That girl at the coffee shop....

So my most recent shoot was done a couple weeks ago here in Hillsboro/Aloha at "The Original Coffee Break" coffee shop with Ben Park of Phoenix Photography. First off, serious props to the coffee shop for letting us camp there for a couple hours and take some photos, and their coffee was SO tasty! Second, this was a very interesting shoot as Ben contacted me several months ago wondering how he could get into the world of photography. I was his online mentor for a while, gave him my advice and encouraged him to create a MM account and network as I had. He is friends with a girl I went to HS with and he had seen some of my work through her. I was all to happy to let him know about industry terms and offer that "foot in the door" he needed.

As hes still very new to the world of model photography, rather than landscapes, I offered myself for some portfolio building. It was such a relaxing shoot and the whole thing just felt very "me" I see great things in this photographers future as he is so ambitious and has such great ideas! We already have future concept shoots planned. :)

Bagby

So one of my more favorite shoots was done 3 days before my wedding day. I know, crazy right? I met with Valorie from Unruh Photography and her, my sister in law and I drove 3 hours to Bagby Hotsprings. LONG drive, with my boa....

That's right, Leeloo, my 5 foot boa was also a model for this shoot. :) We were going for a "Eve" in nature look but to get to the hot springs required about a 2-3 mile hike in. So after spending 3 hours in a hot car, I had to carry my kinda bitchy snake in a carrier 2-3 miles into the woods. Between Jenn and I we were carrying various bags for wardrobe, makeup, shoes, etc. It was exhausting. The photographer had her equipment in a backpack that must have weighed 50 lbs as well. Talk about dedication.

Truth be told, It was exactally what I needed to de-stress before my wedding. Nature, exercise, adventure without my son, and most importantly, something that had NOTHING to do with a white dress and table settings.

I might also add, this was only my second shoot ever so I was quite nervous. We get to the hot springs and start shooting, come to find out the photographer is actually scared of snakes and low and behold, Leeloo spots a squirrel in the forest and decides shes hungry. After trying to get her under control she bites me pretty bad on the wrist.  I swear the photographer turned green. Here she is, in the middle of the woods, afraid of snakes, working with a model and a big snake, and the model gets bit. She was ready to pack up and leave right then. Funny thing though about snake bites, they bleed a lot, but they really don't do much more than small needle like punctures and bruises that don't appear till later. I toughed it out, we put Leeloo away and continued to shoot. Its not like its the first time Ive been bitten by a snake, and surprisingly the bleeding seemed to stop much faster than normal with the hot spring water.

I'm quite sure no one noticed the snake bites on my wrist at my wedding....tee hee....small secrets.

 My posture is off, but the detail on Leeloo is outstanding. I strongly encourage you to view in full size

 This photo (above), has by far gotten the most response from photographers/models I have worked with. It has to be truly one of my most artistic and favorite photos.

 I hate this photo, but its one of the good ones of leeloo. :) And she deserves some credit too

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 Can you say Las Vegas style Cleopatra? We tried the outrageous costume....it was pretty much fail.

First Shoot Jitters

So Ive been doing various modeling concepts since June 2010 and its only fitting that I talk about my first experience in front of the camera. My husband and I had an engagement photo shoot before our wedding and when we showed up the photographer gushed about how fun we were and how I looked like a model. I had never in my life been called a model, let alone thought I was pretty enough to do it. She wouldn't let up, she told me how she uses a site to find models when she wants to update her portfolio and how she wished she had worked with me the last time she did a test shoot. I was familiar with this website as another of my friends had been doing more nude/fetish modeling but hadn't ever thought of the other concepts that could be wanted or needed by various photographers. After our engagement shoot I went home and went to the the website and toyed with the idea of joining for a week or so. It took some heavy convincing by some of my closest friends to try. Ive always been an awkward girl, Ive never been a girly girl and Ive never thought of myself as anything more than average, but maybe, I let the others convince me, I could be a look they wanted.

With my amazing group of cheer leading friends behind me I resolved to do it. My sister in law was all on board as well which helped tremendously. I found a photographer on Craigslist who was willing to do some 'first portfolio' shots for me. My sister in law came as my 'body guard/support system" and I met with Reanna of Almeida Photography for the first time.

First shoot was definitely.....choppy.....I was awkward, nervous and had no clue what I was doing. Reanna was such a wonderfully nice woman who was super helpful though in making me feel more comfortable about myself and my posing. The photos she captured for me were enough to get me approved on the model website and serve as a fun reminder to my awkward first shoot. I could never have done this without my friends, but more importantly, I would never have thought I COULD do this, never thought I could be more than average, without them. Thanks guys I love you.

An Emotional Evening

So another concept I have worked with Dawn of Pink Dawn Photography was a very unique one. She wanted to go for a "rainy night in Portland/stood up date" glamor style shoot. Evening gown, accessories and night on the town makeup. Her set up was really unique and fun. She put up a plexi glass sheet in front of me and used a spray bottle to create a raindrop effect in front of me as I posed behind the glass. Again Qui did my makeup in a much more dramatic fashion. This shoot was really interesting as I could see my reflection in the plexi glass more than I could see the camera, In some of the shots it totally creates a "I'm lost in my own expression" look. Very fun. *all images expand when you click them*

 Couple of head shots to begin

 These two (above and below) had Portland Scenes Photo shopped in for a more artistic complete look

Alias

So, many people have asked about my name "Why Amber Araneae?" Some people think I need something more flashy, or less flashy depending on the person. Some people think Araneae is my middle name, others ask what my nationality is with a last name like that, I just laugh.

My nickname since childhood has been Spider. My uncle gave me this nickname because I was an awkwardly tall thin girl 'who was mean', it was a retaliation to me calling him Uncle Monkey cause he has, by far, the hairiest chest Ive seen ever. So Spider has been a family nickname for years.

Its followed me for a long time. I go by the name Liante on various things as that's the Lord of the Rings Elvish word for Spider. But when it came to me choosing a model name/alias it just seemed too exotic, too hard to pronounce. Plus Ive responded to Amber my whole life, why change it?

In short, I chose Araneae as its the Order name for Spiders.  Its a rare person who knows that, and a fun nerd fact when I tell them where my name came from.
It comes through in some of my shoots from time to time.

 Titled "Black Widow" by Jeff Mawer because of my tights

Titled "Webs" by Visioluxus

To be a bride again...

So one of the fun things about working with photographers is getting to wear crazy theme costumes/outfits that the average person only wear once. The biggest one being my wedding gown. I dont know many women who ever get a chance to wear their gown again and feel beautiful again. Maybe try that other hairstyle they werent so sure of on their wedding day or different jewelry that was the "second choice" on the biggest day of their lives.

Dawn with Pink Dawn Photography was so much fun. Total butch lesbian who loves wedding photography and all things girly, but in other people.  I showed up to her listening to an indie pop song about some woman singing about her vagina and just laughed. Odd, certainly, but amusing and full of personality. After seeing my gown she choose to put my hair up instead of down (which is how I wore it at my own wedding) and choose a completely different set of accessories. I worked with an amazing makeup artist named Qui and she did a look that was very unlike my own wedding as well.  Once I was all put together I felt like a princess again, a different sort of princess than my real day. (not to mention my dress is too big for me now! yay for loosing those inches on my hips and thighs) *all images enlarge when you click on them*

February Book Review: Sharp Objects

Sharp Objects
by Gillian Flynn

*short review without spoilers*

I got a giftcard for my birthday from a great friend and was faced with the difficult task of trying to decide what books to buy. My book list is never ending so this is quite a daunting task limited to what I'm in the mood for currently. This book caught my eye for about the millionth time and I finally picked it up to read the back.

At first skim these themes stood out: Horror, psych hospital recovery, murder investigation, overcoming personal demons.

In short the synopsis I got was: a recovered crazy person is investigating a murder that will cause her to question her own sanity.

I was sold. I love psychological horror novels

However I did not expect this book to be as good as it was. The cover has a the quote "keeps you reading with the force of a pure but nasty addiction" -Chicago Tribune and this is all too true.

The main character, Camille, is a recovering cutter (not a spoiler, you read this very early on) sent to go back to her quaint  home town to investigate a serial child murder case. Camille is a reporter for a "little name" newspaper who wants to capture a big story in hopes of making a name for themselves and as Camille is from this town, its the perfect opportunity. However, we soon find out why Camille was all too reluctant to go back. Her family is far from functional and at times the reader has to question who the real crazy person is, our main character the clinically unstable one, or every other character in this story and town.

As a debut novel this book is phenomenal. Its dark, and haunting and the characters leave quite an impact on both the reader and the story. I think its rare for an author to truly capture a believable level of crazy that Flynn has here. I had, however,  guessed the ending ahead of time, but there were enough twists and turns throughout the story that kept me reading nonstop like a zombie till it was finished. Its a short read at less than 300 pages and well worth the time.

For a horror novel I give this 5/5 as I truly enjoyed this book, it gave me chills, and would recommend it to others