Sunset Junction Youth Photography Program

Last year I had the opportunity to work with Sunset Junction Neighborhood Alliance to produce a photography program for area youth. The class was sponsored by Red Bull who provided cameras and materials for the course as well as access to Red Bull events for the class participants.

We focused on story telling and visual literacy combined with writing skills and creative expression as a means of communication. The kids learned about photography and techniques to express vision and emotion as well as writing/story telling skills. Everyone has a story to tell and a voice to contribute and we wanted to focus on the empowerment that comes from a creative process and sharing your own story.

We talked a lot of future dreams and current issues faced by youth today. It was great to see the growth of ideas, the growth of confidence that dreams can be achieved and the pride the kids developed in their work.
Inspiring.

Sunset Junction Neighborhood alliance runs many youth programs that have included soccer teams, acting classes and work programs. They have put on a street festival in the Silverlake neighborhood that has grown into one of the largest music festivals in Los Angeles and is coming up next weekend (August 22nd and 23rd). This will be the 29th annual festival. They also host the neighborhood's weekly farmer's market and run Tsunami Coffee House. The small team that produces all of this is headed by Michael McKinnley. Edwin, Sam and Esser all came through the youth programs and are now handling all of the very complex logistical and political issues involved in producing these events and running a business.

There is an amazing line up of musicians performing at this years event including Arrested Development, Spencer the Gardener, Les Nubians and Warpaint- as well as all sorts of other entertainment. There will be a show up of the work from the Youth Photography Program at Undeafeted on Sunset (close to Hyperion). Information regarding tickets, entertainment line-ups and transportation can be found on their site:
http://www.sunsetjunction.org/streetfair_schedule.html

If you are attending the festival, be sure to stop by Undefeated and check out the show. The festival after party will also be held here with music and more fun....

Private Wedding on Malibu, CA Beach

One adventurous International couple, a perfect day, a climb over the cliffs (challenging due to the need to carry camera gear and a wardrobe of formal wear) to a semi-private beach shared with two fishermen and a grumpy seal added up to a fantastically romantic and private beach wedding.

Kaisa and Henric are both from Finland and have lived all over. Next year they will be having a wedding celebration with family and friends on an island seashore in Finland in an old church that doubles as a lighthouse. They planned a private ceremony for just the two of them here in Malibou.

Kaisa and Henric arrived in separate white cars. She was in a gorgeous dress she found at David's Bridal and he wore a white tux. The three of us climbed over the cliff (a favorite spot with the rock climbers) to a private beach in Malibu. John of Scotland met us on the beach to perform the private ceremony. It had been overcast and rainy in the morning, but the sun came out in the afternoon bringing puffy clouds and a perfect day. They wanted to have this time to themselves and to be able to share the moment with friends in Finland with photographs that would be meaningful and illustrative of who they are together. We were able to spend the afternoon getting shots of them playing together on the beach and being themselves. I was honored to be chosen to record their memories and share their special day.

When the tide was coming up, we headed back to the cliffs to head back and meet Mel who was arriving to pick them up in a vintage Rolls Royce and take them out for the evening. Kaisa's dress was pretty sandy by this point and I hear the cleaners were fairly surprised! The sign on the car read "Just Married: Mr. and Mrs. Trouble"...and I now know this to be true and that every Fin has their own sauna at home. What a fantastic tradition and I'm wondering why we don't all have one here in the States...and I thought I knew so much traveling about how people lived in other places. There is always something fascinating to learn...and adopt!

To see more images from Kaisa and Henric's Malibu beach wedding please see the new Featured Weddings section on: http://www.melissafargo.com

New Featured Wedding Section on Melissa Fargo Photography

Jordan and Chris got married at the beautiful Greek Orthodox Church in Santa Barbara, CA. Living in New York and having family and friends from all over the world, they decided to have a destination wedding in California.

Chris's father officiated the ceremony and friends put together the gorgeous flowers. Jordan and Chris both appreciate the community of sharing a meal so the place settings were representative of favorite spots from around the world.

I have added a featured weddings section to my website. There are a few currently on the site and more to come! Next week I will be posting an amazing private wedding in Malibou, CA.

More Fashion Work - Vintage Fashion Styles

I am posting some more fashion work. These are from a shoot at the Image Mechanics studio in Santa Monica. These images were made with vintage clothing put together by stylist Kerry Gibbons. We wanted a vintage and romantic/ethereal look using movement and lighting. The make-up artist Lyndsay has a great creative style and is very good with natural styles as well. She works quite a bit with fashion designers on runway shows and is also doing bridal make-up. I highly recommend her. Please feel free to contact me if you would like to reach her for your bridal/bridal party make-up.

Coming soon we will be working on images for upcoming designers and we are excited to be working with a new modeling agency and a team of talented stylists and make-up artists and hair stylists. I am also currently looking for more creative designers and locations, please feel free to contact me for possible collaboration!


Photography: Melissa Fargo and Ken Frisbee
Model: Antra Leikarte
Stylist: Kerry Gibbons
Make-up and Hair: Lyndsay Gabrielle

Melissa Fargo Photography - Fashion

I am excited to post some new fashion work here-more to come! I have been working with Ken Frisbee on some new fashion work for designers in Los Angeles. We have worked on a few new shoots with different models, stylists, make-up artists and clothing designers and I will be posting some of the new images in upcoming posts. These are a few from a recent shoot in the Image Mechanics studio in Santa Monica. We had the chance to work with Joanie Dodds before she left for work in Italy through the summer. Joanie is always so much fun to work with and I'm wishing her much luck and fun in Italy. Ciao Bella Joanie! I always loved Italy so much...when I was traveling, I ended up staying there for months. I am not really sure if it was fear of moving on to Egypt and the unknown (Egypt was one of my favorite places, but I wasn't too sure at the time)...or that I was so well fed and having so much fun with another diner party every night. That is always hard to leave!

These images feature designs by Anthony Franco who has more talents than I know how to describe. Besides designing amazingly beautiful one of a kind gowns, he styles for for movies, shows and advertising campaigns. I loved having the opportunity to work with some of his designs. Check out Anthony's collections at: http://anthonyfrancodesigns.squarespace.com/ . Make-up artists were Lyndsay Gabrielle and Britni Nicole. Styling for this shoot was by Kerry Gibbons an exceptionally talented theater costume designer. I am sorry to see her leave for New York, but know she will be happy and very successful there. If you are in New York and need help with costumes, styling or general organization- she is a great resource!

See more new work at : http://www.melissafargo.com

Melissa Fargo Photography Photos on Platinum Weddings

In September I had the pleasure of shooting Ken and Kim's wedding on the beautiful island of Catalina at the Descanso Beach Club. Their wedding was a beautiful day for everyone involved and Kim pulled of an elaborate event with quite a bit of logistical skill in record time. She planed the design with David Z (David Ghoukassian) of Z's Gardens (in Glendale and Beverly Hills). David is a truly remarkable designer with unending knowledge and an eye for style.

Guests were brought in on chartered boats, houses were rented, hula dancers hired and an amazing outdoor setting was created for the event. The staff on Catalina Island kept everything in place (and protected overnight from deer....who would have thought..?)

Kim has started her own wedding planning business and is partnering with David Z. This partnering of talent is something to look forward to and I am looking very forward to working with both of them again! Check out Kim's site at: http://www.eventsbykim.com


Their wedding was filmed by WeTV for Platinum Weddings and will air on WeTV April 12, 2009.
Meet the couple at:
http://tiny.cc/Jt7Eh

Documentary Photography - Proposals from Melissa Fargo Photography

I have submitted two proposals to "Name your Dream Assignment" project. I came across this opportunity fairly late and there are only a few days left for voting. I am hoping that you will vote for me and that you will ask your friends to take a look as well.

Both project proposals are close to my heart and I intend to work on them both. One is a project that has been ongoing as time allows and the other is one I have been thinking about for some time. To continue with either and especially the proposal for the ongoing project looking at rituals in faith, I need funding to properly execute. Please take a look and vote for one..or both! You can click on the buttons on this blog for "Name your Dream Assignment" and be taken to one of the specific proposals.

As many of you know, I have been a traveler and have a love of cultures and telling the stories of people all over the world. One of my submitted projects is something I have been working on off and on for quite some time is focused on the exploration of ritual as it is applied to faith. I would like to continue and expand on this project exploring rituals within faith and expand on the project to include the changing spiritual landscape, as the world becomes a more global village. One religion is often practiced quite differently if different regions. A mythological story may be practiced quite literally or a mystical approach of the same faith may be practiced. The practice of faith is ever changing and needs to continue to evolve to stay relevant in a modern, global world. Today rituals are often interchanged between faiths and fusion religions are emerging that incorporate theory and ritual from Eastern and Western faiths. . I would like to explore the ancient rituals and mysticism still practiced today and how the changing world is altering our spiritual landscape.

I would like to partner with an expert in religious customs and pair writing with images to create a coffee table book. I would also like to produce an educational documentary on the project.

The unity of man reaches beyond biology and into spiritual history. Religious practices and images originate from the same mythologies and stories that are interpreted using different imagery and practices. Rituals provide outward expressions of faith and are used in effort to reach a place transcendent of thought and words. The major faiths in both the East and the West seek a union or communion with a God or One and mythology offers clues of mankind’s long search for unity. With a potentiality to unite, man continues to destroy for the right to the claim of being the chosen people.

Joseph Campbell wrote that myths are the world’s dreams and rituals are the mythological rites that guide in the process of becoming. They teach how to live a human life under any circumstances. He made the argument that we are not seeking the meaning of life, but rather the experience of being alive. Mythology and ritual offer clues of mankind’s long and changing search for a God or One.

I am adding a few of the photos from this project here and you can see more on my site in the "World Faith" section.

My second proposal concerns Everyday Heroes and is intended to be a photo essay honoring some ordinary people living extraordinary lives. We don't hear about them nearly often enough, but have all come across them at times. These are the people you will never forget. They are those that step up and do extraordinary things while asking for nothing. I have been inspired by these people that quietly make the world a better place and I would like to be able to put that inspiration out there in the world for others.

This is a really special opportunity and I know that whichever project is chosen, it will be a deserving one!