I would like more dresses. Not just any old dresses, but dresses that I can use for my photographic art and self portrait photography. I want dresses that stand out, that make a statement close up and from a distance. And because we don’t have the kind of amazing thrift stores that you have in the UK and the US (and probably elsewhere), I started my search online. There is one stipulation though: they can’t be expensive because I’m likely to wear them to traipse through dirt, maybe even wander into a lake or two, and goodness knows where else! So, my search led me to Shein where I found the most beautiful and dreamy mermaid dress.
So, I ordered it because it only cost 15.49. I know…ridiculous right? I figured it would be hideous and the fit terrible. But I was willing to give it a go because I knew I could make it work for the photography. Anyway, it arrived within a few weeks and when I opened it, I was gobsmacked. Literally gobsmacked. This dress is absolutely beautiful. And when I put it on. Well, it was like angels singing!!! LOL only joking. But the fit is divine. It’s like it was made for me!
It’s not quite as perfect as you might think though, because as I walked, I left a little trail of sequins everywhere I went LOL! But for my purposes, it was exactly what I needed. Once all the sequins are gone, I’ll just get my pal, Sarah, to sew some more on!!! he he he
I’ve worn it briefly once, to take a few photos next to the pool. But I’m planning on taking it up to the mountains and the beach soon. So, stay tuned for what happens then! Here are the pictures I took by the pool. What do you think? It’s such a dreamy mermaid dress, isn’t it?
I also bought a second dress at the same time, which was even cheaper in their sale. And that fits me beautifully too. It’s a maxi pink dress with a large ruffle across the chest and with gold polka dots all over it. It’s gorgeous. I haven’t worn it for photos yet but I’ll do that soon.
As for my dark photographic art, I’ve been having enormous fun. Not just taking photos, but also editing them in Affinity Photo. I’ve posted some on Instagram this week, but if you didn’t see them, here they are (below). The first one looks like a heart, right? It’s actually bricks with old gnarly branches growing around it. It’s just down the road from where I live and it’s one of my favourite spots. I’d love to build a house there! The background in the ‘floating’ image (below) was actually taken there.
I took the second photo in my little makeshift ‘studio’—a grey bedsheet hanging up in front of my wardrobe with lights shining on it and my camera on my (amazing new) tripod! Easy peasy! I put on a little black dress (one which has never actually been worn), bought from eBay a few years ago and started taking a few photos. I chose my favourite and then uploaded it to Affinity Photo where I played for a couple of hours until it was how I liked it.
The same thing goes for the final photo. Only this time I wore my long blue dress from Massimo Dutti (I made it green in Affinity). Would you believe I’ve never actually worn this dress either?! Only for my blog, once, when I used it for a Fab40s outfit when the theme was fairytales! I’ll post my favourite pics from that shoot, below.
But back to my latest image. I wanted it to look like I was floating so I took a few photos in my little ‘studio’ (and nearly broke my back in the process lol) and then got to work on Affinity. After about three hours of work, I closed the file and forgot to click save. Yep…lost the whole thing!! DOH!! So, I started again the following day and produced this. I know it’s quite dark, but I’ve always loved anything dark, eerie or creepy! It’s why I write Urban Fantasy! I also love to listen to music that has dark elements to it, and watch movies and TV shows that have it too. As I write this, I’m listening to my favourite music. Here’s the song that’s on right now. Do you recognise it? It’s from my FAVOURITE movie!
I’ve got so much going on in my imagination right now. I can’t wait to produce more! I hope you’ll stick around for the ride!
As promised, here are the photos of me wearing the blue dress a couple of years ago…the dress isn’t as pretty as my new dreamy mermaid dress, but it’s still gorgeous lol!
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