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Category: Dressing Up

A Night at Joshua Tree National Park

Looking at these shots from my evening at Joshua Tree National Park, I am grateful I pushed myself to darkness when my body was calling for a motel room. I had originally planned to camp near Mojave, where I spent the day in the sun. But the forecast for the Read more…


Arkansas, Carnival, Undated

Watch out. If I know you don’t mind photoshoots at the whim of my fancy, you may be a redneck… sipping on a tall boy, sauntering through a carnival, with nothing more to do than lean on the car. Though this shoot was initially planned to be at the monster Read more…


Mermaid of Lake Ontario (2022)

When I saw this rock at Chimney Bluffs State Park in April, I knew I would be returning for a sunset mermaid shoot. And though there were more clouds during our eventual visit, the subtle sunset proved to be perfect for the shoot I had dreamed up in my mind. Read more…


Where My Fairies At? 🧚

Fairy tops are a new favorite craft. They’re so much lighter and faster than a mermaid top… a different kind of collage. And because of the fairy tops, I’ve been using this ridiculous filter. I was excited to try it ou on my first fairy shoot. But first, the couch. Read more…


The Mermaid Parade 2022
Coney Island, Brooklyn

After a two-year in-person hiatus, finally the Mermaid Parade returned to Coney Island, Brooklyn! That meant I need to transform into a mermaid… starting with my hair. Well, I suppose it was mostly not my hair. But it sure made me want to grow it out! Now if my hair Read more…


πŸ§œπŸ»β€β™€οΈπŸŒŠmermaid season ’22
Basking in Mermaid Excitement

My first merman piece! I’m making a lot of crowns Trying on the accessories… Since there’s no try-on room Trying to decide what top to wear! This crown needs some repairing To uncomfortable to march in but I can still admire them Can’t wait till next week!


πŸ§œπŸ»β€β™€οΈπŸŒŠmermaid season ’22
The First Mermaid Shoot
Great Kills Beach, Staten Island

It’s that time of year again! Time to recruit models for my new tops. To start, a reliable mermaid who has sat for several shoots last year. She scouted this location–Great Kills Beach on Staten Island, part of the Gateway National Recreation Area, and we set a sunset date. The Read more…


πŸ§œπŸ»β€β™€οΈπŸŒŠmermaid season ’22
Crafting & Cupcakes

It’s time to get ready for this year’s Mermaid Parade! The first in several years, I’m really excited to be part of it. That means I need something to wear… and so does the rest of Team Algae Bra! SO I’ll keep working on this top because I really enjoy Read more…


Vegan in Fairbanks, Alaska
Chena Hot Springs

As you may very well imagine, the tourist draw of a hot spring within the near-arctic is pretty high. But don’t think you will need to stay at the Chena Hotsprings Resort to enjoy them. You can come just for the springs, paying $15 at the pool house that leads Read more…


The First Fairy Top 🧚

If I had a dime for every blog post I started with “I’m really excited…” I would be a rich lady able to do even more exciting things! But… I‘m really excited about this fairy top… and the prospect of making others to appeal to a whole other subculture of Read more…


V.V. Holidaze:
Vintage Christmas Love

Vintage holiday shoots are my fave. I get to test out different ideas that accrue all year in my photo-obsessed brain. And one day, when I am running my own vintage shoot photography business, I’ll shoot someone other than myself. For now, I’ll do. And these real vintage ladies. Curlers. Read more…


V.V. Holidaze:
πŸŽ„ And Somehow It’s That Time Again…

Another jam-packed year proceeds to its 12th month… December… 2021. Along with the usual confusion of “How is it December already?!” my beloved holiday decorations welcome the wonder, twinkling with a love and appreciation of those who blessed my year and reflecting an enduring hope for continued adventure in the Read more…


πŸ–οΈ Life’s a Beach… And A Natural Spring Pool… And A National Wildlife Refuge

Finding beauty in Florida is very easy. As I settle back into a real November in New York, some pictures from the Sunshine State. The first beach stop is always the most powerful: A quick spontaneous stop at Pelican Island National Wildlife Refuge–the FIRST National Wildlife Refuge in the country, Read more…


Work Sweetness

Determined to survive this school year, I have to cherish what aids my survival… area sweet treats, my new team and work time shenanigans. To start, a huge vegan chocolate chip scone and oat milk scone from Roots Cafe before I discovered it had two ants crawling on it. Doh! Read more…


Though the Upper West Side’s Tiki Chick isn’t my kind of tiki bar (“my” meaning grimy, with retro credibility, not on the Upper West Side, etc) it is a version of a tiki bar, a kind I just have to embrace given my coordinates. And they’ve got a vegan sandwich Read more…


Official Mermaid Season
Winding Down But… πŸ§œβ€β™€οΈπŸŸπŸ‘ {2021}

Another mermaid season comes to a close with none of the regular fanfare (The Mermaid Parade) unfortunately. Still trying to do photoshoots for all the items in my Etsy shop. Here, a foot photoshoot at my favorite mermaid haunt: Coney Island. For all your mermaid stuff, this shell purse is Read more…


Misplaced Mermaids πŸ§œβ€β™€οΈ at
π•Ώπ–π–Š π•Ήπ–Šπ–œ 𝖄𝖔𝖗𝖐 π•½π–Šπ–“π–†π–Žπ–˜π–˜π–†π–“π–ˆπ–Š π•±π–†π–Žπ–—π–Š 🏰 βš”πŸ›‘ (2021)

Though it was Time Travelers Weekend at π•Ώπ–π–Š π•Ήπ–Šπ–œ 𝖄𝖔𝖗𝖐 π•½π–Šπ–“π–†π–Žπ–˜π–˜π–†π–“π–ˆπ–Š π•±π–†π–Žπ–—π–Š I’d be representing my mermaid wares! You see my dear mermaid friend was no longer available to go to Pirate Weekend, our original goal. Not wanting to waste a promotional opportunity, we mermaided up for a day at Read more…


California Desert Adventure β˜€οΈ
Death Valley National Park (Night)

I really wanted to do this cosplay-astro shoot, a genre I may have invented as I have never seen other pictures fitting it… though admittedly I haven’t looked very hard. I wanted to battle my friend, galactic style. And so a portion of my suitcase contained the costume for this Read more…


In the Thick of Mermaid Season πŸ§œβ€β™€οΈπŸšπŸ  {2021}

With my mermaid top crafting moving along, I have been having plenty of mermaid photoshoots. It’s kind of my new favorite thing to do. So many shoots have been on Staten Island because 4 of my mermaids live there… and it’s convenient for me. The moon showed up. I’ve decided Read more…


Camp Beechwood
Abandoned Girl Scout Camp

Abandoned for the last 20 or so years, Camp Beechwood in Sodus, New York still contains the decaying remains of a Girls Scout camp that operated from 1929 (!) to the 1990’s. It was a must on my trip to New York’s Finger Lakes region… and I packed my vintage Read more…


Mermaid Excursions🐚
Mermaid Season 2021 πŸ§œπŸ½β€β™€οΈπŸ‘

I got the whole world in my bag. Getting ready with pretty pastel wigs. Green Driving while mermaid… en route to a beautiful spot There was no horizon as the sky and sea merged A perfect haze Green-velvet covered rocks would be our thrones Baby mermaid feet A little mermaid Read more…


Let’s Shell-ebrate! 🐚
It’s Mermaid Season 2021 πŸ§œπŸ½β€β™€οΈπŸ‘

Spring is Summer’s first step… and it is also the official start of my Mermaid Season. Even though I’ve been crafting for weeks (months? I am not even sure…) in hopes to have a fully stocked space at MerMagicCon, I am happy to report a new wave of excitement now Read more…


I know there’s a Full Moon every night
It’s just not always bright πŸŒ’

Another edition of Moon inspiration for the archive. I was excited to do a moon shoot tonight to capture the full Snow Moon, but it may be cloudy… So! Some practice for an impending Phase Two endeavor… vintage photoshoots. Today I would be incorporating a few things I’ll need practice: Read more…


Some Holiday Ridiculousness

The holidays are an excuse for light-hearted foolishness, an alibi for a few weeks of colorful magic and wonder. Before it ushers in the wave of New Years’ productivity, some revelry. Hot chocolate with jumbo Dandies marshmallows for a quick walk to the fabulously tacky Dyker Heights Christmas Lights. I Read more…


Water, An Appreciation Post

Let’s take a moment to celebrate… water. It makes up many of my favorite things. It makes up most of you, most of me, most of the Earth. It makes up my favorite foods, my favorite drinks. Inside it, you float. Without it, you die. Why would I need to Read more…


Mermaiding It Up, 2020 πŸŒŠπŸ§œβ€β™€οΈπŸš

Back in quarantine I’ve been finishing up a couple more mermaid tops… because mermaid season is coming to an end unceremoniously… without a parade, without its collective weirdness–the culmination of my crafting. So I decided I’d participate in Coney Island’s remote Mermaid Parade 2020, a Tail-a-thon. But It was unfortunately Read more…