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Vavoom pinup for a day!

The studio confirmed that I was the only girl who’d ever shown up toting a dead animal in one hand and a hatchet in the other.

We’ve always been a fan of the Traditional Vargas girls prints- and hoard pinup calendars & postcards at every god-forsaken flea market we go to. I love tucking them into guest room books, men’s rooms doors & basically any naked square of wall space around. So when our friend Heather (the mastermind behind Vavoom Pinups) asked me to come in for a guest shoot – it didn’t take a lot of arm-twisting.

We all know and love Heather’s gorgeous work — transforming the girl next door to Betty Page sex kitten status. (but when she called, I was a secretly hoping that she’d be open for an entirely different type of shoot, one that did not involve the traditional scandalous getups)

The only thing I love more than Pinup girls are the way Norman Rockwell portrayed the human condition. I shared with her my fantasy of a shot that would speak to the reality of our often failed attempts at running a dirty old campground. A shot of a groundskeeper trying desperately to wear the hat of a plumber, trash lady, first aid medic, sports equipment repairing &  girl scout troop leader. (but with great 40’s hair- which I’ve never managed to accomplish in my 41 years)

The shot in my mind would be a  bit haggard, speaking to the unpolished reality of doing what you love, even if it kills you. 

Heather managed to capture it all: My failed attempts at recreating Martha’s perfect smores, highlighted with spilled beer, crows feet, a wrinkled old troop leader smock, dented canteens, dirty props… — it’s everything I’d hoped it would be. .

THANK YOU Heather, Mary, Lea & the whole Vavoom crew for making my (anti) pin up dreams a reality!  Stay tuned for details about a special “pinups at Camp” event coming this summer. (with really pretty girls wearing equally pretty swimsuits). Proper pinup style with all the trimmings.

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Soooo…. what’s this “Tales from the Innkeeper” stuff mentioned here? It’s a column featuring a favorite travel site: FATHOM. -It’s where Inn keepers across the globe tell their stories of woe from their Inns, boutique hotels and – in our case, a campground. I’ve been contributing tales to them for a while now- here is one of my favorites (featuring a shot of Heather & the house raccoon mascot during her Camp W wedding)

 

with smoke