Anna May Wong?

I have a number of persons whom inspire me as an artist, photographer, etc.

When I play around with my self portraits, there's 1 in particular that most people don;t understand. I often say "Anna May Wong" or "Ode to Anna May Wong".

So, What does that mean?

Yeah, I get that alot....

OK, so obviously, Anna May Wong was a person.

But, WHO is ANNA MAY WONG?

Well, back when movies, or motion pictures were invented, not only were they black & white, but they also didn't have any sound. NO audio! (In case you didn't know that... believe me, lots of people don't know that.)

 The motion picture industry in California were usually cast by Caucasian actors. But, they cast a woman whom wasn't to be the villains, or a victim. She was litter ally THE 1st ever Chinese movies star, and it's was in Hollywood.

Generally, she died in every film shot in Hollywood. But, she also was in films in Europe.

Silent film actors had to tell the stories through acting but without words, so it was very common that they wore dark eye make-up and used their eyes & body gestures to convey mood, intention, anticipation, character, and so on.

Since Anna was generally the villain character, there were often scenes of her eyes looking from side angle. Her promotional photos were often similar. She was very good at this.

I also like to use my hands in photos, which most people don't do.

But, generally when I say "Anna May Wong" I mean her facial poses with her side glaring eyes.

I started doing it off the top of my head, just to be funny and try something different, when I realized I actually liked the results in my portraits. So, sometimes I will still use it.

I can show you what I mean:

 So, that's pretty much what I mean...

Kajarisha: The Maiden's Strawberry Garden

Here is Kajarisha by her garden!

Isn't she cute?

Fog filter

Kajarisha: Maiden Portraits of an American Ethnic Beauty

Like myself, my very dear friend, Pebbles, is of a multi ethnic background, predominantly, she is mostly of the Cherokee Nation. (Native American)

Her daughter, Kajarisha, has been spending most of the summer with her father, whom is Caucasian. So, she came down to do a religious convention with her mother (Pebbles). And, she is exceptionally cute, and VERY beautiful. Here she is posing for some photos in the garden.

Pebbles gave her a Milk Maid Braid, and I did the ribbons. We all did her clothing, hair, etc.

 Unfortunately, those darn clouds blocked my perfect sunlight, so they are not quite as bright & colorful, as I would've preferred.

Photo Disapointments

Since I live in New England, and the specific town I currently am still stuck living in, I've had SO many instances of photo shoots that just went horrible. SO much work, and nothing good!

So, here's a bunch of crap... these are at least the ones that don't suck as bad as the majority... so I'll spare you the discomfort...

So, the problem I had with these photos, was the constant cloud cover. It was very warm this day. But, the clouds kept ruining everything, plus my battery couldn't decide whether it was charged or not, even tho' I'd just charged it for hours.






The entire point and theme of the photo shoot was to make some portraits of myself to use in order to get new job employment or career later this year, and to post on the various jobs websites I'm using.

I was going for minimal make-up, but a more current photo to show what I actually look like. I'm NOT young, I'm more towards middle aged now, but, I also wanted the warm spring and vitality look and feel...

Unfortunately, I had problems with lighting, shadows, glare, and the wind was so horrible, when the clouds blocked the sun, causing my eyes to sting & tear, or squint...

So, naturally, I couldn't use any of the photos... in fact, I'm still using a photo from the fall... and unhappy about it...

I don't want to look like a Goth, or a Hippy. I want to work in an office and get a retirement plan.

Not only that, but they look, dark, gloomy, creepy, ominous... not the look I was going for. I look like a vampire! Horrible!

I wanted warmth & glowy vitality, spring-ish...
A total FAIL.

So, I can't use them

















I tried everything I could to get a better shot. I walked to several different neighborhoods... after a certain point, once the battery has frustrated me enough along with the clouds, you need to know when to stop, especially after trying for 3+ hours.



























At the same time, I was trying to also get some shots of the fruit tree blossoms. So, depending on the light which was available at any given moment, I'd have to scramble in hopes of getting that really great shot.


So, rush, rush, rush!

Meanwhile.... I couldn't quite capture what I was seeing with my own eyes....

Some of these shots actually aren't bad.... that is... they're dark and gloomy, ominous, and Gothic. If that's what I was aiming or, I'd be delighted!

Except, I was trying to get a more warm spring vibe!

This is ANYTHING BUT THAT!

Hence my utter disappointment...









By the look of things, in my shots, it would seem to have been a gloomy day... but, it was actually bright and sunny...
I HATE when this sort of stuff happens!