Friday, October 30, 2009

Victorian Spirit Photography





An ethereal little girl, a few yards of silk chiffon, an inexpensive camera...a spirit.

36 comments:

Harnett-Hargrove said...

Wonderful images. -Jayne

Karen ^..^ said...

She is a stunning little girl. These pictures are genius. I love them.

Anonymous said...

Lovely.

just bob said...

Hi Leah!

underOvr (aka The U) said...

Hi Leah,

Simply lovely...not the least bit haunting.

U

Baino said...

Gorgeous. A little spooky. She has very haunting eyes that little Hedgie . . a lot like yours Leah!

Sausage said...

I am not sure if the images are sensual or creepy, they are evoking mixed feelings. I love the pics anyway.
Cheers, Sausage.

The Mistress said...

I like to combine silk chiffon and a spirit with spirits.

mapstew said...

Wow!

xxx

The Girl from Lokhandwala said...

Who is that? Such a vision!

Ponita in Real Life said...

Beautiful photos, Leah... ethereal.

Megan said...

Beautimous.

j said...

As someone who spent a lot of time staring at Victorian spirit photography, I say these pictures are better!

Romeo Morningwood said...

Gorgeous and mysterious...fabulous lighting..so soft.

If all ghosts were that adorable I wouldn't need to sleep with all of the lights on and a pail of Holy Water under the bed.

Ronda Laveen said...

Ethereal is right. In Reader, it just looks like draped fabric but, when I came here I could see the lovely "feminine spirit." Stunning and mysterious.

Libertine said...

This is another kind of poetry

Anonymous said...

Wow!

Her eyes look so large through the chiffon. They fix on the observer.

Great photos :)

nick said...

Now you see her, now you don't. Fascinating.

k said...

genious costume
beautiful effect

have the time of your lives
xx

kylie

Pat said...

Wow worthy! But who is the photographer? The colour is a favourite.

Leah said...

Jayne: I was pleased with them too...I feel I got a certain effect, possibly from a serendipitous combination of bad lighting and bad camera!

Karen: thanks sweetie! I think I'm going to blow them up and frame them, although the spook factor may be a little unsettling...

mago: thank you. The costume was simplicity itself, but has a certain powerful effect...

Bob: Hi Bob!

U: I admit, I was a little spooked when she came out in her costume...

Baino: Sarge has enormous-looking eyes and so do I...we're a family of wide eyes, lol.

SF: these pictures do evoke some mixed feelings, I agree. They are a little unsettling.

MJ: spirits go with everything! Even (or especially?) spirits!

map: Hedgie did have a certain wow factor here, I think...

Devil: that's my little girl, as a ghost queen for Halloween.

Pony: thank you! I called Hedgie "ethereal" last night, and she asked me what it meant exactly, and then seemed a little disconcerted. But she really is ethereal!

Megan: beautimous is a fabulous neologism.

Jennifer: I can admit that I'm a little bit obsessed with spirit photography, and some of it is shockingly poorly done! But then there's the odd one here and there that can be quite poignant and eerie...

Leah said...

Donn: the light was a pure happenstance, brought on by the fact that we have only table lamps in our very old house, no overhead lighting, and it's always rather dim in here at night, like a true Victorian home. I swear we're going blind! So low light plus crappy equipment yielded a good effect.

I'm still scared of ghosts! Do you think Holy Water would protect a Jew?

Ronda: the way Hedgie's features came through faintly, it's spooky, no? I was a little shivery when I saw the photos, that's what put me in mind of the spirit photography. Like an image that wasn't supposed to be there came through in the development, you know?

Libertine: thank you, that is such a cool compliment!

nick: you're right, you really have to focus on the pictures to see the face...if you just glance, it looks like it's only draped fabric, as Ronda said. Weird huh?

lettuce: thanks!

Kylie: Originally, Hedgie wanted to go as what she called an "old school ghost," in a plain white sheet with eyeholes...then with the appearance of all the pearl grey silk chiffon, we got inspired. That and a crown made of silvery trim, and her silver elf dress from last year, a bit of white face paint, and we're all set!

Pat: I took the pictures, of Hedgie trying out her costume ahead of Halloween. We had a whole photo session, and it was a great deal of fun! Hedgie is good at posing spookily.

Brian Miller said...

oh, those are lovely spooky! great job!

Candie said...

That is SO SO SO cool!Enjoy your Halloween!:)

Ms Scarlet said...

Very effective. Have a happy Halloween!
Sx

Kat Mortensen said...

This reminds me of that really creepy scene in "The Others". Chilly in here all of a sudden.

Leah said...

Brian: hope you survived your night of trailing little ghosties with your gloom intact, lol! Just kidding...

Candie: thank you so much, and we did indeed although it was quite a long day...

Scarlet: thanks, and I'm a little relieved that all the hubbub is over!

Kat: oooh, you're right! I loved that movie...it was sooo sad, wasn't it?

Rima!: dear new mama, thanks for stopping by! xo to you and cupcake

Abi said...

The second one is my favourite, they're so haunting, ethereal is the only word for it :D

What a stunning little girl!

savannah said...

i would have loved to have seen her costume at my door last night, sugar! well done! xoxoxo

Madame DeFarge said...

Excellent pictures, if rather unsettling in their way. The last one in particular is very discomforting.

Pearl said...

Both lovely and thought-provoking. Like viewing a cloistered person from outside a tent or something...

Leah, I got my pot holder in the mail a couple days ago and it's so nice! Thank you!

Pearl

Hunter said...

I loved these. The light in the second one is like something from the great beyond...

Mike said...

Very spooky in a cool sort of way!!

Kat Mortensen said...

Leah, it WAS a sad movie, but it was one of the Kidman movies that I enjoyed. I'm not her biggest fan. (*ducking, just in case*)

Leah said...

Kat--I don't like Kidman either, don't worry I won't throw tomatoes, LOL. That was probably the only time I've liked her. She really worked in that role.

Leah said...

Abi: I think that's my favorite too. Hedgie is a very unearthly-looking little girl. Except when she's screeching and running around all smeared with chocolate ice cream.

Sav: too bad we can't have trick-or-treat teleportation, wouldn't that be fun?

Mme: they are unsettling...I might almost be a little afraid of her, if I didn't know her so well...

Pearl: what an interesting comment, thank you! I'm glad to hear they were thought-provoking. And I'm delighted that your little dish cloth arrived safely!

Hunter: I was very pleased with the light...alas, though, I can't exactly take credit for it. Something about taking pictures with my cheap camera, at night in my living room, with nothing but lamp light...

otin: I thought they were kinda cool too, thanks for corroborating!

Willow thank you so much!