I can't believe it's 11 AM and I'm up and around on a Saturday! Usually I sleep in until 9 or 10 and putz around in my pj's for a few hours. This morning I was up, showered, dressed, hair done, the whole shebang by 8:30. The hubby and I decided to take his younger brother (23? 24?) out to brunch this morning. He is a video game animator, and just finished working on the Marvel Superhero Alliance game that came out a few months ago. He got to animate Captain America, The Hulk, The Fantastic 4, Iron Man, etc., which I think is pretty cool. We got to tour the company that he worked at this summer (I think I wrote about it during my Maine blogs).
Now that the game is done, though, he is between jobs. He received an offer to move to Germany for a year to do animations for commercials and webpages (at least that's what I think he will be doing). We are going to miss him terribly, but we're so happy that he gets to live in Europe for a year. The hubby was giving him a hard time this morning, telling him he would have to eat blood sausages and say "Alo" all of the time. It was all in good fun, though.
The hubby and I started dating in 1994, when J. was seven or eight. The hubby has another brother, A., who is a couple of years older than J. When I think back, I realize that I've been able to watch them grow up, and I've grown right along with them. Fifteen years is a long time! I can remember many happy days spent at the grandparent's pool, football games at the family house, all of us playing basketball until the sun went down, jumping on the trampoline, playing hours and hours of Mario Kart, the list goes on and on. I rarely talk to my own sister, due to much family drama that I just don't want to deal with anymore. The hubby's family has always been so open and accepting, and I guess I've always felt like his brothers were kind of like my brothers, in a small way. I'm happy we were all able to spend so much time together over the years.
A. has a wife and two kids now, and we don't get to see him as much anymore, because they live a couple of hours away. J. has been away from home for awhile, first at college in Florida, and then in New York for his last job. He's been home for a few months, which has been nice. I like that he and the hubby have been able to spend time together again, whether it's going to Penn State football games or watching games at home. It's going to be weird to have him on another contintent, but I know he is going to do great.
I had my pocket camera today, so I snapped a pic at brunch. I didn't use the flash (because I didn't want people to stare at us), so it's a little blurry. Because it's people, it's neighborhood only (like always):
At the start of the day I thought I knew what today's "Note From The Universe" meant and I laughed out loud at its perfect timing and choice of words.
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However, at the end of this day, I am less certain what it means than when the day started.
But it is Friday the 13th and perhaps it's time to think some entirely new thoughts.
The Universe is looking out for me. I just need to keep listening.
Alexia Sinclair uploaded this image to flickr, click the image and follow the link to the original page
Alexandra Romanov - The Last Czarina - Part of the Regal Twelve series.
Alexandra Romanov – The last Czarina of Russia (1872-1918)
The last Czarina of Russia, Alexandra Romanov was born in Germany. Converting to Russian Orthodoxy upon her marriage to Nicholas II of Russia, she became a passionate convert. She was unpopular with the Russian people, because of her German birth and her notorious relationship with Rasputin. Russia withdrew from WWI and the accompanying Bolshevik revolution forced the Tsar to abdicate and the family went into house arrest.
Photographer: Alexia Sinclair
Lighting:
Key light: 1000 Monoblock, softbox camera left
Fill: Monoblock, softbox camera right.
© Alexia Sinclair
Alexia Sinclair uploaded this image to flickr, click the image and follow the link to the original page
Catherine the Great - The Enlightened Empress - Part of the Regal Twelve series.
The German born princess emerged from obscurity when she was chosen to become the wife of the future Emperor Peter III. Changing her name to Catherine, she read widely and familiarised herself with Russian conditions and values. Her fervent embrace of both the Orthodox faith and Russian culture, won her much love from the Russian people. Her husband Peter, on the otherhand, was said to have the intellect of a child. Once he succeeded to the Throne, a group of conspirators, headed by Catherine’s current lover, proclaimed her autocrat. Shortly afterward Peter was murdered.
Photographer: Alexia Sinclair
MUA/Body Painting: Leeby Sotherine
Model: Chadwick Models
Lighting: 600 monoblock camera right, 1/2 power.
Post: Alexia Sinclair
© Alexia Sinclair
Alexia Sinclair uploaded this image to flickr, click the image and follow the link to the original page
Marie Antoinette - The extravagant Queen (1755-1793) - Part of the Regal Twelve series.
Marie Antoinette was the Queen of France during the French Revolution. Born in Vienna, she was sent to Versailles at the age of fourteen where she was married to the future King of France, Louis XVI. At this time, France was the most powerful nation in Europe, and the royal palace of Versailles, the most opulent. Four years after her arrival she became the Queen of France.
Photographer: Alexia Sinclair
Lighting: Softbox camera right & left (of model), key and fill respectively (1 stop differentiation).
Post: Alexia Sinclair
© Alexia Sinclair
Alexia Sinclair uploaded this image to flickr, click the image and follow the link to the original page
Elizabeth Báthory – The Countess of Blood (1560-1614) - Part of the Regal Twelve series.
A Countess in Transylvania, Elizabeth Báthory, was known as the "Countess of Blood" and is considered the most famous serial killer in Slovak and Hungarian history. Báthory is also credited along with her relative, Vlad the Impaler, as the two historical figures upon which Bram Stoker’s Count Dracula is based. According to legend, Báthory struck a servant girl and drew blood when her pointed nails raked the girl's cheek. When the blood touched Báthory's skin, she became convinced that it had improved her complexion. The Countess reasoned that if she bathed in the blood of young virgins and drank their blood, she would rejuvenate. The killing spree commenced. She began to roam the countryside by night, hunting for suitable girls. Elizabeth is said to have bathed in their blood in a huge marble bath.
Photographer: Alexia Sinclair
Lighting: Softbox camera right & left (of model), key and fill respectively (1 stop differentiation).
Post: Alexia Sinclair
© Alexia Sinclair
Alexia Sinclair uploaded this image to flickr, click the image and follow the link to the original page
Cleopatra - The Seductress (69 BC – 30 BC) - Part of the Regal Twelve series.
Born in Alexandria, Egypt, Cleopatra VII was the last Pharaoh of Egypt and the last of the Ptolemaic line. After the resolution of rivalry with her siblings and her alignment with the Romans, seventeen year old Cleopatra became the Queen of Egypt. It was said of Cleopatra that, when Gaius Julius Caesar marched upon Alexandria, Cleopatra, had herself smuggled to Caesar inside an oriental rug. When the rug was unrolled, Cleopatra tumbled out. It is said that Caesar was bewitched by her charm and that a scandalous love affair commenced that very night. After Caesar's assassination Cleopatra realigned herself with the Roman general, Mark Antony.
Photographer: Alexia Sinclair.
MUA/Bodypainting: Leeby Sotherine & Sahra Bull
Lighting: Softbox right (key) softbox left (fill) 1 stop difference between the two.
Model: Melanie P
Retoucher/Post: Alexia Sinclair
© Alexia Sinclair
Alexia Sinclair uploaded this image to flickr, click the image and follow the link to the original page
Elizabeth I – The Virgin Queen (1533-1603) - Part of the Regal Twelve series.
The daughter of King Henry VIII, Elizabeth was born into royalty at Greenwich Palace near London. Henry, hoping for a male heir, declared Elizabeth illegitimate, accused her mother of adultery and had her beheaded. Succeeding her sister to the throne, Elizabeth ruled with the knowledge that effective rule depended upon popular support. Advisors urged the queen to marry to strengthen ties with allies and to produce heirs to the throne, yet Elizabeth chose instead to marry England. Strategically aligning herself with the catholic figure the Virgin Mary, Elizabeth secured a shift of power through her embodiment of symbolic virginity. Purified, she was transformed from an illegitimate protestant woman to ‘the virgin queen’. Her purification began with a physical transformation by cutting off her hair, whitening her skin and adorning herself in pearls; symbols of purity and wealth.
Photographer: Alexia Sinclair.
Hair: Illustrated
MUA: Leeby Sotherine & Sahra Bull
Lighting: Softbox left (key) softbox right (fill) 1 stop difference between the two.
Model: Louise Van de Vorst, Chadwick Models
Retoucher/Post: Alexia Sinclair
Rings, Orb, Sceptre, Pearls and Crown & Chess set all composites.
© Alexia Sinclair
Alexia Sinclair uploaded this image to flickr, click the image and follow the link to the original page
Agrippina - The Poisoness (AD 15-59) - Part of the Regal Twelve series.
Julia Agrippina II was a Roman Empress. Born into nobility, she was the sister of Caligula and great-niece to Tiberius, niece and wife of Claudius and mother of Nero. Agrippina’s infamous reputation was that of an Empress and a poisoness.
Photographer: Alexia Sinclair.
Arch: Triamphal Arch, Volubilis, Morocco (Roman Ruins)
Lighting: As the lion was shot in a circus cage without strobes, the model was shot to look as natural as possible next to the lion. Softboxes camera (key) left and (fill) right not much differentiation just enough to all most flexible use of the model in post.
Model: Kate T, Chadwick Models.
Retoucher/Post: Alexia Sinclair
© Alexia Sinclair
Alexia Sinclair uploaded this image to flickr, click the image and follow the link to the original page
Boudica – The Celtic Queen. (AD 26 - 61) - Part of the Regal Twelve series.
Boudica was born into a royal family around AD 26 in modern day England. Growing up, she attended a warrior school, learning to use a sword, spear and shield and her weapon of choice, the chariot. Boudica married Prasutagus of the Iceni tribe and they had two daughters.
The Romans had invaded England in AD 43 and brutally humiliated Boudica and her daughters. Sources say she was publicly stripped and beaten whilst her daughters were raped. Infuriated, Boudica became the leader of a violent uprising against Roman rule. She led an army of 100,000 against the occupiers, slaughtering some 70,000 Romans.
Photographer: Alexia Sinclair.
Retoucher/Post: Alexia Sinclair
© Alexia Sinclair
