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Here's the first of a series featuring models Aurora and Genevieve with Chinese opera-style makeup by Tessa Mitz.

Here are more photos from the shoot with Aurora and Genevieve. See Part 1 here.

The idea for the shoot was to have two models - one Asian and one Caucasian - and have http://natureair.com/buy-caverta-online.html slightly over-the-top asian makeup based on the style of Chinese opera makeup. We shot on location at the Spectral Theatre, unhealthy which was a great place for the shoot. We used both the stage and dressing room areas. I loved the creepy sci-fi and horror props that were stored in the theatre, sildenafil which inspired more ideas for future shoots!

Makeup: Tessa Mitz

I also used strobes to light the fog and Claudia's face or highlight the body painting. The strobes were White Lightnings with grids and reflectors, triggered with CyberSyncs.

To see more photos from this shoot, check out this set on Flickr (Warning: some of the photos are marked as "moderate" on Flickr due to partial nudity and you must be signed into Flickr to see them).

Meghan Thomas:  I have worked with Meghan many times and love her creativity and artistic skill. She always comes prepared to the shoot with lots of ideas, designs and plans for the body painting, as well as being an easy going and fun person to work with.

Claudia Riley: Claudia is a skilled model and she is also a dancer with excellent body awareness and control. It is especially challenging for black light body painting photography. First she was required to sit through about 4 hours of body painting, then pose during variety of unconventional lighting set-ups, many requiring her to to be very still due to the slow shutter speeds. She was great to work with, patient and collaborated to get some amazing shots!

Soundtrack: Gothic by zero-project

This is the third in a series of sugar skull inspired collaborations that I have done with Jennifer Ruth, and several different models, hairstylists and fashion stylists. The previous shoots were Winter Muertos - In the Darkness of Winter  and Primavera de Muertos, each following a seasonal theme. I also collaborated with Catriona Armour and Kyla Lee for my first sugar skull photoshoot last year. The images for all these buy tramadol online shoots were inspired by the beautiful artwork of Sylvia Ji and the very cool work of 666photography.

The Día de los Muertos sugar skull shoots have resulted some of my post popular photos. I've been fortunate to work with very talented teams - the models, makeup, hair and fashion styling have been amazing!  I love the photos and proud to have them in my portfolio.

I will be doing at least one more for the autumn season, and probably some others in the future because they have so many creative possibilities! Click on the image below to see more photos from the Summer Sugar Skull shoot.

In this shoot, we wanted to invoke the symbolism of Medusa - a combination of feminine beauty and snake imagery. We did two different sets - the first was shadowy with a dark background and lighting to show the body painting work. For the second set, I used a handpainted background featuring ancient Greek columns to go with the Greek myth theme. Here's a photo gallery with more images from the shoot.

Model: Chloe G.

Beautiful Chinese opera inspired makeup: Nikki Simpson

Hair Styling: Nikki Simpson

Photography by Vancouver photographer Lloyd K. Barnes

I Dream of Languages Anew written by Lloyd K. Barnes

Music: dream mechanics – blow and blow

Here is a gallery with more photos from the photoshoot

What is language?

According to Dictionary.com:

Language [lang-gwij]

Languages can be chemical - pheromones or the genetic code of DNA. In the short story "The God's Script" in Labyrinths: Selected Stories & Other Writings, by Jorge Luis Borges, an Aztec priest searched for a divine message in the spots of a jaguar.

I'm intrigued by the idea that one language could express ideas that cannot be expressed in another. There is a visual language used in photography that communicates ideas and emotions that cannot be expressed by words. Is is possible that anything can represent anything else if we know how to translate or decode the message?

Strengths - excellent TTL metering system

Fast and accurate autofocus

Large bright viewfinder

Mid-roll film exchange

Manual film speed override

Weaknesses

Although the body is heavy and rugged, it is not weatherproof

The battery is expensive and not rechargeable (I paid $14.99 for a new 2CR5 lithium battery). It is supposed to be good for 50 rolls of 24 exposure film, without the use of the flash

Heavy, especially for traveling or hiking.

Program

Automatic rewind

Built-in motordrive

Lenses - Minolta A-Type bayonet mount - accepts all Minolta AF lenses

Related Links

Detailed specification of the Minolta Maxxum 7xi
A photographer friend, who knows that I like to play around with old cameras, lent me her Minolta Maxxum 7xi (also known as the Dynax 7xi) to try out. Released in 1991, it was an advanced 35mm SLR camera for its time, with many innovative features. One of the coolest things about this camera are the expansion cards that it has for different creative program modes. They are intended to make the camera easy to use - just load the card and set the camera to P (program). I guess in 1991 it was not feasible to build all of the programs into the camera like modern cameras.

I tried out the camera during a studio shoot using manual exposure, without the expansion cards.  I attached a CyberSync to the hotshoe using a Minolta/Sony hotshoe adapter because the Minolta uses a proprietary hotshoe system (same as the Sony Alpha system). I set the shutter speed to 1/60th sec because I wasn't sure about the camera's sync speed. I looked it up later and found it is 1/200th sec, which is pretty good.  I loaded the camera with Kodak Ektar ISO 100 colour negative film.

Strengths - excellent TTL metering system

Fast and accurate autofocus

Large bright viewfinder

Mid-roll film exchange

Manual film speed override

Weaknesses

Although the body is heavy and rugged, it is not weatherproof

The battery is expensive and not rechargeable (I paid $14.99 for a new 2CR5 lithium battery). It is supposed to be good for 50 rolls of 24 exposure film, without the use of the flash

Heavy, especially for traveling or hiking.

Program

Automatic rewind

Built-in motordrive

Lenses - Minolta A-Type bayonet mount - accepts all Minolta AF lenses

Related Links

Detailed specification of the Minolta Maxxum 7xi

Credits

Model: Tia Guzzo
Makeup: Jennifer Ruth
Hair: Hair Styling: Rhi Yee
Fashion stylist: Jihan Amer
Set decorator: Guen Gianfranchi
Photography: Lloyd K. Barnes
Music: Nanten

This shoot was based on the Mexican holiday Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead), treatment but with a Spring blossom twist. The makeup was inspired by calaveras de azúcar (sugar skulls) that are given as offerings to the dead on November 1, and by the work of 666 Photography and the art of Sylvia Ji.

The Day of the Dead festival originated with the ancient Aztecs and was dedicated to the goddess Mictecacihuatl, the queen of Mictlan, the Aztec underworld who keeps watch over the bones of the dead. Her husband is Mictlantecuhtli, was the Aztec god of the dead, Lord of Mictlan. The celebration continues today in Mexico and parts of the United States.

Mictlantecuhtli - Aztec God of the Dead

This is the second Dia de los Muertos shoot in a series. The first was In the Darkenss of Winter and the next two are in planning stages.

Do you have some favourite Day of the Dead images or makeup? Share the links in the comments section below!