Athena Dreams Design: Field Trip!

Alex the model and Alex the photographer at work

Sometimes taking a break from the deadlines and the must-dos, and the everyday, is just the thing to get a fresh perspective on one's life. I went off on a hot and sunny Sunday to work as a photo assistant to the ever lovely and wonderful Alex on a photo shoot for Pretty Plum Sugar. It was a day out of time for me, to push aside the ever-growing to-do list that I was feeling overwhelmed about and leave the studio for a little adventure.

Have you ever looked through the pages of a beautifully photographed catalogue and thought, wow I'd love to be living the life that these photos depict (never mind wear the clothes, have that dining room table or uhm, look like that model)? I felt like I was living back stage, getting a very up close view of how a photo shoot leads to just those kinds of "i-want-to-live-in-them" photos.

We looked at spots to shoot, we arranged and re-arranged folds in the clothing just so, moved a lock of hair here or there, we tromped through a field, (and some of us) climbed ladders to arrange bedding in a tree fort, we got dirty feet, wrangled some goats, waited for make up to be re-applied on the model, re-applied sunscreen, and we worked until it was too dark for Alex to shoot any more photos.

Though I am pretty sure that this does not mean a career move for me, I do know that the experience gave me new energy and a new perspective on my own work. Watching the shots come together and watching Alex balance lighting and make-up and angles to get the shot that she was envisioning, to get the shot that she knew she wanted, made me feel excited again about coming home to paint. Getting to experience someone else's creative energy, and vision made me feel so incredibly grateful for my own. Funny how that works isn't it?

So the newest thing added to my to-do list? Once a month, go on a field trip, drop the to-do list on the floor along with all the worries and deadlines, get out of my head, help a good friend with a project, and see where the experience takes me.

And now you can take a little field trip of your own over to Alex's place, to see her exquisite photographs of the day . . .