This is the third blog on our behind the scenes of recreation of iconic photos. The two remake photo shoots  were from Gilligan's Island and The Beatles.
​ Here Johnny is hamming it up for his part as the Skipper.

Lukey made a great Gilligan..........

.....until he decided to start clowning around with different options on his head and 

.....then rolling on the floor.

The captain's hat was something he also wanted to try out.

James was getting ready for his part as Thurstan Howell III by having a little snack. (Looks like he is having a fashion crisis, too!)

Then he needed a little drink.
​

Just saying, I was not responsible for the eyebrows, that was my assistant, the one holding the drink.

That assistant doubles as a great character in the role of the Professor. 

After a little Photoshop Magic, we end up with the above shot. When I showed it to Johnny after it was done, he replied, "Hey!How'd you get us in the jungle?"and"Baby has the wrong clothes on!"

On to the next photo shoot, a recreation of the iconic Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Heart Club Band image.

James was not a fan of the wigs. They seemed to irritate his eyes.

Being the wonderful grandparents that we are, we gave him a spoon to hold and told him to suck it up, we needed the picture.

He was not getting out of this one.

Lukey was next. You might have noticed that he has the same costume on. We used the same costume for all three boys and I just changed the color in Photoshop.

A wig change was needed. The other one was a bit too much, but this one was not good either. How many wigs do you have? You might be thinking... Let's just say, we have a large variety, don't you?

This one is perfect. Luke was very patient as we messed with the wigs. He was thinking of that toy he gets in the end.

Johnny is great in front of the camera, he nailed it as  Paul.

Our last Beatle was my faithful partner in grandparenting, John.

"That's not a band uniform", you say! Wait for it..........Photoshop is awesome!

Here starts the progression of putting all the images together....

and changing the colors.....

and adding to the police uniform to make it a band uniform.
​I am no expert in Photoshop, but I am sure learning a lot.
​I hope these images will be something the boys will have to help remember all the time we spend together. I also hope they inspire them to always be creative. John and I get so much joy out of creating. 

Recreating iconic photos using our grandsons has been a lot of fun, especially when they are into it, like James here  as Harpo.  This blog is the behind the scenes images taking during the Marx Brothers photo recreation shoot.

Lukey wanted to be Harpo, too.

Eventhough he would be a great Harpo, we needed a Chico

Johnny decided to get himself ready for his part of Groucho. It was not exactly the look we had in mind.

Things got a little out of hand. Johnny got into the props for our next planned shoot.I LOVE this picture!!It really reflects what it was like trying to do this shoot.

I was back to photographing Jamesy, bribed with a few French fries. John went to negotiate with Johnny to get him into the right look.

Lukey found the fake mustaches and had to try them out.

When Johnny was ready, he was a spectacular Groucho. He really got into the part!

We did it! That was not easy, but we had a lot of laughs.

My husband and I have been watching our three grandsons during the week since December. We love them to dearly, but it is a lot of work. Me being a photographer and my husband being a very creative person, we got the idea to recreate iconic photos using them as the subjects. This  activity  would be time spent well- so we thought. They were not that into it until we bribed them with going to Target after, so that they could pick out a toy. Then we had full cooperation, sort of.

​The above image is a remake of the famous Yalta Conference picture, It is the end result. The original is below, followed by what happened behind the scenes. I think the BTS images are funnier than the final image. Scroll down to see them.

Baby James thought it was a fun game to throw the cigar......

every time we tried to get him to pose with it.

He's done.

Lukey was good, too!

There was a little coaching from PopPop.

"How much longer???"

Remaking The 3 Stooges picture, was our next endeavor. Johnny made an excellent Moe.

Lukey was not thrilled about his part; Larry.

Pop Pop was ready to stand in as Curly incase Jamsey was not willing.  Pop Pop was practicing with Johnny to show how to gently tug on his ear, which was required in the picture remake.

Even though Lukey seemed to enjoy pulling on his younger brother's ear, James did not want any part of it.

I promise you, Jamesy was not hurt, he had just woken up and was cranky, so Pop Pop would have to be Curly.

Oh man! Things got a little chaotic, as it always seems to get with 3 boys!

We did manage to get enough shots to create the final image. Stay tuned for more behind the scenes in a future blog.

Sometimes I get ideas in my head about photos I want to create. This time it was about bubble gum and the color pink. I asked my youngest daughter if she would be willing to be my subject.  I could see her with the freckles and the curly hair and green eyes, as the perfect subject. She reluctantly agreed, with an eye roll. My girls know I get, obnoxiously excited when it comes to my photography ideas, but they almost always have fun.
Well as it turns out, she and I did not find the time to do the photo together, but my oldest daughter had some time because she was on school break and was in Maine with me.  With out hesitation, she agreed to be my subject.

I was ready. I had lightning, a pink head band and bubble gum.
​The chewing of multiple sticks of gum started.

I envisioned a big pink bubble as part of the image.

This is my final image and it is what I had in mind.  She nailed it. I colored the background and the sweater to complete my idea. However...........

When we were out at the Dollar Store getting gum, we found this pink umbrella, which led to this...................

...........an image that I could use for my 52 Frames challenge. The current assignment was, "A line from a song." This is, Under my umbrella," by Rihanna.

Special thanks to Emily, it was really fun to do this shoot together, and to her husband Corey, for testing his fear of heights to climb up high to pour water over the umbrella in the freezing cold. Great memories were made.

Every year I like to review and compile my favorite images. In doing so this past week, I realized how few images I took in 2022 just for my own creativity. I absolutely love working with my clients and creating images they will love, however, I also love creating images for myself. I guess I have a New Year’s resolution now, to create more personal work.

​Sometimes I Wonder12/5/2022
0 Comments

​Photo Blog, Photos by Ann Marie Ford
 
 
Sometimes I wonder where I’ll finally fit in. Where is home?
 
I am a third-generation son of the beautiful small community of Sharon, Massachusetts. This has always been my home, and but for a brief period, I have lived here my entire 66 years. However, as much as Sharon is and always will be home, I have always felt a bit disjointed and restless with the thought of staying put.

I have had two wonderful careers in this town. I have enjoyed sixteen years as a teacher and twenty plus years as a police officer. The experiences, the people, the relationships, are all precious to me. However, even with general success there has been an uneasy sense of not truly belonging. ​

​​Finally, I like C. S. Lewis’s contention that our wandering, our restlessness, or sense that we are never quite home, is the exact proof that we indeed were not created for this world.  That thought does give me some sense of settlement and relief. But to again quote Ben Rumson;
 
            If I get to Heaven tie me to a tree
            Or I’ll begin to roam and soon you know where I will be….
 
The piano feels like home. Tie me to a piano and I’ll be sure to practice, even if I get restless. Then again, traveling through Italy with Stanley Tucci would be good.

Senior year is a special time in  a high school student's life. Having your pictures taken is part of recording it. I love working with all of these fantastic seniors to create memories and give them something to always be able to look back at when they are older. Madddie's session was another great one, filled with lots of laughs and of capturing of different looks. 

She was just as excited as I was and was so into it. I love that! I couldn't have asked for a better subject.

She was more than willing to try anything and had many ideas of her own.

The many different moods we created were awesome!

She brought along her dog, which I love. It makes for such genuine reactions and expressions, from the seniors, too.

It was so nice to see older brother, Andrew, who I photographed when he was a senior.

Maddie, you were so awesome to work with. I know how much you love taking and being in pictures, so you have an eye for what looks good, and you didn't look good, you looked AMAZING!! Thanks for making me love my job even more than I already do! Best to you this senior year!

Just look how gorgeous Samantha is! We have so much fun getting these types of images.

The session typically starts with us chatting and that pretty much continues the whole time. I love getting to know my seniors if we haven't met before. If we have, I love catching up.  My husband assists me and he loves to get to know everyone, too.

We walk around and I see what catches my eye for lighting and backgrounds and framing. The senior also has input into what they might like. If they're not sure, I have no problem suggesting things. I am not shy and love to guide people. I like to have each senior come away from their session loving the experience . The senior year is an important milestone in their life. I want to create a positive memory for them.

I get such a thrill out of sharing some of the shots right away. I just love doing this.

Bringing along your boy friend or your family usually provides for added fun.

Outfit changes are encouraged. It's nice to get a variety of different looks.

These images are from a session with Samantha Dunham. We spent about an hour together and had lots of laughs and I saw some pretty great expressions that didn't make the final cut. I love how comfortable she felt and I definitely knew when something I suggested just wasn't her style.

Belfast, Maine is a place I love to photograph. It is rich with textures and colors. As my husband and I were walking up the street in front of one of our "go to" places, Rollie's, I noticed his reflection in the window. I am a sucker for reflection pictures, so I asked him to stop and lean against the wall. Let me explain what I saw and how I composed the picture.

I used the rule of thirds to  put him off center in the image for a more interesting composition.

The window served as a frame for the subject and as leading lines bring the viewers eyes to  him. The tops of the buildings in the reflection also served as leading lines, as do the vertical lines under the window frame.

The repeating color of red in the window frame and the chairs, gives a unifying element to the composition . The repeating patterns of vertical lines in the windows of the building in the background, the slats in the red chairs and moldings around and below the window, also add unity to the composition. 

The story telling of the image is my favorite part. Look where I am! I'm in a really cool old brick town with the guy I love, who is willing to be my subject whenever I ask.

This one is all about lines, mood , color, subject and reflection. I know the telephone pole is distracting, yet I decided not to take it out for 2 reasons. It frames the building and the American flag repeated the colors.  I took it at this angle to emphasize all the horizontal lines and repeating rectangles. I love all the colors, red is my favorite color.  The cloudy day enhances the mood. I have a fondness for this location because I used it as one of the locations for my daughter's engagement pictures. Emily and Corey love Belfast, also.

This is a different view of the same building. The colors really give it interest and style.

This one was almost a "delete" for me, but then I fell in love with it. I couldn't stop analyzing it once I took a closer look.

The leading lines lead the viewer to look to the left of the image to get a slice of what the street looks like. I also like the fact that we kinda have that updated "American Gothic" look .
With any image, everyone sees it differently. I, of course, am more emotionally invested in this image, which adds to my liking it. I would suspect that others would find it too busy and not like it or say it's just, "ehh."  But that's okay, if you're still reading this, at least I may have inspired how you approach your future compositions.