shoot, and even though so much has happened in between, it feels like it was just last week. I still remember how co [...]

No Parking

TJ and I rarely shoot men, and when we do it's usually to support a female model in some way or another. But last March we had a model cancel on us and wound up shooting our stylist Lloyd so we all didn't have a completely wasted day. It actually wound up as probably the best shoot we've done so far [...]

The Making Of

About a year ago I encountered an identity crisis. Was I a photographer, stylist, director, or just an artist who's medium shifted with her changing mood? To be honest, I'm still not 100% sure, but neither is TJ so it's possibly a universal thing. In any case, I was worried I might be a control frea [...]

Crepe Paper Flowers (or the photoshoot that gave me carpal tunnel)

We're easing out of this winter pretty quickly now, despite the cold wind. Part of me feels the season slipped by too quickly; I've actually taken a liking to winter, not because I enjoy losing the feeling in my fingertips, but because I've been using it to take time off from shooting, to plan thing [...]

Next Stop Wonderland

If you've been following this blog, you may have already recognized my balloon obsession. They're colorful, timeless, innocent, and relatively cheap. What's not to love? I'd had this shoot- and these balloons in particular- floating around in my head for over a year before we were able to shoot it. [...]

Shiver

Shoots can have minds of their own if you let them, which can good or bad depending on the circumstance. In the case of this shoot, it felt like the natural thing to allow, given that we were working with a brand new team, and were planning on using natural light rather than more finicky strobes. Bu [...]

Radcliffe Days

While attending Wellesley College, I got to be an extra in Mona Lisa Smile. It's not my favorite movie by any means, but getting to ditch class to have my hair curled and my lips painted the perfect shade of red gave me a rather skewed college sophomore- year experience. Everything that happened aft [...]

So Vain

I've had a thing for the 70's since I was in high school, very largely due to the fact that I inherited a bunch of cool clothes and accessories from my mom who went to high school in the actual 70's. And maybe the music. *****Kayt Credits: Date: Sunday, November 8th, 2015 Location: Worcester, MA Pho [...]

American Gothic

*****Kayt Credits: Date: Sunday, October 9th, 2016 Location: EIEIO Farm- Leverett, MA Photography: Kayt Silvers and TJ Bynes Models: Lex Rudy and Alena Renay @ BMG Models Hair, makeup, wardrobe styling: Kayt Silvers Wardrobe: Lane Fortyfive and vintage [...]

Winter

Outside my window, Worcester is a snowy, slushy mess, which I find more than a little disappointing. Yes, it's been winter in my head since mid-November, but through the New Year, the outdoors are supposed to have that cold, dark, and lonely feel that makes you feel incredibly grateful to see houses [...]

The Garden of Abdul Gasazi

Ever since reading Chris Van Allsburg's The Garden of Abdul Gasazi, I've been rather obsessed with ivy covered walls, stone stair cases, oddly shaped topiary, and bull terriers. When I discovered a garden that looked straight out of an illustration from the book, I knew I'd found a magical place. Fi [...]

The Inn

Last year we planned a Hitchcock-themed shoot at the abandoned Sterling Inn on Route 12. Things didn't work out though when a strange, angry woman appeared out of nowhere, called us ghost hunters, and kicked us off the property. We managed to stage our shoot at an abandoned gas station across the st [...]

Singe and Burn

Sometimes it takes me a whole year to appreciate a shoot. Usually that's because it was shot as a very seasonal thing, and by the time I've gotten it edited, that season has past. Case in point- this shoot with Myrna last October. I had three shoots that week, then flew off to Atlanta, fell way behi [...]

The Director’s Cut

Sometime last Spring, I decided it would be a fun idea to create an editorial based on some old photos I'd found of Alfred Hitchcock directing in the early 1950s. The idea of a director-actress relationship done stylishly held great appeal, but I knew it would be quite the undertaking. Such a big un [...]

Geek Chic

Last year, when I discovered that Grace not only had one pair of amazing vintage eyeglasses, but an entire collection she'd inherited from her grandfather, I knew we needed to plan a shoot. The obvious pairing for wardrobe, of course, was to use crazy mismatched prints. Apparently that's cool this y [...]

Summerland

Credits: Date: Wednesday, August 19, 2015 Location: Salisbury, Massachusetts Photography, styling, hair, makeup: Kayt Silvers Model: Sierra Lanea @ Maggie Inc. Assistant: Danny Silvers [...]

Sugar Sugar

Mid July for me is synonymous with the St. Mary of Carmen Festival in Newton. Though it only exists as an actual place for 5 days, it's ranked as my favorite shooting location, even before I worked with models. There's just something so magical about the transformation of your typical city field int [...]

Good Guy

And yes, it's actually a film: https://vimeo.com/173539093 Lex Rudy is not actually a bad guy, he just plays one on TV. *****Kayt Credits: Date: Wednesday June 22nd, 2016 Location: Newton, MA Photography, styling, cinematography: Kayt Silvers Model, hair, makeup: Kelly Bryant Photo assist, film edi [...]

Sweet Grass

I'm getting all into stroytelling and "meaningfulness" lately, which means fewer shoots and harder shoots that make me want to pull my hair out with stress... but that wasn't so much the case last year when we were mostly focused on taking good shots, especially in challenging situations. Around the [...]

Recess

School's out and it's officially summertime. The longest recess of the year...  *****Kayt Credits: Date: July 22, 2015 Location: The Cove- Aburndale, MA Photography, styling: Kayt Silvers Model: Brianna @ Maggie Inc. [...]

An AUD Tour

Last Friday, I had the chance to tour and photograph the Worcester Memorial Auditorium with a small group of fellow photogs. I live just a couple blocks away and walk by it daily, always amazed by its front steps and art deco details. But I'd never been inside. Not many people have lately- it's been [...]

Arjana and Ivan

We had the chance to do some promo pics and headshots for Arjana Andris and Ivan Danylets back in March. What was going to be a studio shoot mixed with some cozy restaurant candids turned into an unexpectedly long afternoon at Worcester's Union Station, a last minute decision when I realized it woul [...]

Over the Garden Wall

After what seems like weeks of rainy cold, the sun is back. It's a huge relief, considering that we've wound up almost exactly where we were last year at this time when there were still little pockets of snow here and there. For the most part though, May is always May, and I always wish there was a [...]

So Vain

Credits: Date: Sunday, November 8th, 2016 Location: Worcester, MA Photography: Kayt Silvers and TJ Bynes Styling: Kayt Silvers Hair, makeup: Jessica Feeley Model: Devin Petry @ Maggie Inc.   [...]

Makalya

Spring came on time this year (then it snowed, but I don't want to go into that). So having an outdoor shoot on March 30th wound up being a warm, sunny endeavor, no coats required. It was quite unexpected after the last two years of cold lingering well into May. But I'm okay with the fact that there [...]

Harlequin Glory Part VI: Marlene

Our final shoot was scheduled for January. Then it was cancelled due to rain (remember the ceiling hole? I did not want to be blowing up balloons in a swamp). Then we had to cancel the rescheduled shoot come February due to snow. We did, however, manage to squeeze it in before March was out, but my [...]

Harlequin Glory Part V: Coco

We shot our gypsy photos on the same only slightly chilly December day as these. We'd lucked out on the weather. The floor may have still been disgustingly damp and sticky, but at least we all maintained feeling in our fingertips. Jennifer is another model I know can pull off just about any look, an [...]

Harlequin Glory Part IV: Carmen

I had been interested in creating a  gypsy fortune teller character from the start of the Harlequin Glory project, but the costume had been overwhelming me. I had the skirt ready for a year before I knew how to put the rest of it together, after some vintage photographs of Theda Bara inspired me to [...]

Harlequin Glory Part III: Zazu

It was a humid, drizzly day when we returned to Belchertown for our third shoot. The floor, which was covered in bits of ceiling and asbestos, stuck to our shoes like wet plaster. It was the end of a very old pair of pointe shoes I'd pulled out as a finishing touch for Sarah's costume. "Zazu" was my [...]

Harlequin Glory Part II: Lulu

We'd started our series in December of a winter that wouldn't stop snowing. By the end of February, there was over 100 inches of snow on the ground and going anywhere that wasn't plowed was more than unappealing- it was impossible. So we held off on planning shoot number two until things started to [...]

Harlequin Glory Part I: Columbine (the beginning)

I don't usually post behind the scenes photos anywhere, let alone this blog, but I have to make an exception for these. I mean, how often do you see people carrying a dozen balloons into an abandoned building? I also would like to note the wide open front door. It was all just waiting for us. We wal [...]

Little Trouble Girl

Shot last April for Kaɪˈoʊti Magazine. Credits: Date: Sunday, April 12, 2015 Location: Downtown Worcester, MA Photography: Kayt Silvers and TJ Bynes Styling: Kayt Silvers Model, hair, makeup: Bianca Camacho [...]

Crimped

Credits Date: Sunday, January 17th, 2016 Location: Worcester, MA Photography: Kayt Silvers and TJ Bynes Styling: Kayt Silvers Hair, makeup: Holly Daigle Model: Julia @ Maggie Inc. [...]

Spring Pop

It was yet another dreary, rainy day here in Massachusetts, but I just noticed the sun streaming through the window.  I've been waiting for a good time to post this set, and it finally fits my mood. Credits: Date: Saturday, March 12th, 2016 Location: Visions By Baker Studio, Worcester, MA Photograph [...]

Weatherproof

Over the course of the last seven days, it's been warm and sunny, humid and rainy, cold and rainy, cold and snowy, cold and icy, and mostly miserable. The big question on my mind however, has been- what to wear? Answer: layers. Some pictorial suggestions follow. Seriously though, the real answer is [...]

Ruby Rose Fox

Three of my favorite things: good music, photography, and club sandwiches. My fourth favorite thing: natural window light. So it's an especially good day when I get to combine it all into a super cool photo. Ruby Rose Fox  is one of my favorite local musicians, and she eventually came around to my f [...]

Secret Garden

Shot last April for Kaɪ'oʊti Magazine Credits: Date: Thursday, April 16, 2015 Location: Elm Bank, Natick, MA Photography, styling: Kayt Silvers Model/makeup: Christina @ Maggie Inc. [...]

Saturday Morning Blues

  Credits: Date: Saturday, November 21, 2015 Location: North Adams, Massachusetts Photography/styling: Kayt Silvers Makeup: Samantha Kniskern Model/room stylist: Clara @ Maggie Inc. [...]

Kenmore

This is one of those shoots that speaks for itself. One of my favorites from last fall, shot on a combo of digital and film cameras. Credits: Date: Thursday, March 8th, 2015 Location: Kenmore Square and Lansdowne Street, Boston, MA Photography: Kayt Silvers Styling: Kayt Silvers and Kitty Glitter Mo [...]

The Month We Took No Photos

Between January 31st and February 27th, I didn't pick up a camera. Neither did TJ. It wasn't on purpose, exactly, but weather and the winter blahs conspired to leave us with an empty calendar. It was terrifying. And a really good thing. For the last two years it's been nothing but one photoshoot aft [...]

Number 48

  Credits: Date: Wednesday, January 6, 2016 Location: Boston, MA Photography, styling: Kayt Silvers Model, hair, makeup: Joanna Petras @ Maggie Inc. Assistant: Danny Silvers [...]

Nevermind

I woke up this morning to bright sunshine and tweeting birds and it hit me- it's spring. Sure it might get cold again, sure it's a month from the equinox, but it's bright, wool is making me feel itchy, and I had a strange craving for asparagus. I know we still have maple sugaring season to enjoy, an [...]

Sweater Weather

You'll notice that the shoot on January 31st in yesterday's post was done outside. It was nearly 60 degrees that day and most of the snow had melted. I don't quite know how we got so lucky, I had not concocted a backup plan. For the most part, however, TJ and I have been spending this winter inside [...]

La Mort de l’Amour

An essential part of Valentine's Day is a all-too-often-met benchmark of disappointment that so many inevitably feel by evening. And no, I'm not specifically alluding to anything I'm feeling now; years of accumulated experiences and observation that have lead me to this conclusion. Some years I love [...]

Amy and The Engine

Admittedly, I was a little surprised to wake up this morning to a blanket of white snow. Not that it's out of the ordinary, today is February 5th after all, but this past week was so warm that the thought of snow accumulation never crossed my mind. TJ and I actually managed to spend all day last Sun [...]

Glaciate

I think the first time I ever fell in love was as an eight-year-old in the backseat of a car driving the Mohawk Trail through Western Massachusetts. And it wasn't with anyone in the car, or on the radio, or in a magazine. It was with the road. It had drama, mystery, rugged good looks, and a badass a [...]

Velvet and Tulle

The cold and wet has hit us here in Massachusetts. I can't say I'm not a little relieved. It's nice to be forced to stay in, since I don't tend to want to stay there naturally. Studio shooting is a huge challenge for TJ and me because of our teeny tiny space, but I've never turned away from a challe [...]

Stash

Sometimes life just hands you two models with shoes that happen to match, a friend willing to carry heavy objects, the right wardrobe in the backseat of your car, a pair of vintage umbrellas, some nifty antiques, and an empty house with gorgeous wood floors. It doesn't happen often of course, but wh [...]

Classics

October is getting to be a long time ago, but that's the world of blogging. I've been skipping around a bit. Actually, skipping around is a nice way of describing what's been going on in my brain of late. The good news is that I'm almost caught up with editing, which means it's time to fall behind a [...]

Salix

I was buying a balloon one day when I saw some curly willow branches for sale. I had no idea what I'd use them for but they were so cool, I didn't even realize that you could buy sticks. So, I returned home with three bundles of long twisty things, and one pink balloon, expecting TJ to remind me tha [...]

Earth A.D.

I was too young to have ever seen a show at The Rat, and what my mom still refers to as the "Combat Zone" I optimistically call the "Theater District," but there are still some grungy parts of Boston the city can't seem to get rid of. And that's a good thing. I'm making it a point to capture it all [...]

Convergence

Sometime in the past few weeks, this blog turned two. And if there's anything I've learned in that time it's that the best photoshoots happen unexpectedly. It's not every day I find myself standing on a marble cliff, and I'm not good enough at timing things to ever wind up outside with a camera at g [...]

Anabatic

This December feels nothing like last December. Or the December before it. The last two years have been bitterly cold and icy, with at least a little snow by now. They were also much more frantic, since for some reason this time of year always gives me a giant burst of creativity. This year the crea [...]

Vagabond

It's hard to remember what certain times of the year feel like when they've long since passed. Case in point- post-Labor Day September, when the Summer sun just starts to give up on us, leaving us with a vacuous, seasonally confusing gap between barefoot carelessness and wool sweaters. Luckily, TJ a [...]

Alice Sophisticate

Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland celebrates its 150th anniversary next week (on November 26th), so it seemed like a fitting time to share this set I did with Caitlin back in July. I'd had a month of complicated shoots with hair and makeup artists and stylists, so many people and voic [...]

Last Breaths

The season changes on the autumnal equinox, but it always amazes me how Octobery October feels. Just as easily as you turn the calendar page, it becomes clear- the world stands on the cusp of its annual death. Green is rapidly replaced with yellows, oranges, reds and browns. What was once strong and [...]

Harvest

Credits: Date: Saturday August 1st, 2015 Location: Worcester, MA Photography: Kayt Silvers and TJ Bynes Styling: Kayt Silvers Model: Emily Levy @ Maggie Inc. [...]

Waning August

  I'm no longer in denial about Fall. September is somewhat of a snooze, but October is serious business. There aren't any sayings about it like there are March, but it's just as jarring a start. October always comes in crisp and intense with an eerie feeling of sudden insecurity. Maybe it's ju [...]

Flower Girl

It's the official last day of Summer here in the Northern Hemisphere. For some reason, that has never made me as depressed as the last day of August. To me, Summer ended weeks ago, we've just been in seasonal limbo- too hot to wear flannel and corduroys, but all wrong for flipflops. But back when fl [...]

My Sweet Summer is Gone

So, if you hadn't already noticed, we've moved. Like Summer, Bowker House Photography is no longer. In some ways it makes me sad. "Bowker House" was our metaphorical fun place. Where we would go to play. Silvers and Bynes is so much more... professional. I guess it's like putting boots on for the fi [...]

School’s Out

It seems weird to be writing up something called "School's Out" just one or two weeks before everyone has to go back, but that's how far behind I am on blogging. Sierra and I shot this one warm, sunny Friday in mid June. There were flowers and bunnies and so many warm rays of sun. That sense of newn [...]

No Bobby Socks

Several years back, I asked my mom to make me a white and red polka dot dress. It was strapless with a little white tulle crinoline. I loved it. Except it didn't quite fit me. I never wore it, but once it a while I would pull it out of my closet and stare longingly, envisioning it over a red turtlen [...]

Lost Contact

Rarely am I inspired to design a photoshoot around something as mundane as website layout, but this was one of those odd instances. Our new site's "contact" page lacked character. I'd been tinkering with the idea of 'reaching out' or 'waving to passers by' in many of my art pieces, but this seemed l [...]

Long Cove

Back in March, when the world outside my window was still a massive snow pile, I booked at room at the Edgartown inn. I was optimistically thinking of mid May- apple blossoms, lush grass, green leaves, warm sun... May 16th rolled around sooner than expected, but, as scheduled, on that rainy somewhat [...]

The Edwardians- Part II

Let's see.. where did we leave off. Oh yes- the 1912 photo of the very properly dressed three ladies, with three wine bottles split evenly among them. (If you haven't read Part I you can check it out here). My question was what happened after they drank all that wine? It's all fun and games until so [...]

The Edwardians- Part I

I'm not sure there was ever a time in my life when I didn't dream of attending an early-twentieth century garden party. I've long been fascinated by tea sandwiches, bloomers, and the delicate simplicity and beauty of a pre-World War I Western-world. So it was with that in mind that I started brainst [...]

Grasslands

What happens when a photographer with a migraine, a model with a hangover, and a bored 3D artist go for a hike? They find an abandoned barn, of course. And the model dresses in cheesecloth and the artist makes hair wreaths out of grasses and ferns, and the photographer orders everyone around. June h [...]

Solstice Dance

I've been trying to make up for last winter by overbooking. We just wrapped our ninth shoot in June alone, and May was equally crazy. Somehow though, even with all the early mornings and late nights of chasing after models with a camera, we haven't spent a lot of time taking full advantage of summer [...]

Emma in the Ferns

Credits: Photography: Kayt Silvers Styling/HMUA: Isabel Vinson Model: Emma May @ Mooi Model Management  [...]

Bloom

Just a little over a month after Kendra and I shot the "Irrigation" series, we returned to the Old North Bridge. Unfortunately, our swamp had completely dried up. It had been my vision to do both shoots in exactly the same location, but given that would have been impossible without some sort of irri [...]

Clara in the Garden

We found a new secret, magical place. Just beyond the garden gate. But shhhhh. Don't tell anyone 😉 *****Kayt Credits Date: Sunday, May 24, 2015 Location: Worcester, MA Photography: Kayt Silvers and TJ Bynes Model: Clara Rose Ulken @ Maggie Inc. [...]

Inferno Project V: Lucifer

Today we finally make it to the 9th circle of hell, and what would Hell be without a Lucifer? In the Inferno, Lucifer is quite a physically ugly character, but we went in a different direction. Tell me Jen as Lucifer- in this amazing structured,red velvet jacket- doesn't make you at least consider s [...]

Inferno Project Part IV: Nessus

It was only a few hours after our Virgil sunrise shoot that we were hiking around Hammond Woods, painting eyeliner and shoving a wig onto our next model, Adam. Luckily, he didn't mind. Nessus had been the hardest character to cast- we actually didn't have anyone confirmed until two days before. I me [...]

Inferno Project Part III: Virgil

A little over a month after starting this project, Meg and I were scheduled to finish. TJ and I drove into Boston at 6am on a gorgeous, warm spring day for the Virgil shoot. I was excited about getting to photograph our model- my best friend's father, Andy- who seemed the perfect person to play Dant [...]

Inferno Project Part II: Dante

It was a couple weeks before we had the Dante shoot scheduled. In that time, the snow finally completely melted and it suddenly became nice out. Not hot, but nice enough to want to walk around Boston all night. We planned to shoot at sunset. And I couldn't resist getting Meg to cast Lex, because I k [...]

Inferno Project Part I: Beatrice

I was just starting to wake up from my winter hibernation when I received an interesting collaboration request. Margaret Galvin- a graduating fashion design student at Mass Art- was working on a series of costumes based on Dante's Inferno, and she was looking for a photographer to capture them as a [...]

House Plant

My friends own a house with a room they never use. In fact, it's pretty much off limits to everyone except for the vacuum cleaner. Because of it's taboo nature, I never really paid any attention to it. It was just the room you walked by on the way to the kitchen. One day last fall though, I caught m [...]

Irrigation

I don't think it's really rained since April 20th. That day, Patriots' Day here in Massachusetts, I stood at the Old North Bridge in Concord to watch the reenactment of the 240th anniversary of the "shot heard round the world," the start of the American Revolution. It's a very exciting thing to watc [...]

Bringing up Baby

  I've recently been asked a few questions about how I like using a Lensbaby and if one is worth buying. It's been a little over a year since I blogged about my first day taking it out of my camera bag, so I thought it might be fun to write an update. Warning- LOTS of pictures to follow. Since [...]

Plume Rush

Sometime in March, a large box from designer Delight Worthyn arrived at my doorstep. It was unexpected, but it perked me right up. Feathers. Hats. Hats with feathers. More feathers. A one-of-a-kind pink and orange dress with straps so beautiful I couldn't stop staring. To have so much inspiring mate [...]

Mad Ones

March 22nd was our first shoot outside since the snowpocalypse. There were still dregs on the ground- icy mounds of smooth failed melt, piles of strange geologic formations consisting of plowed city debris suspended in ice, stubborn lawn patches of blackened snow- but it was mostly gone (there was s [...]

Life is Just a Bowl of Cherries

My best friend Arjana is an actress. And a singer. And all around hilarious, creative and awesome person. While we spent most of our childhood practically inseparable, it's a rare occasion now that we find ourselves in the same time zone. So, on a cold weekend in March, when we had just the slightes [...]

Fringe

We're officially into April now, and TJ and I have finally started shooting outside again. But, as I write this on such a cold, rainy day, I am grateful for the teeny 5x7 foot "studio" space where we've taken to hiding. Literally, it's just the space between our living room and office where we hang [...]

Color Space

Last year the Decordova Museum was home to the Orly Genger exhibit Red, Yellow, Blue, a sculpture of brightly painted, hand-knotted rope waves that wound its way through the museum's 30 acre lawn.  Needless to say, it was quite a thing and we thought it would be fun to plan a somewhat rogue editoria [...]

Turner’s Colosseum

I think I've already mentioned our fondness for abandoned places. So much texture. So many hidden stories. While we're not innately all that interested in urban exploration for the thrill of it, offer us a chance to photograph in a dusty room with chipped paint and we're there. So, in mid-January,wh [...]

Velvet and Tulle

Sometime around the last week of January, our buddy Frank gave us a grey velvet backdrop. His timing couldn't have been better. We've pretty much been stuck inside ever since, without even enough space to paint the canvas drop cloth we were planning on using as a studio backdrop... eventually. It's [...]

Georgie Girl

Sometimes I meet a model as crazy as I am. I figure out that's the case when we realize that we've scheduled to meet on a day that only people fringing on psychotic would go out and shoot in, and neither of us wants to cancel. I'm not sure which comes first, the weather or the immediate bond, but no [...]

New Year’s Dance

I've written a lot about winter this year. If I had posted these soon after taking them, I would have had a lot to say. I have a fascination with winter light and all that. But it's getting redundant. I'm not afraid to schedule shoots in the darkest, coldest, and snowiest of weather. I love it. To a [...]

Sundown

Cameras capture light. If there's no light, there's no picture, no matter how high your camera's ISO goes. But, as a photographer, you control light. You use what you have available to best effect, and you make what you don't have. That was the gist, at least, of our main photographic goal for the y [...]

Golden Hour

Yes it is still cold out there. And snowy with a side of snow. There's nowhere to park or walk, and my back is tired of shoveling. But it is much brighter. I'm still recovering from today's episode of snow blindness, and I couldn't be more thrilled. Back in early November, when I shot these, that wa [...]

Snow Bird

I grew up on fairy tales, but I was always most drawn to the Russian ones; stories that took place in the dark solitude of winter, deep in the woods with nothing but the sound of soft, falling snow to keep the characters company. Morgan and I had made a pact to shoot in the middle of a snow storm, o [...]

Winter’s Light

Back to red. Presidents' Day is synonymous with cherry pie after all. This particular winter has forced me to get creative about indoor locations. Specifically, indoor locations that have parking and plowed paths. And preferably free ones since we're not making any money on these ventures. Hip deep [...]

Hundred Years Winter

I'm feeling slightly conflicted about how to go about writing this post. On the one hand, there's my whole obsession with the White Witch to talk about- I had a small addiction to the BBC version of The Lion, the Witch and The Wardrobe as a child.  On the other hand, there's the work that went into [...]

A Valentine’s Card

When I was little I adored Valentine's day. Red heart-shaped decorations, red candy, and a bag full of cards and trinkets. Then I got older, the mandatory all-class Valentine's card exchange turned into a handout of single red roses for the very lucky, and I traded red for black, hearts for spades, [...]

Strangers on a Train

Sometime around the beginning of December, TJ and I noticed a gap in our schedule. We'd spent November mostly doing commissioned work and were looking ahead to a complicated series of shoots later in the month involving balloons and horses. That all meant little chance for experimentation with light [...]

Fata Morgana

It was a whole year ago yesterday that I looked out the window with total dismay. There was no snow on the ground. There was no snow anywhere. It had all melted the week before. In retrospect, that doesn't seem like anything to feel all that bad about. Today I can only look out half my window- the o [...]

Flightless

October wasn't really all that long ago, though now that we've passed mid January and tiny red buds are just starting to become visible on trees, the golden visuals of the waning days of fall feel a distant memory. I would hold off on sharing these photos until next year, when they make sense again, [...]

Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening

I have a little secret- I love winter. Not for the frequent subzero windchill or frozen, impassable sidewalks, but for the stillness, the quiet, the dark. In a city, all that may amount to a rather overbearing feeling of loneliness and rush- everyone an anonymous bundle of wool and down trudging fro [...]

Nevermore

I realized I never wished everyone a happy New Year! It's a strange thing to think about starting afresh in the deep, dark days of winter, but it's kind of hard not to at least consider what you want to do, at least when the weather is nicer. Thinking back a to about a year ago, I remember setting a [...]

Lepidoptery 101

One lesser known fact about the author Vladimir Nabokov is that he was an avid lepidopterist-  one who specializes in the study of butterflies and moths. It explains the many butterfly and moth references in books like Pale Fire and Invitation to a Beheading, and his appointment at the Museum of Com [...]

Killingly Softly

The last weekend of September we were scheduled to return to Killingly, CT once again, this time to explore an abandoned toy store in an old textile mill. We were very excited. I bought our model, Isabel Vinson, a sickeningly pink, vintage 1980s prom dress and 72 balloons just for the occasion. But [...]

A Feast of Fools

I don't have a good way to introduce this... They say a picture speaks 1,000 words, and in this case, I'm not sure those words really exist. There is no why, no good explanation for how this all happened. It just did. Hours of sewing, prop organization, some skilled animal coordination, a gorgeous l [...]

A fool’s errand- behind the scenes sneak peak

What happens when you mix taxidermy, antique chairs, hay, wine, pumpkins, garlands, a huge pile of medieval-inspired hobo garb, and some goats? acquainting myself with one of the models Actually, we're not ready to show you yet, but the behind the scenes photos from said scenario are epic in their [...]

No Rest

What do you do when the location you were banking on is shrouded in wasp nests, brambles and poision ivy? You plow through it of course. But, then what do you do if, between when you visited last January and now, all the windows were boarded up and there's no point of entry? You send your expert in [...]

Umber October- Part I

We've been kind of terrible about posting anything lately. It's the trap of trying to get published- the photos have to stay secret until you either get rejected, or the magazine you weren't rejected from gets published. But, October was a flurry of activity and once we can wrap our heads around it, [...]

Khloris

Khloris is the Greek goddess credited with turning Hyacinthus and Narcissus into flowers, and said to enjoy a perpetual Spring- the year always shining, the trees always leafy, the bushes always full of blossoms. She seemed like a fitting inspiration for  one last garden-centric shoot of the year wi [...]

Fashion Circus

Waaaaay back in May we shot a circus-inspired editorial in and around some abandoned bear cages. It was a really fun afternoon, spent with some amazing clothes, props and hats. You check out the published editorial over at Jute Magazine, but we thought it was time to share the whole series of photos [...]

A Mad Tea-Party

There was a table set out under a tree in front of the house, and the March Hare and the Hatter were having tea at it: a Dormouse was sitting between them, fast asleep, and the other two were using it as a cushion, resting their elbows on it, and talking over its head. `Very uncomfortable for the Do [...]

Washed Ashore

Sometimes locations are so beautiful that there isn't a whole lot a photographer needs to do. Napatree Point in Westerly, RI is such a place. We drove two hours and walked another (while collecting seaweed) to find what we were looking for, but it was totally worth it. Even our behind the scenes sho [...]

The Summoner

Sometimes it's fun to try something new. TJ and I had spent nearly a year developing our fashion and fine art portfolio, but when we were approached by Twin Alchemist for a comissioned shoot of one of her cosplay characters, we jumped at the opportunity. Theoretically, shooting cosplay isn't any dif [...]

The Vintage Flower Project

We're finishing up editing the last of the July shoots, but in the meantime, I wanted to share some images from a little ongoing endeavor of mine. I call it the Vintage Flower Project. Ultimately, I want to hand transfer the images onto textured paper, at which point they'll finally be available as [...]

A White Cedar Swamp Solstice

The summer solstice is the longest day of the year. It's as rare as the winter solstice and just as slow to fade away, but it seems so much more difficult to hold onto. White cedar swamps are also a rare find, at least in New England, and their dense canopies and lush forest floors of green mosses a [...]

A Midsummer Dream

June 19th, Part II. Dana and I had wrapped our shoot around 6am, 12 hours before I met Sondra on the other side of Newton at Houghton Garden in Chestnut Hill. It was the kind of long, sprawling day that really can only happen in late June. The sun had come out just in time to embark on its magical, [...]

A Good Year for the Roses

June 19th was a busy day. I'd scheduled two photoshoots to do on my own, and the dress I planned to use for the first one was sitting in my closet in Worcester, nowhere near where I was when I realized that I needed it. That left two options- drive home and back before 5am or wing it with what I had [...]

Mountain Aisle

Not all of us wind up with barefoot weddings in the woods, ethereal boho dresses, the perfect June day. But that's what pictures are for. For our second collaboration with Green Love Wedding Planning, I remembered that day in March I'd spent in Old Furnace, the mountain laurel I'd planned to use whe [...]

May the Fourth

Not long ago it was May and there were no leaves on the trees yet. Come to think of it, I've been wondering how the summer could be going by so quickly, and that's probably the reason. There are supposed to be leaves on the tree in May. This year, May didn't really happen. Anyway, one almost warm ea [...]

…May Showers

I'm not gonna lie. It's been a frustrating spring. After the winter that never ended, all I've wanted for months was to photograph light and delicate things- tulle and petals, pink and green, bare feet and soft grass. I was especially excited for flowers. There would be daffodils, magnolias, bluets, [...]

April Showers…

For some reason, on the last weekend of April, it was still cold. We're New Englanders, so cold springs are nothing new. But usually there's some hint of good weather to be found. This year, not so much. It all made this shoot with Sarah at Tower Hill Botanic Garden a little more complicated than we [...]

Going In

TJ and I always shoot outside. Even the indoor shoots seem to lack enough insulation-wise to constitute as outdoorsy. But last week, we had an offer from Light Reflections Photography to shoot at Broadway Studios in Westford, MA. To be honest, I found the idea of shooting in a studio both overwhelmi [...]

Captured Spring

There are no fields of bluebells in Massachusetts. I cannot tell you how many photos I have seen with lush woodlands of bluebells, blankets of blue edging on purple that feels like such a magical sign that the ground has come back alive after an all-too long winter. I went in search of such a place, [...]

Edible Fashion

Sometime back in January, before the full scope of winter's wrath had really hit me, I thought Spring was on its way. I was wrong. So wrong. But, in that happy moment of delusion, I designed a ridiculous fantasy photoshoot involving a beautiful dress, mud, baby goats, and lots of eating and tugging [...]

It’s a Mod Mod Mod Mod World

Worcester, MA is known for a lot of things- the inventions of candlepin bowling, the Valentine's Day card, the yellow smiley face, the envelope folding machine and the monkey wrench, the site of the most deadly tornado to ever hit Massachusetts, investing a lot of money into opening a huge canal sho [...]

Signs of Spring

Back at the beginning of March, when the hope of impending Spring warmth still seemed like a tangible dream, we hit the road westward to Sunderland, Massachusetts. Specifically, we were headed to Little Brook Farm, which had kindly offered us use of their muddy acres and all their wonderful animals [...]

By the Wayside

I love Longfellow's Wayside Inn. Not only is it the oldest operating Inn in the country (it'll be celebrating its 300th birthday in 2016), it's in an absolutely stunning corner of Sudbury, MA, serves delicious food, and you can buy their own AMAZING corn meal and whole wheat flour from the grist mil [...]

A New Perspective

I don't usually take photos of landscapes without people, or at least animals, in them. I don't know that it will ever be my thing, of course, who knows...  But today I found myself at Old Furnace State Park in Killingly, CT with no model to photograph, and feeling a bit too unshowered for any sort [...]

Carnal Carnival

We recently had the opportunity to shoot the Carnal Carnival Burlesque Troupe. Other than shooting some burlesque dancers, we had little idea what to expect. When we got there, we helped set up the studio space, which included an amazing homemade backdrop. The available props were everything ranging [...]

A Winter’s Fairy Tale

It's been a long winter. A very long winter. An unrelenting, frigid, icy, snowy, back-breaking winter. And just when there was a glimmer or warmth, a taste of what 50 degrees and sunny really feels like, it came back, harsh and windy and damp. A mean reminder that, here in New England, Spring is mor [...]

Have Camera- Will Travel

Jenny and I went to the same high school and college, but seven years apart. That would make me feel old, if she wasn't so much more mature than I am. Since graduating, she's been in and out of the country, travelling, researching, and teaching herself to make films. Last year, she won a trip around [...]

Asylum

Massachusetts is well-known for its asylums. Hollywood is certainly obsessed with them- Session 9, Shudder Island, American Horror Story: Asylum... there are probably more. I'm equally obsessed, but maybe for different reasons. The whole concept of abandoned, formerly state of the art institutions f [...]

Sweethearts

Seems like everyone's jumping on the pastel conversation heart candy bandwagon this year for Valentine's Day- even Google picked that over a more typical crimson red design for today's homepage design. And for good reason- NECCO's Sweethearts are an American candy icon. Since NECCO stands for New En [...]

Northampton Cinderella

Not dressed up with somewhere to go. What's a working girl to do?  Long days at the diner don't leave much time for shopping. And there's no pumpkin carriage waiting for me. Looks like I'll be walking...  There must be something here. I know it.  Now that's something... If only... Some days, you hav [...]

The Bare Fact of Unrecognition

I was recently asked where my photo ideas come from. I don't always have a good answer- sometimes I dream them, sometimes I based them on things I thought I saw for real but didn't, sometimes from books, sometimes from paintings... and sometimes all of the above, as was the case here. One of my all [...]

Things Will Be Great When You’re…

In honor of New Year's resolutions and making goals moving forward, I thought it  a good opportunity to look back at where we've come from. Deep in my Photoshop files, I found one of my all time favorite shoots.  Long before TJ knew about reflectors or the difference between a full frame and crop se [...]

The Science of Dreaming

I call this time of year Decembrary. It's dark, cold, and there isn't really much to look forward to... There is, however, nothing like these in between days for catching up on sleep and dreams, the process which inspired this particular photoshoot. Shot while warm and safe inside my apartment build [...]

We Make Magic

Here in New England, whether you celebrate Christmas or not, you need the lights and sparkle. It is just so dark, though I imagine things get worse at more northern latitudes.  In honor of these deep, dark December days, I present a Winter Solstice Faerie Tale.  It's magical out there.  If you can s [...]

Over the River and Through the Woods

Winter in New England is great for studio photographers. Shoot indoors and use the miracles of Photoshop to stick your lingerie-clad model in a snow bank. Everyone stays warm, and mascara only runs when you want it to. Alas, I have no studio to hide in. But, there is something about on-location shoo [...]

Punk Rocker

Nestled deep within the heart of Worcester's old, and somewhat decrepit, Junction District is a door. What makes most doors notable is what lies on the other side. However, what makes this door stand out is the fact that I took a nice photo of it once. Nestled deep within the heart of my closet is a [...]

Sunday Morning on New Jersey’s Sandy Hook

TJ and I took a trip down to New Jersey for a Friendsgiving, which is apparently a thing now.  Anyway, besides being a good excuse to bake a pumpkin cheesecake with a homemade gingersnap and toasted pecan crust, it was an amazing opportunity to photograph our good friend Tricia (aka The Exalted Tail [...]

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