The casual, fast and loose extension of www.bombshellphotography.ca, the main website of Bombshell Photography, Edmonton's premier destination for extraordinary glamour, boudoir, and pin-up photography.
Christmas time is here, and we've got something very special to celebrate the beginning of the Christmas season here on the blog. As the official beginning to the season we have some Christmas themed pin-ups featuring myself and Lady B to help spread some Christmas cheer.
As mentioned in an earlier post, a couple of weeks ago we had the opportunity to shot on location up at Edmonton Garrison. In return for their generosity in time and heavy artillery, we were asked to design a propaganda style poster featuring the tank we used for our shoot. The result is the image directly above: a blend of World War II style with our modern day Canadian flag and message to support our troops. In the days leading up to Remembrance Day this message becomes increasingly topical. We at Bombshell Photography are grateful for all Canada's soldiers, past and present, have done to protect our liberties.
For those curious about some of the other photographs we took on that bone chilling day next to the windswept hill, take a look below. Our model of the day is one-half Andrews Sister and one-half Marilyn Monroe. I hope you like it!
In the meantime, we're sticking with the witch theme by offering up what is easily the most common Halloween pin-up pose - a bewitching bombshell astride her broomstick. The lady in question is a familiar face round here, one of my personal faves- Miss Ava Gardner.
This picture demonstrates an interesting bit creative posing, as Miss. Gardner is clearly sitting on some sort of platform that has a broomstick attached to it. The moon and cat look to be decals stuck to the wall behind Ava. It's sort of sloppy and ingenious all at the same time. What I really enjoy is the beaded tassels on the dress. There's nothing like a chic witch.
For today's advent calendar surprise, I've found a very early Halloween pin-up photograph.
I'm not sure who the lady in the picture is, or the exact year that this picture was taken, but the shoes, hairstyle and make-up scream late twenties/early thirties to me.
While this woman's headpiece and dress featuring various popular Halloween symbols is rather fascinating, I'm really digging the backdrop she's standing against. While I'm not completely sure if those bat wings are supposed to look as though they are attached to her or she's just not blocking a giant bat, I like the way it looks. Very simple, yet effective in a quaint sort of way.
We wanted to give a quick shout out to the folks over at the Edmonton Garrison, who were extremely kind in letting us borrow one of their tanks this afternoon for a photo shoot. The results will soon be making an appearance on the blog and main site, but for now you'll have to make do with a couple of shots of Saira and I in front of the aforementioned tank. Thanks again boys!
That's right! Were she alive today, the legendary Love Goddess, would be celebrating her 92nd birthday. You'll be hearing a lot more about the great Ms. Hayworth in the future, but today let's all raise a glass for the woman whose picture was said to be glued to the atom bomb that was dropped on Bikini Atoll.
Few women made the kind of impression that Ava Gardner did on the world. Born on Christmas Eve on 1922, Ava Lavinia Gardner rose to fame in 1946 with a career-making role as femme fatale Kitty Collins in Robert Siodmak’s noir classic The Killers. From that moment on the skies were the limit for Ava, and with her extraordinary good looks and often overlooked talent she became one of the great Hollywood stars of the late forties and fifties.
Ava was discovered in 1941 when a picture of her displayed in the window of her brother-in-law’s photography studio led to her being signed to a seven-year contract with MGM. Once in Hollywood the studio went to work grooming Ms. Gardner to be a star. During this time she also caught the attention of Mickey Rooney, whom she married soon after her arrival. A year later they divorced, and she became involved for a brief time with Howard Hughes and later married bandleader Artie Shaw. While on contract to MGM in the early stages of her career she was cast in bit parts, and spent a great deal of time posing for cheesecake pin-up photos for the studio. Although, Ava’s photos never found the popularity of the iconic Betty Grable and Rita Hayworth pictures, her stunning beauty made them something special.
Once her career took off after The Killers, and her marriage to Artie Shaw ended, Ava had many affairs with some of her famous leading men. However it was her legendary affair and marriage to Frank Sinatra that immortalized Ava Gardner in the annals of great Hollywood beauties. Theirs was a relationship of great intensity, made up of passionate love and volatile fighting. Ultimately their marriage ended in 1957 after their long history of violent blow-ups had taken their final toll. It is said that Ava was the great love of Sinatra’s life and he carried a torch for her up until his death. The same has been said for Ava, who never remarried.
After her break-up with Sinatra, Ava left Hollywood for Spain where she befriended Ernest Hemmingway, became an avid fan of bullfighting (and bullfighters), took to drinking and dancing all night with bands of Gypsies, and became known for a wide range of bad behavior. By the early sixties she was appearing in fewer pictures, and once Spain had lost its appeal she moved to London where she lived until her death in 1990.
Some of Ava’s most famous films include Showboat, Snows of Kilimanjaro, Night of the Iguana, and Mogambo, for which she earned her only Oscar nomination. Those who knew her loved her for her warmth, quick wit and salty language. She was truly a bombshell for the ages.
The Alberta Film Society is currently holding an eight film retrospective for famed director John Ford. His 1952 film, Mogombo, staring Ava Gardner will be featured on October 18, 2010. For more information visit their site at http://www.royalalbertamuseum.ca/events/movies/movies.cfm.
