Workshop

Workshop is, hands down, our most popular picture ever. It is definitely my favorite.

This was a picture that was inspired by finding the perfect spot. The title of the picture followed, and the imagery just flowed organically. My mother found the spot, seeing it in April or May. She told us about it, and we did our initial scope of the site in June. It looked amazing, but was a little remote and difficult to get to. It was down an overgrown path, and through a field.

 Due to circumstances beyond our control (i.e. laziness, work, family, etc) we didn't actually shoot the photo until August. Let me tell you, the difference between overgrown weeds and fields in June and August is significant. Like 2 foot tall significant.

When we trucked out there with our models, it was hot and sweaty and buggy and scratchy. We found some really cool ruins of an old barn and the milking pens. We made the girl model get into a mattress cover, and then our "stranger" picked her up and the hard work began. We tried having her carried bridal fashion, but the over the shoulder carry seemed to work better. The field was full of hip high nettles and, especially around the builidng, poison ivy. But they were troopers and really made it work. When they finally stopped, hot and covered in sweat, I paid them for their hard work with Slurpees (I offered Taco Bell, but they turned me down.)

When I looked through the pictures, this one jumped out. The sunflare across the middle of the picture, the clarity of her outline in the sheet...It captured exactly what I had been thinking about. It is a beautiful picture, just on it's own.  When you add the touch of creep, well, that just makes it awesome. (FYI, I have this picture, poster sized, hanging in my house).

 It made me think of the long Sunday drives we used to take as kids. Most of them were down rural country roads. As we rolled down the roads, with the dust kicking up behind the car, music playing tinny and soft on the AM radio,  we were constantly looking in windows of farmhouses, and through growing fields.

We looked for animals; deers and bunnies, raccoons and hawks. We watched tractors and people riding horses.

And once in a while, you catch a glimpse of something...something out of the ordinary.

 This "thing" would be unsual enough to make you look twice. You would twist in your seat, the backs of your thighs sticking to the faux leather bench seat. You stick your head out the window, hair whipping in the wind, sunglasses pushed up to the top of your head, to try and clear your vision.
You squint and search, to try and put together the reality with what you thought you saw.
Was it really...
Could it be...

 Bad things don't always happen at night. They can happen during the day, in bright sunshine. They can happen surrounded by flowers and growing green things. Every one needs some private space. Everyone needs a place to create and build, their own workshop....

Workshop
$5.00
8x10 or 5x7

 
 Anita 
anita@crackedlensphoto.com

StupidGirl

One of our most popular and most talked about prints from our 2009 run has to be StupidGirl.  It has inspired one of our t-shirt designs, with the words "Bad boys love stupid girls" emblazoned across the chest.  And it's true.

$25.00
Comes with StupidGirl Print

All those bad boys out there, looking to do harm, looking for fun at the expense of others...why they just love the stupid girl.

The stupid girl that falls for the lines.

The stupid girl that gets in the car.

The stupid girl that does leave her friends for the company of a stranger.

And there are lots of them out there.  I will admit, I have been a stupid girl a couple of times in my life.  I recognise it now.  I know that I was lucky and got away clean.

Clearly the girl in our photo doesn't.

The models, again family, both of them, really did a great job.  My original vision was for a almost pinup style of girl  I wanted her in a pencil skirt, with pin curls in her hair.  We were going to shoot at night, dark ally.  But the logistics weren't good.  We didn't have big light set ups to properly light the scene.  The alleys where we wanted to shoot tended to be busy at night, and we didn't want to have to contend with crowds.  So, that's when the idea of the "walk of shame" type of deal came up.  I'm not definitively saying that's what this is, but there is definitely a possibility.  We thought about having her carrying her heels, and I think that would have been a really great shot, but the ground was really, REALLY gross, and I couldn't subject her to that.  Especially since I paid them in slurpees. 

As for the stranger, we tried a bunch of different set ups.  I think my first vision was pretty close to this, but instead of him pulling the knife from his pocket, it was hidden by his arm.  We had some with her looking back at him, at that point that she is realising that things are not going to end well for her.  We had some of him hidden in a doorway, and just leaning out as she walked by.  We even had some where he is right behind her, knife drawn and his hand almost tangled in her hair.  The inherent violence in that image alone was disturbing to even me.  But this one was the one I loved. 

It is always surprising to me that people don't always automatically see the knife.  They get the girl is there, making her way home.  She is still in the dark of the alley, but she can see the daylight.  And safety comes in the daylight.  She is tired, feeling gross and her feet hurt.  Even so, her steps quicken and she bounces a little as she makes her way up the last set of stairs. 

He watched her walk past.  He could smell the smoke that lingered in her hair.  He heard the click of her heels before he ever saw her.  And the fact that her head stayed down, that her eyes never once strayed his way, meant that she had no idea he was there.  Her instincts are off, weighted down and slowed by a night of bad decisions and alcohol.  And that's how he knows that she's his girl.

She's already thinking about showers and coffee and toothpaste.  A few more steps, and she is in the light, the sun. She can hear the people moving on the street, hear the cars driving past.  A few more steps and she will be a part of it again...

He's coming up fast, but silent, behind her.  The sunlight glints off the blade he has in his hand.  A few more steps and he can grab her hair.  His breath is fast and his heart is slamming in his chest.  He can keep her in the dark, if he's fast. A few more steps, and he will have caught himself another stupid girl....

StupidGirl
8x10 or 5x7
$5.00

Anita and Geoff

anita@crackedlensphoto.com

Respect

Our next photo to be profiled is Respect. 

We both are in love with this tiny little pioneer cemetery, which is located on the outskirts of Niagara Falls.  It is right off the side of the road, surrounded by farmer's fields and hydro lines.  It seems like every year, the old headstones fall (or are pushed) over, but someone maintains it, and rights them soon enough.  They cut the grass and trim the trees.  They keep the place looking respectful.

We knew we wanted to shoot there, so when we got the idea for this shot, this is where we headed first.  It was a little gross, laying on the ground, since everywhere we looked, there were snails.  Hundreds of snails.  I am not normally disturbed by snails, but the idea of them crawling all over me...no thanks.

We have had mixed opinions on the hydro lines in the background.  Some people say the photo would be great without them, others like them just fine.  To be honest, they are there, because we like them.  They are a "tip of the hat" to the TV show Durham County, starring Hugh Dillon (I am a huge Hugh Dillon fan!) 

The inspiration of this photo is the mindset behind a killer, who decides to dump a body.  Regardless of how he caught her, whether by force, or by charm, and regardless of what he did, on purpose or by accident, there is always the day after. 

The day of clean up.  Of reckoning.

So, does he know?  Does he know where to go, what to do?  Is it planned out meticulously, down to the last detail?    Are his Saturdays spent, cruising the back roads, looking for the perfect spot?  Does he work with a stop watch, timing his steps down to the second? 

Or, is it random? Sloppy?  Desperate?

Regardless, he ended up here, probably early in the morning.  He is sweaty and bone weary, tired after a long night.  These are the last check marks on a lengthy to-do list, and after this, he can sleep. 

So, he lays her down gently (or is it a careless drop?)  He positions her limbs, her head, her hair, just so (or does he kick her arm off his shoe, and not notice where it lands?)  He says his good byes, maybe even an apology, maybe affection, bordering on love (or does he laugh?  Spit?  Or worse, nothing at all?)

As the sun rises, and the sky turns warm with a brand new day, he returns to his life, to his hunt and his games.  As the snails crawl out, seeking the heat, our lady lays, the sole object of his respect (or lack thereof)...

Respect
8x10 or 5x7
$5.00

Anita and Geoff

anita@crackedlensphoto.com

Like a noose around your neck

Through a Cracked Lens has moved into jewelry.  You can wear some of your favourite prints, like a noose around your neck.

We currently have 4 different prints available as necklaces. 

As a blog special, any purchase of a necklace would come with the print as well, in your choice of 8x10 or 5x7.

All for $25.

You can't beat a deal like that. 

Not even with hammer, when it just won't stop moving.

Abandoned
$25

  

Workshop
$25

Rage
$25

 

Scream
$25

 Anita & Geoff

anita@crackedlensphoto.com

Homemade

One of our most popular and enduring prints from our 2009 run is Homemade.

The idea for this shot came from my mom.  The bottle of Diazinon came from my dad's mother's garage.  After she passed away, I had gone over to her house, with my dad, to clean out some stuff.  While we were in the garage, I found the empty bottle, all dusty and wonderful, and asked my dad if I could keep it.  I am pretty sure he thought I was crazy for wanting an empty bottle of bug poison, but since he had bigger fish to fry at that point, he agreed.

The next day, when my mom saw the bottle on the counter in my kitchen, she was thrilled, since she knew that we were going to start shooting her idea.  She has the very first print hanging proudly in her kitchen.

When I look at this print, it conjures images of June Cleaver (pun intended- thanks to Tracey S for the joke!), and gingham aprons.  I always imagine a warm, breezy summer day, one just perfect for cooling pies on windowsills (if anyone actually does that anymore!)

A mom, dusty with flour, sticky, chocolaty hand prints dotting her apron, humming as she works.  The air smells like cinnamon, and apples.  Through the window, we can hear children laughing as they are playing in the dirt and the sunshine and the dog barks as it chases squirrels and balls with equal fervour. 

She measures her ingredients carefully, following her recipe.  She knows what her husband likes.  She's made this so many times, she could do it in her sleep.  But she's careful.  Oh, so very careful.

She scoops the batter, sticky and warm, and forms his favourite cookies.  The heat from the oven, as she opens the door, washes over her face and pulls the swollen and sensitive skin even tighter.  She slides the cookies in and sets the timer.  Nothing to do now, but wait.  Wait for the cookies to bake, wait for the bruises to heal, wait for her husband to come home.  Because home is where new beginnings are made....

Homemade
5x7 or 8x10
$5.00

Anita & Geoff

anita@crackedlensphoto.com

Found

This photo is the very first photo that we shot, that we actually used.  The foot belongs to a family member (who also has a starring role in our photo Escape!) and the Chuck Taylor half-way down the stairs is actually hers. 

This photo was inspired by intense morbidity and total conviction that everytime I walk into a quiet house, I fully expect to find a body.

I can imagine the silence that is like a weight on my shoulders.  The stillness in the air, except for the faint hum of the appliances quietly running in the kitchen.  I would want to call out, to say hello, but I'm nervous that my voice won't be as strong as I need it to be, that my voice will break.  And if I hear that break, that will confirm my fears.  It will acknowledge the panic that is building and creeping up my spine in a slow walk of gooseflesh.

I keep my footsteps soft.  Maybe I will clear my throat.  Even that noise, soft and singular, is too loud, much too loud.  My eyes, open wide and all around white, are darting and moving, checking the corners of every room.  I am looking for what I know I will find, but hoping oh so hard that I won't. 

The hairs on the back of my neck are pulling straight, as I walk around the corner.  My muscles are tight, ready to run.  I trail light fingers along the wall, for balance, for courage, to keep me grounded in the world.  I make it to the base of the stairs and it feels like my head is on a swivel. 

I mount the first step, with heavy feet.  I lift my head and my eyes train upwards, just as the tip of my shoe contacts with something on the 2nd stair.  It take me a minute to connect what I am seeing, to what I knew I was going to find.....

Found
Available in 5x7 and 8x10
$5.00

Anita and Geoff

anita@crackedlensphoto.com

Cracked T-Shirts

So, here's what's up with us right now. 

BUY OUR SHIT!!!

We have tons of stuff available, and we want to sell it to you, for really, really cheap.

What have we got?

T-shirts- $20
Medium, Large and X-Large

White shirt

Front- Bad boys love stupid girls.
Back- Stupid Girl photo image

Black shirt
Front- We want you for your body.
Back- Workshop photo image

SPECIAL- If you mention this blog when you order, you will not only get the t-shirt of your choice, but also a print of the associated photo.  You pick- 5x7 or 8x10.

So come on, and order one.  You know you want to.  Just email below, or comment on this post.  Thanks a mill!

Anita
anita@crackedlensphoto.com

Welcome to the blog.

So, it took me long enough, right?

Finally got a Cracked Lens blog together.  It's a work in progress, so bear with me as I tweak and change it as we go.  I assure you, just as you get used to it one way, I will try and change it into something completely different and horrible.

Just like Facebook.

Anita
anita@crackedlensphoto.com