Mitzi's Miscellany

More Photography Tips From Guest Joshua Smith!

In February 2010, I featured photography tips from a well respected and seasoned photographer and friend, Mr. Joshua Smith, who also shared some of his fabulous work in portrait photography.  Because I've been trying to focus on better photos (no pun intended, but there it is), I thought I'd return to Joshua Smith Studios for more helpful tips.  So take it away, Mr. Smith!

Greetings and salutations, my friends!  I'm so delighted to be a guest once again on Mitzi's blog, and hope to provide you with some of my proven techniques for portrait photography.

Let's first consider the older folks, who may well be sitting for their last portrait, although I should mention that I am also very experienced in post mortem portraits, and have portable equipment that can be set up discreetly at the funeral home or parlour.  At Joshua Smith Studios, our motto is "We'll Take Your Picture, Dead or Alive." But I digress!  Allow me to share my secret technique for eliciting a warm and affectionate look from the older ladies:  I flirt with them just a bit, and flatter them, appealing to the inner youthful girl that still resides in the more mature individual.

 

 

 

Many times I find it effective to include the beloved family pet in the portrait.  There is no better way to bring out the warmth and caring of an older woman than by pairing her with her faithful canine companion:

 

 
Gentlemen can be more of a challenge, although appealing to their vanity is always an option.  Sometimes a light-hearted joke will break the ice and elicit a cheerful expression.

 

I have found unparalleled success photographing couples, and, if I do say so myself, capture the look of love that is impossible to suppress in the young engaged or newly married lovebirds.

 

What is my secret tip for photographing couples?  I often break the ice by asking the two how they met, or to describe the marriage proposal.  Occasionally this backfires, when there has been an arranged marriage that both members found most unpleasant, but my success rate with couples is quite high nevertheless.

 

 

 

Last but not least we have my speciality, the instantaneous portraits of children!  My top secret tip for photographing the little ones?  I keep one hand on my camera, and in the other I squeeze a squeaky toy that never fails to make the little ones giggle gleefully, allowing me to capture the jolly visage of the youngster.

 

 

 

Mitzi believes that perhaps I captured, on film, the first known example of a peculiar coif known as the "mullet".  Just another feather in my cap at Joshua Smith Studio!

 

 

I hope you find these tips helpful as you practice your photography skills with friends and family.  That's how I got started early on.  Allow me to engage in one more of our favorite slogans at Joshua Smith Studios:  We turn negatives into a positive!  And I want to thank Mitzi for hosting another peek into the world of Joshua Smith Studios!

 

Eight Ways to Make You Smile

Instead of starting a blog post from scratch, I searched my image archives to create this blog post around a theme:  smiling.  I was able to find eight ways to make myself smile, and I hope at least one of these pictures will have the same affect on you.

First up we have Bing Crosby looking very dapper in a top hat.  I love his rosy-cheeked innocence.  Was he supposed to be sexy in this picture?  My, how things have changed!

 

I was making some sheet music wreaths at Christmas, and decided to cut off the curious titles to the old-timey songs.  The two I found the most amusing were "A Boy's Best Friend is His Mother" and "Who Threw the Overalls in Mistress Murphy's Chowder". 

 

I'm knocking on wood as I write this, but I haven't had a cold yet this year.  If I do finally succumb to a bug that makes the rounds this spring, I'll remember to ask for Antiphlogistine.  Why, that's a catchy name!  I'll be sure to remember to ask my pharmacist for some Antiphlogistine!

 

Whenever I take photos, my nosy little Westies, Chauncey and Cheswick, manage to get themselves in the picture somehow.  In this example from last summer, I wanted to shoot the covers of my cache of new magazines and Cheswick decided to do his calisthenics right nearby.

 

 I don't need to explain why this picture is so adorable.  It's cover art from LOOK magazine:

 

I find it amusing that these figurines were popular in the mid-twentieth century.  Why were people enamored of them?  I appreciate them now for their kitschy appeal, but I can't figure out what made them popular in the first place.

 

The bold graphics of this sheet music art for "Over There" blend perfectly with the song as it plays in my head....are you too young to remember this song?  It's been around a long time, a very memorable tune.  The world of sheet music graphic art is a wondrous world to explore.

 

 
How about a pair of children's galoshes for a smile-inducing image?  I don't think most kids even have a clue what "galoshes" are nowadays.  They wear plastic boots, which make a lot more sense.  So that makes this pair of miniature adult style rubbers that much more precious, don't you think?

 

I just thought of a ninth reason to smile:  the weekend is here, and I've really earned some time off this week, for reasons I won't go into here!  As always, thanks for visiting my blog.  I appreciate my readers so very much.  Have a wonderful weekend, friends!

Mitzi

Sometimes It's Hard To Be A Woman

To paraphrase Tammy Wynette's 1975 hit "Stand by Your Man",  sometimes it's hard to be a woman.  Or maybe it should be sometimes it WAS hard to be a woman.  Especially when you have a chance to get a glimpse of what life was like for women back in our mother's, grandmother's or even great-grandmother's heyday.  Oh, it's easily to romanticize those simpler times, but there are always two sides to every coin, and for the purposes of this post, I'm only looking at the "tails" side. 

What got me started on this topic was this little periodical from 1951 titled "Woman's Life".  I was struck by the sad looking graphic of the woman's face on the cover, and then when I read the featured articles I realized why she looked so glum:

 

I realize that the end of World War II was a huge transition for women in the U.S., because they had been holding down jobs in factories and now, with the men returning back home, they were expected to go back to their kitchens and get cookin', raise up some kids and keep their house spic and span, all the while looking like they were ready to go to church or a cocktail party once they took off their apron.

 

Of course, there were some that pursued nursing, teaching, and secretarial work, which were considered acceptable professions for women. 

 

Having a career and a family were pretty much mutually exclusive activities, though. Once a woman married, it was back to the laundry room for her!

 

Luckily there were modern appliances that made household duties easier, like this Lovell laundry wringer:

 

The woman in the ad looks pretty darn happy with her Lovell '77:

 

It makes me wonder how many women toiled away in their homes, forever wringing laundry without ever finding a creative outlet or something that they were passionate about.....

 

Once the bloom of youth was gone, women weren't considered good marriage material, and were destined to become "old maids", or "spinsters".

 

Women were depicted in magazines from the mid-twentieth century as being primarily responsible for the success or failure of their marriages.  Thank goodness there were companies that provided special potions and medications that would lend a helping hand when wives experienced that not-so-fresh feeling!  To illustrate this point, allow me to share this ad from "Charm" magazine, September 1948 (you can click on the image to read the text easier):

 

 

Can you believe this?  Lysol?  I didn't make this up, I swear!

 

Lysol was so economical too!  One small bottle made four gallons of cleansing formula, enough for a woman to feel "dainty" every day!

Do you suppose poor hygiene was the reason married couples often slept in separate beds, like the setup shown below?

 

Sometimes it was hard to be a woman!  But things are much easier now, aren't they?  And we can all be thankful that Lysol has withdrawn themselves from the feminine hygiene business!

 

Can you think of any more examples why it was so hard to be a woman years ago?  I'd love to hear what you come up with!  In the meantime, I have a load of laundry to fold......

Mitzi 

Snuggle Up With Mother Goose

I love vintage children's books, sometimes because of the illustrations, sometimes for the opportunity to reminisce and recall an old story or tale from my childhood.  My favorite little book when I was a kid happened to be "The Wuggly Ump", by Edward Gorey, a story I was both attracted to and terrified by.  I remember seeing the book lying on a table in our house, afraid to even open it and view the terrifying illustrations:

At the end of the book, the children in the story are eaten by the Wuggly Ump, and are depicted inside of his stomach.  That used to completely freak me out!

Now, Mother Goose often brings up warm fuzzy memories, although most of us can recall a nursery rhyme that includes a little violence or something sinister going on too.  Maybe that's what makes a memorable children's tale: a spoon full of sugar, a little dollop of terror.  I've come across enough Mother Goose stories to prove this point in my piles of vintage books.  So snuggle up with Mother Goose, boys and girls!  Nobody said life is always carefree.

Her Introduction is innocuous enough:

First, Mother Goose serves up a cautionary tale about our feathered friends.  Apparently, even a small bird can alter your facial features if you don't watch out:

 

Losing one's nose is nothing compared to complete decapitation, which may occur if you don't pay your debtors:

 

A lot of animals and one unfortunate butcher had to be sacrificed just to get an old woman home in this charming tale:

 

 

Although I often do chores on Saturday, apparently Mother Goose takes a very dim view of those of us that do our laundry on the weekend:

Now that I've been called a Saturday Laundry Slut by Mother Goose, the gloves are off!  Mother Goose, will you please explain the purpose of the Death and Burial of Cock Robin?  Are you trying to encourage safe archery practices?  What a morose tale.  Is this really something we all need to hear about?

  

It goes on and on, but I'm sure you get the idea......

And what about poor Solomon Grundy, another story of a doomed newlywed?  Was that tale really necessary?

 

Here were have a short poem about a catastrophic fire with one survivor:  I'm not sure hiding under a pudding pan should be recommended to impressionable tots:

 

You've also reminded us to stop lending out our pets for transportation.  Thanks.

 

And what about "Little Tee Wee"?  Do you think the conjuring up an image of a boy drowning in a defective boat is a way to lull children to sleep?

 

Mother Goose, are you suggesting that it is OK to trip someone who clearly has a disability?  Where's the moral in "As I Was Going to Sell My Eggs"?

I always knew geese could be snippy, but apparently they can shake us and throw us down the stairs if they get irritated enough:

What child in their right mind would want to hear "Bye, Baby Bumpkin" right before they go to sleep?  Is terrorizing tiny tots worth it, just to warn them about eating pumpkin?

Bye, baby bumpkin
Where’s Tony Lumpkin
My lady’s on her death-bed,
For eating half a pumpkin

Even the illustrations in" Mother Goose Rhymes and Jingles" are disturbing.  Here's a depiction of a broken Humpty Dumpty after his historic fall, being scooped up by a shovel in an attempt to get him in a sitting position:

And thanks to you, Mother Goose, mothers all over the world have been scaring the beejeebers out of their kids with "Rock a Bye Baby" for generations.  If you were trying to instill a fear of heights in us all, then you were successful:

 

In "Taffy Was a Welshman", Mother Goose seems to be a proponent of vigilante justice:

 

And last but not least, "A Man of Words" will illustrate my point perfectly:  Mother Goose is a sadistic old biddy who has it out for humans and animals alike!

Beatings, drowning, stabbing, decapitation, falling, animal abuse, nose removal, and good old-fashioned name-calling.  Mother Goose has it all!

I rest my case!

Mitzi

Fun With a 1966 Yearbook

At Mitzi's Collectibles, we appreciate the little things, and it's the little things that can sidetrack one into a fun vintage world that takes you away for a bit.  Old things have a story to tell, sometimes in written form, other times in pictures, or in the beauty of a handmade object.

Take, for example, this 1966 High School yearbook.  Once I opened the dusty cover I found 245 pages of pure, unadulterated fun, and a trip back in time to teenage life in the 1960's, so different from teenage life today.  Now, I'm about to poke a little fun at some pictures, and I hope I don't appear to be mean-spirited.  I think we all can look back at ourselves many years ago and have a little chuckle over our hairdos, clothing, or accessories.  So here goes (names were changed to protect the innocent)....

  

ERHS Welcome Back Students Newsletter 1966

by Ed Nesbitt, Principal

At Eleanor Roosevelt High School, there are many interesting clubs to join.  We want to encourage students to consider joining an academic or social club to enhance their experience here ar ERHS.  Students can choose from old standbys like the Latin Club, Spanish Club, or something that's a little more "hip", the Hootenanny Club!  The Hootenanny Club was the most popular club at the school last year!

Two of our staff members have generously volunteered to chaperone the Hootenanny dances this fall, and who knows, maybe they will learn to do "the Shag" while there!  What do you say, ladies?

 

Here we have three members of the Buddy Holly Fan Club.  Vernon Wallis is the acting president of this upstart club:

Besides clubs, we've had some exciting contests here at ERHS.  Here's a picture of Robby Featheringham, the winner of the Howdy Doody lookalike contest we had last spring:

 

These boys from the Math Club are suggesting that the Senior Trip visit NASA this year.  I suppose that can be arranged, but there won't be any girls going.  Have you thought of that, boys?

 

Here at Eleanor Roosevelt High School, our dedicated staff spends many an after school hour working with the student body.  Let's meet  Miss Minerva Wooten, who runs the Girl's Finishing Class, providing fashion advice and lessons on civility and decorum that our young ladies so desperately need.

 

One of Miss Wooten's fashion tips:  Let the young lady wear the hairdo, don't let the hairdo wear the young lady!  Here are a few of our senior girls that need to heed Miss Wooten's advice:

 

Miss Wooten says that girls should find a look that's right for them, and sometimes what a girl thinks is attractive is actually distracting to others.  Our young debs shouldn't be covering their pretty features, just enhancing them!

Miss Wooten believes that our senior girls are spending far too much time on their hairdos, and not enough time on their studies!  Too much peroxide, too much teasing, and all of that hairspray equals an overblown and distracting hairstyle, not to mention time away from reading, writing, and math! 

These young ladies chose to wear their eyeglasses in their portraits, which Miss Wooten recommends.  After all, she always wears hers....

  

Then we have the underclassmen. How awkward the early teen-age years can be!  It is our wish that each boy and girl will leave ERHS with a solid educational foundation, if not a sophisticated sense of style:

Picture day this year will be September 24.  Picture re-take day will be October 24.  Please don't hesitate to consider a retake if you aren't happy with your first picture!

 

Remember boys and girls, the first day of school this year is September 6.  I can speak for the teachers when I say we can't wait to see all of you here for another fantastic year at ERHS!

Yours Truly,

Mr. Nesbitt

Principal, ERHS

Fun Reading From the Sickbed

Just as the weather was warming up, early bulb flowers beginning to bloom, I acquired some sort of nasty virus that laid me up for three days, the first two of which I couldn't sit upright long enough to check my e-mails or even read a magazine.  For me, that's bad.  But on the third day, I scooped myself out of bed and tried to get caught up on some reading.  I happened upon an old Harper's Monthly Magazine from November 1885, which served to remind me that I've gotten farther behind on my reading than I had originally thought. 

While reading, I came across an ad for Hale's Honey of Horehound and Tar, with the catchy tag line that reads:  "Wonderfully Remedial in all Cases Where the Organs of Respiration are Affected".  I've actually enjoyed horehound candy in the past, and I think if you want to give it a try you can probably pick some up at a Cracker Barrel restaurant.  As for the tar, well, wouldn't you just rather have a cough?

 

Next, without even Googling, I discovered that toilet paper existed way back in 1885, as the following ad for "Perforated Paper" shows.  Apparently, people had been using newspaper for, um, personal cleansing, which was causing some problems with "clogged pipes and impure air".  In fact, the chemicals on printed paper were thought to be a cause of hemorrhoids, and who am I to argue?  A consumer could choose between plain Perforated Paper or Medicated.

 

I started to get a bit thirsty after all that reading.  Maybe a nice mug of Horsford's Acid Phosphate would take care of things.  Sounds appetizing, doesn't it?  At least the trade card is attractive, I love the periwinkle color:

As soon as I feel hale and hearty again, I might like to try some of the Durkee's Salad Dressing and Cold Meat Sauce.  As the ad says, "all of its ingredients are of the purest and the best, and it will keep good for years".  Maybe ingesting four year old condiments is what got me into this situation to begin with.....

By the way, I love the Raven Gloss Shoe Dressing ad above, don't you?  What a cool image! 

Besides getting caught up on some reading, I also expanded my medical vocabulary this week.  Have you ever heard of "catarrh"?  Catarrh is mucus, basically.  Then there's "dropsy".  I've heard of dropsy before but never knew what it was.  Well, it's swelling, or edema.  It has nothing to do with dropping anything.  And many of you might already know that "consumption" is tuberculosis.

I hope you have a healthy week, friends!

Mitzi

Meet Joshua Smith, Child Photographer Extraordinaire

Dearest Readers,

Today I'd like you to meet Mr. Joshua Smith, Practical Photographer, and specialist in the "Instantaneous Portraits of Children."  He's going to tell us a few things about his art, perfected after many years of trial and error.  The photographer of children does have to have specialized skills, there's no doubt.  So without further ado, let's hear a little from Mr. Smith and see some samples of his work!

Mitzi

When photographing children, it's especially important to make them feel comfortable in the studio.  At Joshua Smith Studio, every aspect of the child's comfort is taken into consideration, beginning with our special studio props and furniture that will surely put them at ease:

As a photographer of children, I'm always looking to capture that special expression, that gleeful look a child will give when in the hands of a true artiste like myself....

As this group of siblings illustrates, I'm especially adept at capturing the loving and affectionate nature of young girls:

Some babies simply won't cooperate unless photographed within the family unit, and at Joshua Smith Studios we encourage the whole family to rally around the little one so he or she can shine!

 

Let's take a closer look at this little charmer:

 

Twins can be a particular challenge, so I've learned that photographing them together in the buggy or pram is a way to ensure that they feel secure and comfortable.  Once the babies feel completely relaxed, we can capture those endearing expressions their proud parents want to record for posterity....

 

Older children can be photographed outside the studio, whilst playing with a favorite toy.  This has proven to be a successful method of securing that blissful look that children at play exhibit!

I would like to remind parents that they should dress their children in an outfit in which they feel comfortable.  The photography session will be much more successful this way.

Teenagers can be a particular challenge, with their uncooperative nature and sullen demeanor.  At Joshua Smith Studios, we've also had success with teenagers, as the pair of sisters below illustrates.  We even employ a hairdresser that will make sure the coif is just so, to satisfy those vain young girls!

I'm proud to announce that we now have branched out into wedding photography as well, as some of our long-time clients eventually grow up and think of Joshua Smith Studio when they tie the knot!

 

And who knows?  Perhaps the proud young couple will entice Grandma and Grandpa to come to Joshua Smith Studios for a special portrait in studio or on location that will emanate their warmth and joy for all to see, many years after they pass on.....

Just for readers of Mitzi's Collectibles' Blog, Joshua Smith Studios will be offering a 20% discount on all photography sessions during the month of March. 

SMAD Support Group Meets Here

Ever since my husband gifted me with a wonderful, brand-spanking new sewing machine, I have found all sorts of ways to avoid using it. 

 

I didn't even take it out of it's box for two months!

Even though now it is perched on a sewing table I bought at an auction (I think I only paid $5 for the sturdy maple sewing table, what a deal!) and there's a comfortable chair assigned to the table, I have been using it just like the exercise machines I've owned in the past.  I have piled stuff on it, around it, and used the chair as a table on wheels. Now it just blends in with the rest of my craft room, instead of sitting proudly, ready to sew, when it was set up.

It appears that I have been suffering from what is called "Sewing Machine Avoidance Disorder", or SMAD.  And I'm not the only SMAD sufferer. Don't look for SMAD on WebMd, but I know there are other SMAD sufferers out there. I stumbled upon a great blog post by a gal with undiagnosed SMAD (I wish I had bookmarked it, but alas, I did not) and she blogged about how her new sewing machine seemed to be taunting her every time she walked by it.  Hallucinations can be one of the symptoms of SMAD.  As we all know, sewing machines can't taunt people.  Or can they.....

Recognizing you have SMAD is the first step to overcoming it.  After that, it helps if you can find a good therapist that has experience with SMAD sufferers.  I am happy to report that I have taken the first steps to overcome SMAD.  It took a lot of courage, but I reached out to Craig's List and found a young woman that offered sewing lessons in my area.  She even made house calls, which was exactly what I wanted.  My first goal was to have her thread my machine, and teach me how to wind a bobbin.  

I've actually had a fair amount of machine sewing under my belt, so it wasn't the actual stitching part that I was fearing. I had been avoiding reading the little manual and threading the machine, because those little manuals always annoy me.  (I'm always certain that the French or Spanish versions have more information than the English). 

I also feared the inevitable sewing machine snafus, the ball of knotted thread in the bobbin case, the uneven thread tension, the breaking of a needle.  By the end of my two hour therapy session, I had learned how to operate my machine and even made a pillow with only one issue, thread tension, which my therapist and I problem-solved together!

After my first sewing lesson/therapy session, I have to admit that I had a bit of a SMAD relapse.  My machine sat dormant again for a few months.  Then this past weekend I summoned up my strength and sewed a garland.  I had found a table cloth at an estate sale that had beautifully embroidered corners, but there were stains in the center.  I cut the four corners, folded and pinned a couple yards of yellow bias tape across the tops of the triangular fabric pieces, and sewed across the top without incident!  My banner needed a little more oomph so I glued some yoyos here and there, and it was finished!

 
 Garlands are hard to photograph in their entirety:
 

After my success with the garland, I decided to try sewing a cuff bracelet I had waiting in the wings.  I carefully sewed one side of it, then lost the thread when I wanted to switch sides.  I attempted to re-thread the machine, but apparently I did it incorrectly.  Now I realize that the  time has come for me to pick up that manual and try to make sense of it.  I believe that if I can get my machine threaded by following the directions, my SMAD affliction may be cured.

Do you, or someone you love suffer from SMAD?  I have found a therapeutic blog titled Stop Staring and Start Sewing, designed to encourage readers to take on sewing projects.  If you have full-blown SMAD, you might want to meet here on my blog too for extra support.  Maybe our group motto will be Stop Bitchin' and Start Stitchin'.....

Regrettable Vintage Hairstyles and Other Photo Fun

When it comes to vintage photos, I appreciate the fact that they can provide great inspiration for craft projects such as collage art and altered art which has become so popular.  For my own purposes, I can't bring myself to draw on top of the faces to alter them or emblazon someone's portrait with negative text.  I think we should have some respect for the dead, I guess.

OK, so I won't alter old photos with negative text, but I'm not above poking fun at pictures with my snarky comments.  If you focus on something like hairstyles and accessories, you can have a little fun when you sort through a pile of cabinet photos or flip through a photo album.  Let's have a look at what I'm talking about....

This young lady's portrait begs the question:  Can photographers be sued for malpractice?

Here we have a serious case of "helmet hair":

 

This girl's hairstyle seems to be imitating Daniel Boone's coonskin cap:

 

Take a look at this couple.  I think she put his glasses on, and he has on hers.....

 

No photo album is complete without a naked baby picture!

 

Here we have a situation where the gal forgot to brush out her curls after she took out the rollers:

 

A cute pair of identical twins, both wearing the same facial expression called the "half-smile":

 

This adorable tot is sporting a fashionable coif achieved by cutting around a cereal bowl:

 

All little girls should have bows in their hair, as far as I'm concerned, but maybe this one is a bit on the large side:

Now this is better:

Too cute!

This little gal is ready for cold weather:

 

What the heck is going on here?  This hairstyle defies explanation:

I'm not poking fun at this girl.  I think she's really pulled together, and the photo mat sets off her pic in beautiful Art Deco style:

I hope you had a chuckle, or at least a half-smile while viewing these pictures.  Have a great weekend everyone! 

Mitzi

There's A Lid For Every Pot

Just in time for Sweetest Day, I have some images to share that prove "There's a Lid for Every Pot".  I guess it's just a matter of looking for your lid, if you don't have one.  Do you ever wonder how couples ended up with one another?  I do, when sifting through boxes of old cabinet photos, photo albums, and other ephemera.  When all you have to go on are the physical features, it simplifies things.  I also like looking at family portraits to see how the children resemble one or the other parent.

This looks like a happy young couple, even though they aren't grinning like fools in love:

I'm not sure why people didn't smile during the time these pictures were taken.  You almost never see a toothy grin or even a slight smirk in any of the studio pictures.  I have two theories:  People had poor dental health and didn't want to advertise their unpleasant looking teeth; or maybe because they had to pose longer than we do now, and it just wasn't realistic to hold a smile long enough for the film exposure.  Do any of you readers know why folks didn't smile in old pictures?

This middle-aged couple seem to have body language indicating they have a happy marriage, although the woman has a melancholy expression:

I would say these two aren't really into one another:

This couple made me wonder how they found each other.....they look like the Odd Couple!   There's a date on the back showing the portrait was shot in 1884:

I think these two shared a love of flamboyant accessories:

This young fella just signed up on E-Harmony.  Do you know someone that might like to sit next to him on that paper moon? 

Happy Sweetest Day from Mitzi's Collectibles!