Meanwhile back in the jungle......

 

 

OK. So Katy Perry has a song called ‘Roar’.

A song styled like a classic Tarzan and Jane cartoon, except, unlike Tarzan and Jane, the ‘hero’ of the clip is the woman.

 

What a turn on most mainstream, classic mid century storylines. I love the way Katy infuses everything good about the new with everything good about the old in so much of her work.

 

But that’s not all I love about this film clip. I love the lyrics……

 

I used to bite my tongue and hold my breath
Scared to rock the boat and make a mess
So I sat quietly, agreed politely
I guess that I forgot I had a choice
I let you push me past the breaking point
I stood for nothing, so I fell for everything

You held me down, but I got up (HEY!)
Already brushing off the dust
You hear my voice, you hear that sound
Like thunder gonna shake the ground
You held me down, but I got up (HEY!)
Get ready 'cause I’ve had enough
I see it all, I see it now

I got the eye of the tiger, a fighter, dancing through the fire
'Cause I am a champion and you’re gonna hear me roar!

 

Inspiring isn’t it ?

 

Way back when – in the days of my grandmothers – women didn’t really have a choice in Australian society. After the role based freedoms of WW2, where women took on many ‘masculine’ jobs while their men were away fighting, the following few decades must have seemed so restrictive. Back to the roles of mothers & wives, teachers, secretaries, hairdressers and nurses (great occupations though these are). Although I am not a feminist, I am grateful for the freedoms the movement has bought women today. We can pretty much be anything we like – from Prime Minister to mechanic, CEO of a Bank to manager of a mine.

And its not just occupational freedoms that have been achieved.

If I want to remain single and childless, I can do so without being made to feel like a societal leper.

If I want to have a child through IVF as a single woman, I can do that too with little, if any, negative backlash.

If I find myself caught in a relationship that is neglectful, abusive, selfish or demoralizing, I have a choice. I don’t have to stay – as was the case in the not so distant mid 20^th Century.

 

My own story is not dissimilar to Katy Perry’s song.

 

Once upon a time I had no courage to live a life true to myself – I lived only according to others expectations. And as my religious background encouraged me not to divorce, I stayed in an unhealthy relationship far longer than I should have.

 

Once upon a time I had no courage to allow myself to be happy. I resigned myself to my lot in life. I gave up the hope of relational happiness because of one decision I made in my early 20’s - when I knew nothing of life, love or relationships.

 

Once upon a time I didn’t think I was worthy of having my relational needs met. I thought I must be too demanding. I thought I must be ‘too much’ for any man to really love. I thought I must lack that captivating essence that made a woman worthy of being treasured.

 

But not any more.

 

Now I roar....and the roaring grows louder every day. And it feels really REALLY good!!!

My book - about the journey I have taken in discovering my roar – is out now on Balboa Press. Although my roar is a gentle one (that’s just my nature) it is also fiercely alive and passionate. It is my dream that people caught in the same trap I was, find the courage to transform their lives. Through my book “The Journey of the Tree” I want people to know that

 

They DO have the courage to live a life true to themselves, not others expectations

They ARE allowed to be happy in this one precious lifetime

They ARE worthy of having their relational needs met

To quote the famous New York dancer, Martha Graham – “There is one you in all of time”. The manifestation of life that is YOU could happen only once in all of history. Your combination of cells, genes, personality, creativity, locality and experiences could only blend together once. It is your responsibility to shine that preciousness forth into the world !

 

Please consider purchasing my Aesopian like fable “The Journey of the Tree” as inspiration to stop being “Stranded in the Jungle’. It makes a beautiful gift book for yourself or others (daughters, family, friends, colleagues) needing the nudge to start roaring in their own lives.

 

My blogsite

www.kesenyaspongecake.blogspot.com.au

 

My booksite with Balboa Press

http://bookstore.balboapress.com/Products/SKU-000683774/The-Journey-Of-The-Tree.aspx

 

Photo from Brooke Orchard Photography

           

 

Vintage Living Fashion - Swimwear Sirens!

Alice Jean's is all about living with a vintage aesthetic in a modern world. It's about leaving behind the need to want and have the latest and greatest in exchange for classic, timeless, holistic living. No where is this more visually evident than in the clothes I wear - home made from classic patterns, bequeathed to me or purchased from thrifting shops, my increasingly bulging wardrobe is full of outfits and a certain style that I hope will endure through the changing tides of the fashion ocean.

 

I wanted to share my belief that a vintage look can work timelessly today in our modern world, and so I have embarked upon a series of fashion shoots using my beautiful friends, my beautiful clothes and my beautiful home country. I do hope you enjoy these fashion posts as much as I have enjoyed bringing them to you - infact I have found it quite addictive, I think there will be many more to come!

 

 

Swimwear Sirens

 

Photographer: Brooke Orchard Photography

Stylist: Alice Jean's - Vintage Living in a Modern World

 

Bathers from: Bettie Sue Boutique, Sugar Doll and Vintage Jantzen

 

Location: 1.Koondrook Goods Shed with milkshakes from
Long Paddock Food Store.
2.Cohuna Island Road.
3.Koondrook River Front with lookout tower from
Sambrooks Building.
 

 

Models: Bree Laughlin

Sonia Wright

Somayeh Katebiyan

Danielle Marko-Parsons

 

Special thanks: I cherished hopes that my friend, up and coming male model Rees Grima, may have been available to 'lifeguard' for this shoot, but as he was not free, I wish to thank Claude for stepping in to brilliantly fill the void at VERY last minute notice.
 

 

 

 

 (The image below has been edited by Alice Jean's - not Brooke Orchard Photography)

 

 

 

 

 

Use of these images will require approval from Brooke Orchard Photography or Alice Jean's. Please contact us if you wish to re-use these images anywhere else in cyber space or otherwise.



Chasing a Vintage Photo Shoot Guys and Gals?

Chasing a vintage photo shoot guys and gals? Look no further !

 

 

Click on the photograph and check out this wonderful promotional clip by

Brooke Orchard Photography.

 

Have a glorious weekend !

 

XOXO

 

Brooke Orchard Photography.....your ultimate pin up shot stop!

Fellow Vintage Lovers....I want to tell you all about the ultimate pin up and fashion photographer currently working in Melbourne. A woman with a passion for not only creating that authentic vintage look in print, but also with a passion for living the authentic vintage look in real life too..... The ever beautiful - inside and out - Ms Brooke Orchard........

 

Can you tell us about you and your photography business?

About me, well I like original, I like meaning, I like real, I like deep, I am a dreamer and I simply love creating beautiful images!!

Apart from my vintage inspired art I also like to photograph children, I love history so I often do children’s theme shoots that have a historical or fairytale element to them. People’s personalities, uniqueness and their individual journeys are of great fascination to me which I guess accounts for my passion for portrait photography. Whether I am shooting a beauty portrait or a real life character study, the element I’m seeking is always the same….feeling….mood….emotion & connection, it’s that small window of time the eye of the subject can convey to me something from deep within….capturing this is a real thrill! It’s the number one ingredient for a great portrait.

"My aspiration as a photographer is to create images that have strong visual impact, but they must also have soul!"

Brooke Orchard

Where are you based, and where do you travel to?

I am based in Point Cook and although I do often work from home I consider my studio to be anywhere really! Anywhere that I can achieve the quality of light I’m looking for dependent on the project at hand too of course. I’ll often shoot on location or at a client’s home!

I am happy to travel taking all things into consideration.

When did you start offering vintage photo shoot, and what was your inspiration behind doing so?

I originally started shooting vintage whilst studying photography, it was during this time that I got the notion to combine my love of imagery & vintage fashion and this was the content of most of my folios during that 4 years after which I graduated top of my class

My inspiration for ‘Vintage Fashion’ was born out of old movies, as a girl I would watch movies spanning from the 1930s- 60s. I absolutely fell in love with the way the women looked, so elegant, classy & feminine not to mention stylish! The 1950s silhouette I found particularly appealing, who could go past those hourglass curves? The look for me holds such a wonderful combination of contrasting qualities, it is both soft & feminine yet strong & striking at the same time then you have this delightful concoction of alluring sensuality softened by innocence & vulnerability ……. sweetly tempting!!

However it is only recently that I decided to offer this as part of my service to clients, for some reason I always regarded it as my personal work but people seem to love it so much so why not offer it?

"Love of beauty is taste. The creation of beauty is art"

Ralph Waldo Emerson

You offer packages which include hair & make-up, do you prepare your clients hair and  make-up yourself?I have hair/make-up stylists that I use for this although I sometimes help out with the make-up! I also work with The Lindy Charm School for Girls on occassion and can collaborate with the Misstresses on a session when they are in town.... (Melbourne)

Let me encourage my readers, if you are in the market for a shoot for yourself, a modeling folio, a gift for a loved one, or simply to feel good about yourself, then Brooke's multi National award winning service is for you, give her a call and you will most certainly be glad you did !

Brooke can be contacted via the details on her business facebook page:

Brooke Orchard Photography

I love surprises ! A gift and a makeover....

Can you imagine how delightful it was for me to receive a surprise parcel in the mail recently? Dont you just adore those little packages that arrive so unexpectedly? It is those little highlights that add magic to ordinary days........ and when I opened up my little package, there was an entire makeup set courtesy of my dear darling friend Chrissy Keepence from the Lindy Charm School for Girls!

Now, I dont claim to be any expert in powder and paint, infact, I am usually the one begging my friends for their make up secrets and hints, but last Sunday I opened all my new little Lindy Charm goodies and gave them a whirl. Before I tell you just what I thought of my new blush, eyeliner, lipstick (red of course), lip pencil and eyebrow pencil, let me give you a small bit of background about my cosmetic knowledge.....

I didnt start wearing makeup till I left highschool and even then, not really very much till I began my working life at age 20. It wasnt that I didnt adore make up and what it could do to enhance the features God gave me, it was just that, well, it never seemed that important save for all the plays and musicals I participated in. That's perhaps a bit sad isnt it? After all, every young girl loves to play with makeup, and I most certainly did play and experiment, but in the country, 4 hours from Melbourne, there just wernt that many places to wear make up too......

When I began my working life and started wearing makeup every day, I quickly fell into a routine of 60's glam style - you know...winged eyeliner, defined brows, and as I have very thin lips, I tended to play them down with subdued shades of lippy. I guess I just gravitated to what looked beautiful to me in all my favourite movies and images - 50's and 60's styles of course !!! Never one to follow fashion trends and always far more inclined to dance to my own drum......

I have kept pretty much the same look ever since - alternating between red 50's lips, light eyeshadow and winged eyeliner sometimes, and 60's natural lippy with heavy coal coloured eyeshadow and eyeliner. It has been alot of fun, just as make up and dressing should be.

In the early 90's when I was 'getting my groovy on' with make up, I really really struggled to find a liquid eyeliner that would last all day and not crumble off, sometimes I found it very hard to locate a liquid eyeliner at all, as it was not really the norm to wear it at the time - everyone seemed to have that 'shimmery face' look (a look I just cant stand - give me Dita porcelain smoothness every time.) I must confess that I have never really found the perfect liquid eyeliner, although generally speaking, you do get what you pay for. And pre 'Poppy' lipsticks, it was nigh on impossible to find a mat lipstick in golden age of Hollywood red.

Skip ahead to last Sunday as I experimented once again with new make up.....my lippy went on mat and PERFECT in the absolute darlingest shade of red (no Ita Butrose orange to be seen !!!).

My lip pencil complimenting it with precision that did not 'bleed' into the little creases around my lips (yes, age is creeping in!!)

My eyebrow pencil spot on the right natural looking colour.

My blush the rosiest of glows that perfectly suits my pale skin (that is something else I have always found difficult to get just right!).

And the piece da resistance, my wonderful WONDERFUL new liquid eyeliner!! It lasted all day looking as flash and daring at 10pm as it did at 10am.

(Below - the makeover begins)

I am in love !! Did you hear me readers? I AM IN LOVE with my new make up!!!! Please believe me when I tell you that I am NOT just saying this because I know the Lindy Charm gals....this make up has been perfectly orchestrated to suit those of us who want a golden age of Hollywood face. If you like that shimmery face effect, head on down to Priceline, but if mat finish, last all day, perfect iconic colours is what you chase. If Dita, Marilyn, Rita, or Elizabeth is what you are after then these are the goodies for you !!! Miss Chrissy, you have a devote for life in me....no more searching for non-crumbly eyeliner, or the perfect rose pink blush, or chasing that hard to find matt red lippy for me.

A million thankyou's to Miss Chrissy and the Lindy Charm Girls !!!

(First and final photographs in the article provided courtesy of Brooke Orchard Photography)

Music of the Moment - The Rechords !

One of my totally favourite bands are performing a gig to raise funds for their upcoming European Tour - so get along, get down and get dancing at the St Kilda Bowls Club on July 16th..... and if you havent heard of the Rechords before, then check out these Youtube clips and be totally inspired by their fantastic harmonies and foot tappin', knee slappin' songs ! And to purchase one of their hot little CD's head to their myspace page.......



Thought it over



Money in my pocket



You're the boss with Harry De Lux



Why does my baby cry?

** All photographs used in this article are by the incomparable Brooke Orchard at Brooke Orchard Photography - check out her highly awarded and nationally acclaimed talent !!