Studio happenings, photography, and weekend reading by Lisa Haukom, Goldenbrand Studio. Sunday Stories to feed your head and inspire your heart. This week: Album covers, photography, new Spotify playlist.
The best piece of advice I've ever received was from a dear friend who is a fantastic photographer and interior designer. She shared that early on in her career when she was having a hard time finding clients and magazines to hire her, she decided to self-assign projects she was deeply interested in and to share them with joy and enthusiasm. She said, “Don't wait around to be picked out of the crowd, but always be pursuing the work you want even if no one is telling you to go make it.”
So what, if anything dear reader, are you longing to create? What project will you self-assign this week?
In other news. Technical glitches delayed delivery of Sunday Stories to your inboxes this week and…I'm heading home! My week in Southern California was beautiful, so many new opportunities, photoshoots, friends, and lesson learned. I spent every day camera in hand, sampling tacos, browsing record stores for inspiration, and soaking up the sun. Sending you warm wishes for your week ahead.
SCROLL DOWN FOR THIS WEEK'S GOODIES
Develop.
When you look at a photo of yourself, do you cringe? Are you always the one offering to take the photo so you don't have to be in it? Do you think it would be nice to have some photos of you that you love but you get so nervous? If you said yes, you'll love my chat with Renae Saager from Ditch the Binge Podcast.
Focus.
Before the square frame on Instagram, there was another square into which photographers worked to fit their images: the record cover. Listen to our Spotify playlist and read about their inspiring history below.
Develop.
Raise your hand if you’ve ever felt uncomfortable or even embarrassed in front of the camera. How about if you’ve ever looked at a photo of yourself that you didn’t even recognize? I don’t know about you, but I’ve got two hands raised! In the age of social media, showing your face online has become a large part of being a business owner. Your audience wants to get to know the person behind the business, but what happens when you lack confidence in front of the camera and how does that translate into how you run your business? Tune into my chat with Lisa Rigoli from the Corporate Sidehustler Podcast.
Tone.
Weekly curated moodboards from Lisa, primary photographer at GBS & your personal creativity catalyst.
Before the square frame on Instagram, there was another square into which photographers worked to fit their images: the album cover.
Album covers have long ago transformed into an art form themselves. Originally just a means to an end, often featuring song titles and album information along with a standard picture of the artist, album art started to embrace its graphic nature in the mid-1950s when performers like Elvis Presley were able to translate their excitable nature without the audience ever having to hear a single note of their music. You could simply look at the album covers to see the wild, manic energy that they exuded.
As the ’50s turned to the ’60s, experimentation began to take hold. Moody lighting and conceptual sleeves began to replace the stock images and generic artist portraits. Some musicians and record companies experimented with the fame of their artists by not including essential information like album titles or band names on the sleeve. Soon, having an album cover that stood out became an essential tool in converting those who didn’t know your music: a cool looking cover was often reason enough to add an album to your collection.
Iconic photographers have teamed up with musicians to create artwork since, well, forever. But the partnerships we most often remember have been commissions: Herb Ritts and Madonna (True Blue), Jean-Paul Goude and Grace Jones (Island Life), Robert Frank and The Rolling Stones (Exile on Main Street), Richard Avedon and Simon & Garfunkel (Bookends), Irving Penn and Miles Davis (Tutu), Ari Marcopoulos and Jay-Z (Magna Carta, Holy Grail), Annie Leibovitz and Cyndi Lauper (She's So Unusual) and a then un-famous Robert Mapplethorpe and Patti Smith (Horses).
Pure magic lies in the right pairing of photographer and musician leading to career-defining imagery for both parties.
Photographers Choice.
Obviously satire (or is it?) Local woman’s trip abroad fails to produce Insta traction she had hoped for
These photos! Disco Bestie meets Vegas via Shania Twain.
27 Best Cookbooks of 2022. Smitten Kitchen Keepers: New Classics for Your Forever Files is already on my bookshelf.
We love us some Jenna Lyons but are baffled by New York’s newest housewife.
Emily Nunn's delicious salad will be on repeat this fall.
