Cooped Up

I have a confession to make…a pretty embarrassing one. If the results hadn’t turned out so good, I’d never tell you about it. But they did, so I will.

I sent one of my quilts halfway across the country to be photographed by a blog friend with her chickens. There, I said it. As ridiculous as the idea was, I had a feeling that Jessica at j.m.b.mommy would not only agree to it, but also embrace the idea as a creative challenge for herself.

But the absurdity does not stop there. Nope, Jessica was pregnant when she said “Sure, send me your quilt.” Two months later found her traipsing through the chicken yard with a brand new baby strapped to her chest, staging and shooting amazing photos. Somehow, she got those chickens to pose and made my quilt look great in the bargain.

The quilt is one I made for my boys when they were young and had the chicken pox. We were cooped up for three weeks in a house without air conditioning, during a 90+ degree heatwave. Making this quilt helped me maintain my sanity.

The pattern is Gwen Marston's "Folk Art Chickens" from Ladies Circle Patchwork Quilts Magazine (‘93 or '94). Having the two chicken fabrics and chicken wire print on hand, I was able to make the quilt without ever leaving the discomfort of our home.

I’ve been fiddling with Jessica’s photos for months now, trying to create a slick little video to show her work at its best. Through trial and error (mostly error), I’ve learned a lot about video effects. As much fun as I had panning and zooming, the effects detracted from the well planned details of Jessica’s photos. In the end, I kept things simple so you could enjoy the brilliance of her work.

The photo below is my favorite. When you link to the video, you can switch to full screen by clicking the arrow icon in the lower right corner.

LINK TO VIDEO HERE

See, my idea wasn't all that featherbrained. Tell me, what are the most extreme steps you’ve taken to photograph something for your blog?