Last month Maria in the Shower returned to Lethbridge for yet another amazing show. These guys are definitely one of my favorite bands to see live. Even though the bar wasn’t very full, by the second set they managed to get everyone to the front dancing. The band plays with so much passion and they do such a unique thing, I just can’t recommend them enough :) (more…)
The concept for this photo shoot has been rotting (har har) away in my brain since January. During the winter I couldn’t stop listening to Dead Man’s Bones – that’s Ryan Gosling’s band, by the way – and was in love with the eerie, ethereal visions and ideas that popped into my head when I was listening to it. Finally this took shape, and I knew Marie and a white dress would be perfect, but I had to patiently wait for the snow to melt and the ground to warm up so that having her out there in bare feet wouldn’t be too torturous. Marie was as amazing as last time, and I gave her an even harder workout than when I had made her jump across dirt roads repeatedly.
Normally for personal work I do zombies, so I guess I just can’t step outside of the supernatural ;)
p.s. Only one photo is a composite. Can you guess which one? (more…)
Wednesday at DrupalCon was another full day of learning, and I attended extremely diverse classes from styling maps to talking about internet marketing. I had a few “ah ha!” moments, which are always a treat at these events. (more…)
This past Friday, the recently reopened Tongue N Groove was host to an amazing band, Dr. Zoo. The members come from all parts of the world – everywhere from Lethbridge to the Sudan! Their music was an eclectic mix of African, Reggae, and Celtic, and it works suprisingly well together. The dance floor was full all night, and their were cries of sorrow when they were done playing. (more…)
I have taken dreadfully long to post these! I wanted to give them proper attention, but constantly could never find enough time. Last spring, Beth shaved her head for a cancer fundraiser and wanted to do a few fun photo shoots while she was bald. We decided we needed to do body painting! Sarah volunteered her painting skills; normally she does face painting, so this was a bit of a stretch for her!
During Beth’s three hour makeup session, I freaked out a little at the pouring rain that wouldn’t stop, but luckily the last few drops fell as we drove to our location. I thought I found somewhere private enough, but for some reason everyone decided to go for nature walks in the rain that day, so we constantly either hid Beth in the vegetation, or paused to answer very curious questions from the people passing by.
As usual, Beth was an awesome model and her rock climbing skills really came in handy in her portrayal of what we decided was the “Beth Monster” (I would have fallen out of the trees if I tried to pose like her). Also, thank you to Sarah for the amazing painting job!
Model: Beth
Makeup Artist: Sarah Christensen
NSFW due to [painted] nipples (more…)
The time is once again upon us where dance is all I can think about and all my weekends are spent doing it! Ammena Dance Company’s “An Explosion of World Dance and Music” 2011 will be taking place on Saturday March 5th at the Yates Memorial Centre in Lethbridge. As usual we will have a very diverse show, this year throwing in a few new genres… I might be doing a robot-inspired bellydance, but you’ll have to come to the show to find out ;)
Tickets aren’t on sale yet, but will be available at the Yates Box Office soon.
The poster was so much fun to do! We have some cabaret influences this year, as well as fabulous masks for our big bellydance number, so I wanted to work that in. Jen did an amazing job on Ammena (she definitely had a Lady Gaga thing going on), though with those big eyelashes and bedazzled lips it was hard for her to do many facial expressions :)
Model, Wardrobe: Ammena Talhami
Makeup Artist and Hair: Jen Murray
Concept: Tanya
Please note: Due to my heavy involvement in this show as well as other obligations, I will be taking very limited sessions between now and April. If you would like to book a session in that time, please contact me at info @ tanyaplonka.com for availability, or I can schedule you in for April. I am still able to meet up for any wedding consults during this time, so don’t hesitate to ask if you would like to find out more about wedding packages for 2011! (Dates for weddings are going fast, by the way!) (more…)