Pop Art

Recently, our area has participated in a couple of beautification events: Street Art Project I & II, where artists filled empty walls in town with fantastic art. Both Stroudsburg and East Stroudsburg in northeast Pennsylvania are now alive with vibrant images that photographers find irresistible.

I took several dolls with me yesterday to grab some pictures.

Pop Art

Rawr!

Today’s model is The Girl From I.N.T.E.G.R.I.T.Y. Poppy. She is wearing Exceptional Tatyana Alexandrova’s dress & belt, Successful Ascension gloves, Fashion Royalty patterned stockings and shoes from Dynamite Girls – Spooki Sooki: The Return. Her photo was taken yesterday on Main Street, Stroudsburg in northeastern Pennsylvania.

Gotta Love POP ART

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Falling, Falling…Falling For Autumn

So, yeah, it’s no longer summer. Autumn is in full swing. The chimney’s been swept and flames crackle along the logs in the fireplace. A nip is in the air and a wicked wind blows. The trees have taken on burning hues, molting their leaves and spicing the cooling breeze with their scent. Time to bundle up the dollies and capture it through the lens of a camera…

Color, Color Everywhere!

Fall Is In The Air

Today’s model is Summer Blues Misaki. Her hair has been washed, brushed and restyled with higher ponytails. She is wearing one of the fashions from the Poppy Parker as Corie Bratter: Barefoot in the Park giftset and boots from Fashion Royalty’s Checking Out Colette. Her photo was taken by the lake at Bushkill Falls about two weeks ago.

Falling Leaves

Do As They Please.

Let’s Plan A Day

To Get Blown Away.

It’s Time To Frolic In The Breeze!

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Going For The Obvious

Hubby offered to take me over to Bushkill Falls last month. So, I grabbed the camera and a doll and away we went. We had a great day and I took a boatload of dollie photos by the lovely waterfalls. We also hit the souvenir shops for some fun, silly pictures. But some of my favorite shots were taken away from the falls along a creek. Funny how the obvious isn’t always the way to go.

The Road Less Traveled

Today’s model is The Young Sophisticate Poppy Parker. She is wearing The Happening Poppy’s dress, Irresistible in India’s earrings and bracelet, other random Fashion Royalty bangles and Glam Addict Giselle’s shoes. Her photo was taken along a creek on one of the many trails at Bushkill Falls in the afternoon.

Choosing this image was a tough choice since so many of the others showcase such vivid colors. And there were some cute, kitschy ones taken in the shops. And I’m never good at editing myself…I love everything. So, If you want to see the whole series, click on my Flickr link on the right to see the rest of the photo shoot.

Keep Your Eyes Open

So You Don’t Miss Out

On The Fun, Beautiful Things

That Don’t Always Stand Out

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Ice Fest

Last Saturday the Fourth Annual Ice Festival was held on Main Street in Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania. Every year, I grab a doll or two and my camera and nab some photos. The local businesses commission sculptures that are placed in front of their stores. Ice carvers create a great chair on site from large blocks of ice on the midway. It’s a nice boost for the local economy as folks duck into the many eateries and shops for a break to warm up during their walking tour. The weather cooperated this year, it was cold (so the melting was kept to a minimum) but brightly overcast with the sun peeking out every now and then. My husband and I enjoyed the sights and unexpectedly met up with another friend who joined us for a stop at Starbucks and hung out for the second half of our photo run. The dolls even drew a few admirers as they posed with the frozen art, and found themselves the subject of several paparazzi. 🙂 Fun times.

Today’s models are Day Tripper Poppy Parker and The Happening Poppy Parker. Day Tripper is wearing a hat and scarf that I crocheted myself, Dynamite Girls Heart of Glass Aria’s jacket, a Barbie camisole, Crazy Girl Misaki’s skirt, Masterpiece Theatre Giselle’s tights and Eternally Together: Dracula’s Brides Lucy’s boots . The Happening is wearing Lead Singles Lilith’s jacket, Rock Wedding: Rock Steady Romain’s scarf, Checking Out Colette’s blouse, City Girl Imogen’s trousers and Anti-Social Girl Misaki’s boots . Both dolls have had their hair washed and brushed out. Their photos were taken all over Main Street and a jolly time was had by all.

Winter’s Heart

Is Brittle And Frozen

Yet An Icy Beauty

Beats Within

 

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Ice Festival

The 3rd annual Ice Festival was held in downtown Stroudsburg yesterday. I dressed a couple of dolls, charged the camera batteries and went to join in the fun. Unlike the last two years, I showed up at noon just as it was starting. It was much warmer than in the past (forty degrees with low wind and peek-a-boo sunshine) and the crowd of folks walking up and down Main street reflected it. We watched an ice sculptor create a giant frozen chair using chainsaws, drills and chisels. When we got chilly, we popped into Starbucks for Peppermint Mochas and later scored a free hot chocolate at American Ribbon. One of the benefits of the festival is to promote local business, and we indulged in a bit of shopping along the way. As usual, my dolls did garner quite a bit of attention – they fit the whimsy of the festival – and a few folks even had their photos taken with them. It was an all around fun day and I’m already looking forward to next year’s event. 🙂

Misaki on the Flood's ice sculpture

 

Misaki with the Bald Eagle ice sculpture at American Ribbon

Our first model is Mint Mod Misaki. She is wearing Clash Control Erin’s sequined dress, Fashion Fever Barbie’s long-sleeved top, opaque black Fashion Royalty tights, Perk Colette’s boots, a hat, scarf and poncho crocheted by me and Ye Ye Amelie’s gloved hands.

Poppy on the Stroudsburg Photo ice sculpture

 

Poppy on the Fleur de Lis ice sculpture

 

Poppy on the Sherman Theater ice sculpture

Our second model is Poppy Parker from the 2011 hair workshop at the Dark Romance convention. She is wearing a Fashion Fever Barbie jacket, Dynamite Girls: In the City: Good Times Dayle’s mini skirt, London By Night Ayumi’s tights, Outsider Misaki’s boots, a scarf that I crocheted and handmade earrings also made by me.

Their photos were taken in the afternoon hours as we walked up and down Main street. The sun played hide and seek all day, dipping behind the clouds periodically, making for some challenging and rapidly changing photo conditions. The crowds were thick, so my shots were quick grabs in between waves of onlookers. Which is why some of my images lack the polish of my less complicated photo sessions – my apologies.

But it was quite exciting shooting on the fly. I’d spot a sculpture, pre-pose my doll, wait for a break in the waves of tourists, rush up, set up my doll, pull back and grab the photos (bracketing a bit over in the exposures to account for disappearing sunlight, trying with & without flash, watching my shooting speeds to avoid shake) and then snatch up my doll for the next one. LOL, I tried to be as unobtrusive as possible so other folks could take their pictures without waiting for me too long. It was funny – a few thought the dolls were part of the displays, others wanted to take pictures of the sculptures with the dolls in them and some wanted their photos taken with the dolls. It was so cute. Tee-hee! 😀

I hope you had a good time joining me on a virtual tour of the Ice Festival. You can see more photos by visiting my Flickr pages, just click on the link to the right. For best viewing, I suggest finding the “Ice Festival” album on the right and watching it in “slideshow” mode. Enjoy!

Icy Art

Temporary

Transient

Strong Yet Fragile

Fleetingly Beautiful

 

 

 

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Tourists At Home

We’re kind of doing a “staycation”, checking out the local haunts on our vacation. Today we went to Dingman’s Falls.

Splish Splash Honey

Today’s model is Harajuku Honey Misaki. She is wearing an older Barbie swimsuit. Her photo was taken in front of one of the many waterfalls in the afternoon using a flash.

There’s No Place Like Home

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Saint Partick’s Day Parade

Our town held their St. Patrick’s Day parade today. It was beautiful and sunny in Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania – perfect parade viewing weather.

Misaki Loves The Antique Fire Truck At The Parade

Today’s model is Summer Crush Misaki. She is wearing a Barbie t-shirt, Barbie Basics jeans, a hoodie that’s actually a cell phone holder from Claire’s (I cut the bottom open so she could wear it), a necklace made by me and some Barbie bracelets…one’s from one of the Mod Pivotal Barbie’s, not sure on the rest. Her photo was taken in the afternoon sunshine at the parade.

Everbody Loves A Parade

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Ice Festival

We were passing through town today and happened upon the second annual Stroudsburg Pennsylvania Ice Festival. Of course, it caught us unawares. There was no dollie and no cameras in the car. Thankfully, hubby was nice enough to head back home so I could quickly dress today’s model and grab the cameras. Back out we went.

In case you didn’t see last year’s photos, the ice festival is a tiny affair – just some ice sculptures placed in front of the local businesses on Main Street. If you get there earlier than we did, you can even see the artists sculpting them. It was not publicized very well unfortunately, last year there was a short story on the news, but not this year. It’s too bad, because although it was cold and windy, I think there would have been more attendees had they known about it.

It was about four o’clock in the evening when we got there, thirty-five degrees, overcast and windy as all get out. There were even snow flurries! Winter is definitely still here. It took about an hour to see everything and take photos. My dollie collected many hearts on her little modeling jaunt. Shopkeepers, kids and adults all stopped and took a peek at her as she went from one sculpture to the next. I even had a few folks taking her photo as she posed on the sculptures. And a couple fans handed off their cameras to me asking me to take a picture of them with my little diva. She was quite popular.

We finished the photo session with a quick stop at Starbucks for a grande peppermint mocha with whipped cream to chase off the chill. LOL, towards the end, I could barely feel my fingers. The wind chill was downright wicked.

Cole Chills Out On A Diamond Ring Ice Sculpture

The model braving winter’s cold is Painted Black Colette. She’s wearing Crazy Girl Misaki’s zip-up hoodie, a shirt and shoes from some recent Barbie fashion packs and Barbie Basics jeans. Her photo was taken in front of the jeweler’s in the evening, under overcast skies, with the aid of a flash.

What A Cool Day On Main Street!

 

 

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Clang, Clang, Clang Went The Trolley

It was a beautiful, if cold, weekend. We never did get those snow flurries that the weatherman had called for, though there was a mini snow squall a few towns over yesterday. Well, since it’s November, I don’t think we’ll have to wait too long. And we’ll enjoy the chilly winds and brilliant sunshine while they are here. Anyway, the sunshine was perfect lighting for the photo shoot today.

Amelie at the Water Gap Trolley Stop

YeYe Amelie is wearing the fashion from Dynamite Girls Chill Factor Neve and (though you can’t see them) Pure Evil Misaki’s boots. Amelie’s photo was taken in the afternoon at the Delaware Water Gap Trolley stop. This picture occured in the shade, but I upped the exposure to keep it bright.

Ding, Ding, Ding Went The Bell… – “The Trolley Song” from the musical Meet Me In St. Louis

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At The Cemetery

This time of year, graveyard tours and cemetery walks at older historical locations seem to be quite popular. I don’t know if it’s the recent influx of all the ‘paranormal’ and ‘haunted’ reality television shows fueling it or simply a sign of the season. I remember visiting old graveyards with my family when I was a kid and marveling at how old the dates on the headstones were and how no one seemed to live very long. We have a small cemetery in town that dates back to the Revolutionary War and hubby took me there today. I have to say that despite some dark clouds looming and falling leaves tossing on the wind, it didn’t feel “creepy” to me. In fact, being in the graveyard seemed to fill me with a sense of peace and serenity. Is that weird? Well, whether or not, that’s how I felt: calm, relaxed and free from worry. And I hope all the souls residing there feel the same way.

Poppy In The Graveyard

Today’s doll is a Poppy that’s not a Poppy. This dollie was made for Fashion’s Night Out at the Bergdorf Goodman store in NYC – though it utilizes the Poppy head & body molds, it is not officially considered a Poppy Parker character doll. She is wearing her original earrings and shoes, Cynthia Rowley Barbie’s trenchcoat, an Integrity Toys dress from a baggie doll and a Fashion Royalty multi-strand necklace. Poppy is leaning on a headstone and looking over the rest of the grave markers in the back corner of the cemetery.

I’d Like To Think That The Calmness I Felt In The Graveyard

Came From Being Surrounded By Souls At Peace.

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