Lethbridge Weddings & Portrait Photography by Tanya Plonka

I began planning this colorful self-portrait project during our very first COVID lockdown in the spring of 2020. When things opened back up faster than expected, this project went on the back burner and I spent the next year spotting random colored objects in my house and creating a mental checklist.

The next spring I had ample time with all of the pandemic restrictions. I spent almost the entirety of May collecting items of every color, digging through and rearranging dance costumes, and scouring the internet for makeup ideas to imitate.

I wanted a Vanity Fair, classic fashion inspired look to contradict how silly the photos were, so I set up a simple gray backdrop in my living room and lit the photos with a single light with very large diffuser. All of the photos are true self-portraits, using the Camera Connect app from Canon on my phone and hiding the phone either under myself or the draped fabrics, with the exception of orange. (Though I did get one Annyong shot on my own before enlisting Cam’s help for that!)

Each setup was an eclectic mix of everyday household objects, newer items that hold lots of emotional value to me (a TON are dance related), and vintage objects (mostly toys) I have held onto. In exploring how to best let go of these childhood possessions, I wanted to find a way to honor them before I say goodbye. Photos have been one great way of doing that. (These toys are a fraction of what I still have!)

After I completed each photo (and variations), I spent a bit of time documenting my makeup with close up portraits. This quickly turned into a mini project of its own! It was a fun challenge to bring that same energy into a much smaller area.

I had such a great time teasing these out on social media one by one and seeing everyone’s reactions. Here is the full set!

The quarantine meant I couldn’t photograph any real people for a while, so I grabbed all my Barbies when I was by my parents’ place and gave them a try at modelling. One of the biggest challenges was selecting outfits out of the strange collection I had (which totally will inspire a future photoshoot), though I was glad I had a diverse collection of doll types. Oh, there’s also the challenge of how none of the old Barbies had movable joints! I am amazed at some of the poses I balanced them in (plus a good chunk have Cam just out of frame holding feet).

I used this opportunity to play in the spring blossoms and try out a few experimental lighting techniques and multiple exposures. I’m so glad to have finally tried Barbie portraits!

(For behind the scenes videos of some of the more creative shots, you can check out my Instagram story highlights.)

Cassandra has been dying her hair a variety of colours for the past few months and I’ve been so eager to get some photos of it! For Pride Month she got a full on rainbow added to her hair and we went out in search of the most colourful backgrounds we could find in Lethbridge for her rainbow themed pinup portraits. In addition to the usual bright murals that are downtown year round, Lethbridge Pridefest added even more variety for us as many businesses had rainbow themed front window displays!

Once it started getting a little too dark outside, we made our own bright colours indoors with gelled flashes. Cassandra came equipped with her big rainbow umbrella from Drunken Sailor and I brought my giant bag of bellydance veils for us to use as props.

This amazing hair colour and styling were both provided by Catwalk Salon.

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For the past few years, I’ve participated in the Lethbridge Scenic Portrait Project as a model and decided to be on the photographer side this year. For the project, photographers, models, and makeup artists are randomly teamed up and tasked with creating a portrait utilizing the landscape of Alberta. The final images from each group are then judged by a team of experts.

My team was made up of the super talented model Sloan MacDonald and Kristen Mrazek for makeup so I knew we could come up with something amazing! The first thing that came to mind when I thought of the landscape in Alberta this year was what has been touched by the wild fires. I wanted to turn Sloan into a Waterton fire goddess and make use of the burned trees there.

Until now I’ve been focusing on the negative effects of the recent fires by using them in my post-apocalypse series, showing that the negative future we are warned about is already happening in small pockets. However, fires can be a natural part of forest regrowth. This was definitely reinforced by all the greenery I had to photograph around and hide from these shots! The ground around the burned trees has already responded so well to the fires and is full of wild flowers. With Sloan in the flowing red dress, I wanted to add beauty to the devastation that has occurred, just as nature will slowly add its own beauty back in.

A huge thank you to Sloan, Kristen, and Cam who dealt with some of the worst wind we have ever experienced in Waterton. (On the plus side, wind and this dress are a match made in heaven!)

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One day when we were driving home from a wedding in Waterton, I finally really noticed the old abandoned gas station on the highway. I have driven past it many times before, but there was something about this trip that made it finally connect in my brain. I’m always on the lookout for new ideas in my post apocalypse series. Seeing the gas station right after the Kenow Wildfires made everything click into place!

It’s a bit of a drive to take a model out there, so I took a chance and asked Cam. He was still sporting his mohawk which would be PERFECT for something like this. Cam hates having his photo taken so I was expecting something like, “Are you crazy?” or a firm no. Imagine my surprise when he agreed!

We patiently waited for the snow in Waterton to melt, and the little that was left behind looks like ashes. Everything worked so well together. The burned trees were a haunting but perfect setting for the atmosphere we wanted. The only props we brought along are the ones Cam is wearing or holding, but the locations provided us with amazing still life, which you will see below (I think the apocalypse must have happened in the 90s).

I had to hold off on sharing this for a while as I used the same forest as part of the Scenic Portrait Project. I’m so happy to finally share!

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While the tragedy of the local wildfires continued into the autumn, I wanted to turn the ashes into something beautiful and planned out more ideas in my post-apocalypse inspired series. David was kind enough to be on call for nearly two months while we waited for the unexpected early snow to dry up, and we found a perfect single day window of opportunity. We made use of the aftermath of one of the Lethbridge grass fires (this one had been started by an out of control camp fire during the summer).

David put together an amazing outfit and totally fit the part. He even came prepared with weapon and tool props! It’s not often you have a conversation like this…
Subject: I brought an axe.
Photographer: Oh good, I can save the hammer and meat tenderizer for another model.

I’m loving this series and I hope to keep it going! (You can check out the first post-apocalypse photoshoot with Jenn here!)

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