mimi haddon

VIVA FRIDA!

2012-01-27T13:28:00.000-08:00

This is the first in a series of portraits I'm creating through a collaboration with Palace Costume.
Cassandra Church breathes life into one of my favorite painters, Frida Kahlo.

Air Guitar

2012-01-23T09:16:00.000-08:00

I rented this jewel encrusted electric guitar for a shoot I recently did of a female musician.
We weren't able to use it, so I had to shoot it in my studio because I think it's so damn cool.

Christmas in California

2011-12-24T14:05:00.000-08:00

Puzzled

2011-12-18T22:16:00.000-08:00

I'm feeling a bit like a puzzle these days.
Not sure if life is unravelling or if it's in construction.
Sometimes the two states look similar.

Desire Continued

2011-12-06T13:30:00.000-08:00

Drumming up Desire

2011-12-05T15:43:00.001-08:00

Cassandra Church and Casey LaRios, models.

Hide and Seek

2011-12-01T14:11:00.000-08:00

Father's Day

2011-11-29T15:48:00.000-08:00

Mother's Memory

2011-11-29T15:17:00.000-08:00

My mom's birthday is tomorrow. I used to love to wear her dresses. Her jewelry, her hats,her make up. She is as lovely as ever and continues to be a massive inspiration to me. Happy birthday mom!

CALL ME!

2011-11-22T14:53:00.000-08:00

Bones behind the scenes.

2011-11-16T12:40:00.000-08:00

Cassandra Church and her pal poncho.

Digging In The Dirt

2011-11-09T15:06:00.000-08:00

I took this picture back when I had a five year old.
I have always loved this image.
A little coat of paint breathes fresh life into it.

Heaven Sent

2011-11-04T15:08:00.000-07:00

Lifeline

2011-11-03T13:33:00.000-07:00

I haven't taken life drawing classes since I was in college. My friend Barbara told me about this great drop in class at the YWCA in Santa Monica. Great tunes inspire a cool, unstructured vibe in the cavernous gym. I'm loving working in color which is something I never did in art school, where charcoal was king.

Finding Joe

2011-11-01T11:14:00.000-07:00

A wonderful quote by Joseph Campbell on a movie poster for Finding Joe.

Meloni~fleur

2011-10-25T11:08:00.000-07:00

Meloni Mitchell is one of my very favorite models. I first worked with her a couple of years ago on a Taryn Rose Shoe campaign. Since then, we've done many shoots for designers and for fun. She herself is a fashion designer and is living in Italy with her husband, Roberto, who is a painter. To see her work.....Link

Honey Bee by Zee Avi

2011-10-24T09:45:00.000-07:00

I have been humming this beautiful tune by Zee Avi, to myself ever since I saw her amazing performance last week at the El Rey.
Link
I was even humming it yesterday when I stepped on a bee and got stung on my toe. I'm still humming it. RIP Honey Bee.

Color Me Mine

2011-10-12T15:04:00.000-07:00

Collect on Fire

2011-10-11T10:06:00.000-07:00

Culver City's art scene is heating up.

Rediscovery

2011-10-11T09:58:00.000-07:00

I found this in my archives and it made me crack up. I love images that show a sense of humor. There's not nearly enough of it in photography or most art forms, in my humble opinion.

Little Pink Houses

2011-10-06T13:53:00.000-07:00

I grew up in homes with brown or neutral walls. I always wanted my room to be painted yellow. We just moved into a home that we are going to remodel. Much of the house is dark wood panel. Some walls are that beige that is neither here nor there. The first thing I did when we moved in was to let the kids paint the walls, ceilings and floors. I wonder why so many people shy away from color in their homes. It's so easy to paint and repaint. And what a difference a shade makes.

Slow Summer

2011-09-13T02:52:00.000-07:00

Giving up the ghost

2011-09-02T14:35:00.000-07:00

Jill

2011-08-17T05:52:00.000-07:00

SWM seeks....

2011-07-25T18:39:00.000-07:00

Natural Inspiration

2011-06-22T18:08:00.000-07:00

I take morning walks and find great inspiration in vines and leaves on the trees along my path. This morning I came across this really cool starburst flower on tree that I've passed thousands of times and never noticed. I later used it in my shoot that was a focus on french braided hair on the lovely Kara Birkenstock.

Lucy Punch

2011-06-21T09:00:00.000-07:00

A very fun shoot I recently shot for The Daily Mail's Sunday Magazine, You, out of the UK.

Deer Darling

2011-06-17T11:45:00.000-07:00

I am a frustrated painter and from time to time I muster up the courage to put paint to paper. I am taking a painting class every wednesday in a wonderful backyard studio in Venice. I always love the last minute inspiration that strikes and decided to play with a promo postcard that I've had lying in my car. I have often done collages with other people's imagery, but this was one of the first times I've played with my own photo. I loved creating imagery away from the computer.

Same Cat, New Beast

2011-06-15T12:21:00.000-07:00

Fais Do Do

2011-06-09T10:04:00.000-07:00

Relics from a super cool supper club.

Score

2011-06-08T17:54:00.000-07:00

I can dive into a garment emotionally. I know a lot of people are the same way. We're the ones scouring thrift stores for a score. I found this doll's dress that looks and feels like history at one of my favorite thrifting haunts in Topanga Canyon, Hidden Treasures. My daughter's friend is turning 10 this weekend and still very lovingly plays with her beautiful dolls. We think this will make a perfect gift.

Kara's sweater

2011-06-03T07:14:00.001-07:00

I'm fascinated by the political weight of clothing.

Half a Man

2011-04-26T14:16:00.000-07:00

Joey at 3 1/2

2011-04-25T18:47:00.000-07:00

Easter Egg Excess

2011-04-24T09:17:00.000-07:00

What to do with leftover Easter Egg dye....and paper towels from the clean up.

Communication Arts Photo Annual Judging!

2011-04-19T10:33:00.000-07:00

I had a lovely and surreal weekend as one of 5 judges for the Communication Arts 52nd photo annual. This is a shot taken of the small tiles that serve as a voting mechanism for each judge. They have had these tiles for the past 50 plus years as part of their system. So much history held in one little cup! My tiles were orange which thrilled me. As a group we culled just over 10,000 images down to 150-200 images. The work was spectacular, the process was incredible and visually exhausting. The other judges (Leslie dela Vega from Fast Company Magazine, Robert Krivicich from Weymouth Design, Steve Mitchell from Hunt Adkins Ad Agency and Jerry Takigawa of Takigawa Design) were all very passionate about photography in addition to their creative positions as art director, designer and photo editor. It was such an honor being part of this panel and being surrounded by so much creative history housed in the uber cool Communication Arts offices in Menlo Park, California. The front conference room features a library that houses every single issue since the magazine's inception in 1959. The magazine owners, Patrick and Jean Coyne, were lovely hosts from start to finish. And I finally had the pleasure of meeting Rebecca Bedrossian, the managing editor who is responsible for my being on the CA radar! The photo annual hits the magazine racks in August. I'll be as surprised as everyone else to see who made the final cut. A little piece of photo history.

Auriana

2011-03-18T06:50:00.000-07:00

I'm starting a new series with Palace Costume. Capturing some of their amazing jewelry from their collection of 40,000 pieces. Had a fabulous shoot with the lovely model and artist Auriana Lynn in a refreshingly vintage and relaxed environment. it was the type of shoot where I felt completely removed from Los Angeles and the 21st Century. Pure heaven! To see some of Auriana's lovely feathery and feminine etsy shop at Moonshine Baby Creations, click here! Link

connection part 2

2011-03-16T15:39:00.000-07:00

Guerilla Cranes

2011-03-16T11:55:00.000-07:00

I'm taking the cranes to the streets to beautify less than beautiful posts and corners. It's amazing how simple folded paper can transform an environment and make you stop and thing about your surroundings.

i owe my hands to you

2011-02-28T06:12:00.001-08:00

I was working on this project yesterday and this great song by Jana Hunter came on through Pandora. She gave me these perfect words.

A project with legs.

2011-02-23T13:37:00.000-08:00

Lela

2011-02-23T01:42:00.001-08:00

Treasure Hunt

2011-02-08T18:30:00.000-08:00

connection

2011-01-26T17:15:00.000-08:00

exploring the concept of connection

1000 cranes and counting

2011-01-13T09:53:00.000-08:00

On 1/11/11 minutes before the stroke of midnight, I folded my 1000th crane! They are hanging in my studio and I'm planning on inviting people over for folding experiences. Being in the room with them is like being in a room with a new born child. There's a stillness and calm and excitement in the air and you can't take your eyes off of them. This time, I am not the one holding the child, they are holding me.

magic in the midst of madness

2010-12-10T17:35:00.000-08:00

shopping amongst the chaos - i gravitated to this magical moment and it made my day

the fun zone

2010-12-09T22:36:00.000-08:00

part of a commercial shoot i did recently.
i was photographing people all day and loving it, but i had a breather when i found this precious moment.

cranes on the go

2010-12-07T00:24:00.000-08:00

i'm nearly finished folding my 1000 cranes, a project i began in september
they come with me everywhere i go
they were especially fun to photograph in joshua tree
the wind, light, water and shadows brought them to life in a way i couldn't have imagined

she packed her shiniest shoes...

2010-11-29T16:44:00.000-08:00

...and escaped to the desert.

collaboration

2010-11-29T16:37:00.000-08:00

this was a wonderful experience. i've been really inspired to fuse my desire to draw and paint using my photographs as an initial matrix. i was on my way and got stuck, needing some texture. i remembered my son's energetic drawing that i scanned earlier in the day for a different project, and wanted to see how i could use his illustration of "avatar, the last airbender" to add a little umph to my simple lines and blocks of color. i'm so envious of my son's sense of freedom and abandon. i'm totally inspired by his carefree yet passionate approach to visual expression.

bunny ears

2010-11-17T13:59:00.000-08:00

a fun shoot for taboo hair salon, with the fabulous aaron, auriana, jen and of course, taboo's fearless leader, gill hodgson.

Earth Angel

2010-11-10T02:53:00.000-08:00

I've been obsessing all day on a recent interview with Gary Numan on KCRW. I lost myself in the pixels while stuck in a Gary Numan inspired electronic/synth trance. Amazing how music can channel one's creative energy!

Link

having a ball

2010-11-04T12:18:00.000-07:00

a fun shoot with one of my favorite models, casey la rios in topanga, with a couple of 1/2 priced halloween costumes from the salvation army.

joshua tree revisited

2010-11-03T17:02:00.000-07:00

answering yet another photo request for a book cover. i had these images from a trip to joshua tree earlier this year. the request mentioned dark, moody and eerie light. i love reworking images with something specific in mind. gives me a very clear vision on how an image can take shape.

young americans

2010-11-03T16:57:00.000-07:00

a photo request from the new yorker magazine for a story about two young immigrants in love....taken from a shoot i did up in topanga with two wonderful models, lilly boughtwood and casey larios. topanga is one of my favorite places to shoot. there aren't many walls around the homes up there. openness abounds.

My Work in Communication Arts Magazine!

2010-11-01T13:29:00.000-07:00

I'm honored, thrilled and jumping for joy about a feature about my work in this month's Communication Arts Magazine! Anne Telford wrote an amazing article that is accompanied by 15 of my photographs. Check out the Nov/Dec issue!!

inspiration from a story

2010-10-24T22:58:00.000-07:00

old shot, new inspiration-a response to a new yorker fiction request for a 1920's scene with a young girl. i love combining the modern color with the old black and white print i made years ago.

finger painting...

2010-10-20T02:01:00.000-07:00

i want to blur the boundaries between photo and painting more...loved this quick exercise

cassandra in motion

2010-10-20T01:22:00.001-07:00

The New Yorker!

2010-10-07T06:38:00.000-07:00

This image accompanies a wonderful short fiction piece by Alice Munroe in this week's New Yorker.

shark attak

2010-10-05T16:54:00.000-07:00

rebe spring

2010-09-07T08:48:00.000-07:00

a simple shoot for a great designer, debby weiss of rebe.
Link

heather's ghost

2010-09-02T07:40:00.000-07:00

Jason Holley - The Color

2010-07-29T07:31:00.000-07:00

a wonderful video created by talented illustrator, Jason Holley...

Link

Re-Finding Fifi

2010-07-19T12:25:00.000-07:00

I just rewatched this great video that I shot with a friend the genious, Madame Chocolate, a couple of years ago. So shamelessly silly, but I never get sick of it....get your kleenex ready as there are some tear jerking moments.....
Link

michelle Krusiec part 2

2010-07-09T09:07:00.000-07:00

continuing explorations for michelle's upcoming show....

Michelle Krusiec

2010-07-02T07:01:00.000-07:00

The very talented Michelle Krusiec will be performing her one woman show at the NYC Fringe Festival in August.Link These are some explorations for her poster. And if you want to know more about Michelle, here is a link to her site....Link

summer vacation

2010-06-27T11:28:00.001-07:00

heather

2010-06-22T23:39:00.000-07:00

simple things

2010-06-20T09:53:00.000-07:00

at the end of a shoot last thursday, my model was brushing her hair by the window and it reminded me of this beautiful degas painting that i'd studied many years ago. i spent the last couple of minutes of our shoot just photographing cassandra brushing her hair. they were, naturally, the best shots of the day.

when she falls

2010-06-12T22:30:00.000-07:00

casey the chameleon

2010-06-09T07:27:00.000-07:00

america the beautiful

2010-06-03T08:05:00.001-07:00

my black and white past, part 2

2010-05-27T09:49:00.000-07:00

I used to spend hours in the darkroom, printing photos through scratched glass, or tweaking chemicals to get just the right reaction on the paper. The darkroom was my temple. The digital darkroom just doesn't come close. I can almost smell the fixer just looking at these nostalgic images.

my black and white past

2010-05-27T09:45:00.000-07:00

Digging through old photos that I made during my black and white beginning photography period, about 15 years ago. It's a great reminder for me to see more soulful work that I'm capable of creating as compared to the fun, pop, colorful work that i'm creating today.

landshark

2010-05-27T07:07:00.001-07:00

lindbergh's ghost

2010-04-14T22:47:00.000-07:00

my grandfather was an aeronautical engineer. i grew up listening to detailed stories of the heyday of aviation when flight was glamourous. i have a fascination with flight, paper airplanes, birds, rocket ships. yet, here i am, with two feet very firmly planted on the ground. here's a look at flight through the kid in me, as expressed through casey larios.

zen & the art of multitasking

2010-03-08T18:09:00.000-08:00

LOL

2010-03-05T16:34:00.000-08:00

The very funny and talented Casey LaRios.

24 easy pieces

2010-03-02T22:04:00.000-08:00

golden girl

2010-03-01T00:43:00.000-08:00

him & her

2010-02-27T07:47:00.000-08:00

i've been looking all over for the perfect photoshop classes. it's such a beast. there are so many facets to this digital world. i finally found two great resources online: lynda.com and retouchpro.com.

joshua tree

2010-02-21T07:52:00.001-08:00

space is all there is.....all there is is space

Edward Sharpe and The Magnetic Zeros

2010-02-18T22:08:00.000-08:00

can't get enough of this band.....

Link

mch slice of life

2010-02-12T11:12:00.000-08:00

using images taken by my grandfather 50+ years ago....

the many faces of kara

2010-02-05T04:27:00.000-08:00

wild thing

2010-02-02T18:31:00.001-08:00

big shoes to fill

2010-02-02T07:54:00.000-08:00

out with the old in with the new

2010-01-14T07:50:00.001-08:00

krystle gardner

2010-01-01T13:54:00.000-08:00

backyard memories

2009-12-30T16:24:00.000-08:00

ojai

2009-12-28T11:51:00.000-08:00

oak trees, orange groves and the topa topa mountains at sunset...

inspiration from ingres

2009-12-20T08:02:00.000-08:00

i picked up a beautiful book from the library about the french painter, Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres. i'm pulling simple inspiration from his sumptuous portraits.

wide eyed

2009-11-27T20:18:00.000-08:00

having a ball with a 14mm lens i rented for the week.
who knew?

looking back & moving forward

2009-11-22T20:39:00.000-08:00

erin michelle conroy as doll

taboo (it's not what you're thinking)

2009-11-12T06:39:00.000-08:00

some pix for my favorite hair salon, taboo.Link

All I Want For Christmas....

2009-11-07T08:14:00.000-08:00

Old Blue Eyes

2009-11-04T17:47:00.000-08:00

finding inspiration in my new studio!

just for the heck of it

2009-10-30T22:28:00.000-07:00

Combo, a video by David Ellis and Blu

2009-10-21T09:03:00.000-07:00

this is a youtube video not to be missed!

Link