Callie Lipkin's Blog

Been so busy!

2009-07-12T19:43:00.000-07:00

I have been busy digging up this mound of ?
That is my excuse for not blogging. Should have TONS of new pictures to post once they all go live - maybe August.
Cheers!

Performances from the great burlesque party

2009-06-10T21:51:00.000-07:00

Here you go, visit this link and see the numbers from this years show:

http://www.vimeo.com/album/101073

new project

2009-06-03T19:12:00.000-07:00

Just finished a project that went live today at: www.axeda.com, thanks so much to the extras that helped with this at the last minute, I am so thankful to have met so many great people over the years and call on them for things like this. It was also great to get to do a project that was very much inspired by a sample I shot - great to see that others are entertained by my wacky vision. Extra special thanks to Brian for calling me for this!

The last dance

2009-05-21T07:56:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone -- the last burlesque photo in the series turned out fantastically, as did the behind the scenes video that Keith did. Thanks everyone for your help!

Vixens on the CTA

2009-05-11T07:50:00.001-07:00

Here is the latest behind the scenes video, the final image is also on my website in the Burlesque section.

Orchestra Shoot

2009-04-28T08:01:00.000-07:00

A huge thanks goes out to everyone who made this shoot happen. It started as a crazy idea that I refused to let die-

I can't wait to see Keith's video from this, stay tuned...

New Video Episode

2009-04-06T05:32:00.001-07:00

Keith just finished this adorable video of the shoot I did at the Salt n Pepper diner with the Honey Buns:

Stay tuned, we have a fun one planned for this weekend.

At Edge

2009-03-31T16:31:00.000-07:00

Just got my images posted up on the At-Edge site:

http://www.at-edge.com/artist.aspx?AID=470

Hope to put more up later, Buster says its time to leave the office!

New Website & Burlesque at the Diner

2009-03-25T06:33:00.000-07:00

At first it was sad to see the old design go, I had it done about a year and a half ago and sadly that is ancient in the web-design world. I have added back a few categories from the past and present of my non-commercial work showcasing my photojournalism and corporate portfolios. Let me know what you think of the new design.

Also, The Honey Buns were adorable in this series shot at the Salt n Pepper diner this past weekend. I really love these images, the accompanying shot can be seen in the burlesque section of my new site. Special thanks to the Honey Buns, all the extras, Ann Marie and Keith and John and Maurice at the diner.

Burlesque at the dentist

2009-03-21T07:49:00.000-07:00

Thanks again to Keith - we have another great video episode for you guys:

Special thanks to City Smiles, Maria May I, Roger Welp and Ann Marie Weinert (Red Hot Annie) as always!

Another Video Episode

2009-03-09T13:48:00.001-07:00

Just as fun, minus the snow. Extra thanks to TJJ Laundromat in Wicker Park, the darling Pearl Pistol, Ann Marie Weinert (makeup) and Keith Emroll for this footage and editing. Look for the stills series to launch on my site (www.callielipkin.com) sometime in the next week:

New Video Episode

2009-03-04T06:18:00.001-08:00

Blog template updated - hope this doesn't confuse anyone, but I just needed a change.

Back in Chicago, I can't wait for spring. Hawaii reminded me how to stand up straight, all this shivering and hunching over in the cold is hard on the back. I have been busy with the burlesque project ever since we got back, vacation always helps me recharge and I left with enough ideas to carry me through the year. Keith Emroll has been kind enough to film some of my burlesque project shoots and I have posted the first episode. You can find this in a new page (still being designed so my apologies for how plain it is) located in the about section of my website called 'behind the scenes.'

You can also watch it here:

Stay tuned for more episodes, and visit Keith's Vaudezilla Productions site here: vaudezilla.com

Live from Hawaii

2009-02-11T19:56:00.001-08:00

Need I say more? My obsession with burlesque continues into my yearly vacation.....

And Robert was there to help - even my parents made fabulous assistants and my mom shot these behind the scenes shots.

Special thanks to Violetta Beretta, the lovely burlesque dancer from Hawai'i, Jake Grace for standing in as our surfer, my parents for all their help and Patrick for letting us use this fantastic vintage board. xoxox

new ads

2009-02-03T11:32:00.000-08:00

I have the first of the Blue Chip Ads that were completed by the creative team.

And the first of two billboards:

It's great after months of planning to see the final!

Shore Cover

2009-01-22T13:08:00.001-08:00

Hooray, we got the cover of Shore Magazine - this time with Top Chef Stephanie Izard.

Down Time

2009-01-19T11:53:00.001-08:00

Yes, I finally have a moment of it! We've been working on an ad project with Blue Chip Casino for the past week, anything to get the shot, right?

Extra special thanks to Tiffany O'Neill for taking that shot while simultaneously trying to keep lights from tumbling in the water.
I also want to thank our patient models and the rest of the crew, what little of it we had: Patte Lau, Dana Berwer, Morgan Blaul and Robert McGuire, for working 3 people's jobs each that first day! Hope to have something to post for all our hard work soon.

Happy New Year's Eve!

2008-12-31T14:03:00.001-08:00

Well, the glorious string of days and weeks we called 2008 is coming to a close. Hooray! I know I am not alone in looking forward to a new one. Ok, as a fair warning to the other shooters out there, I must share that if you get one of these new 5D mark II thingies, do not be fooled by how inexpensive it is. Be prepared to update all your operating systems (we had only one machine holding out) and all your capture one software if you need to tether, AND all your photoshops to CS4 in case you like to be able to process raw images. I know I should have known this in advance, but computer updates are always such a cruel punishment. So enough scrooging about that, I am super excited about a new project I am starting this weekend. I don't want to give away the surprise, but IT IS GOING TO ROCK! It does relate to some new burlesque inspired images I recently shot though:

Yes, it is true- spring is just around the corner and with it will come the 2nd annual burlesque review!!

Miller Time

2008-12-10T14:18:00.000-08:00

I am breathing a big sigh of relief that I can still talk today after all the screaming and cheering that took place yesterday during the Miller Lite shoot. What fun, though, here we are taking a look at the pix in studio (my winter boots are firmly in place until March!)
Thanks to all the agency folks and crew for helping with the cheering section!

I also got some jpgs of the shots we did last year, thanks Kevin!!! Also, thanks to Heath, Tonya and Ari and the crew on this one:

This weekend is full of testing so hopefully I'll have some more to post on that soon.

2008-12-01T19:46:00.000-08:00

Yum, what better to go with a post-Thanksgiving blog than the midas touch of a Top Chef? We had a great visit with family and are back to the grindstone, a super week of casting leads us into another Miller project next week. Also, there is a rumor that Ms Leibowitz is speaking in town tomorrow. Hopefully I can get myself down there, give props to such a super talented lady!

Winter pix

2008-11-19T07:06:00.000-08:00

Yay, my winter wonderland photos of Nick, Kate, Jon and Mahtab got some attention and are decorating the cover and inside of Shore magazine this month. We also just shot Top Chef Stephanie Izard for them as well. More on that after pub date. Looking forward to a little getaway next week, San Francisco here we come!

Medicine and Magazines

2008-11-08T06:07:00.000-08:00

Well, just magazines for now. There was talk of a pharma concept but talk does not always lead to pictures.
Here is the Shore magazine Bridal issue, thanks to Kristan from Ford for sitting. The new Shore magazine should also be featuring my work on the cover, I'll post that when its released. Peace!

Polka, beer, etc

2008-09-18T09:19:00.000-07:00

I was thinking last night when Robert was telling me a UFO story that we don't spend much time looking at the sky anymore. Living in the city doesn't do much to encourage it of course, but I do have fond memories of sky-watching back in the day. Just a thought. I realized I also have not put many new photos on here in a while, not that I have not been shooting. We have done a ton of Miller Lite in the past month or two, but of course it won't be public until the programs start. I should have some great layouts and outtakes though early next year. I did a fun test shoot here at the studio that I'll share 2 things from:

I wanted to capture a fantasy carefree memory of my youth with a twist. Sometimes I remember being out with friends and following a meandering path through the night that was wonderfully diverse, impossible to predict. One night in particular in Lisbon, I was with a friend and we met others along the way throughout the night who led us to a salsa bar until 3, a hip-hop club until 6, and a breakfast bar after that where we drank beer and sang along to bad 80's tunes right next to business folks having their morning coffee. In this photographic fantasy, some youngsters are out and they end up in a Polka bar with a bunch of more mature patrons and a band anchored by an expressive accordion player.
Going along with that theme, I created a series of photobooth shots to accompany:

hole in the wall

2008-09-07T17:20:00.000-07:00

Is anyone else watching this show? Some friends turned me on to it last night and I am an instant fan. Anyone want to make a team and face the wall with me? I have not been this excited about a TV show since coming home to Sesame Street after kindergarten. I know, what does this have to do with photography??? Stay tuned, I will figure something out.

Bag-O-Questions

2008-08-10T16:31:00.000-07:00

That is my husband's new nickname for me and my childlike curiosity (as I like to think of it). The Olympics has really brought out this side of me. "Do you think that really hurts when they land on their biceps like that?" Or, "Where are the underwater cameras??" Yes, the Olympics has turned me into a bag-o-questions.
I am sure I am way behind the times in noticing how cool the opening ceremonies can be, since I haven't seen them since I was a lot shorter than I am today, but holy crap was that cool?!?
I don't have any exciting photos to post today because my files are all on my office computer. Do we always need to have visual aids? :)
I am a recent addition to the Facebook website. While others seem to love and loathe it in equal numbers, I am almost completely neutral. I did get kind of excited about this map program they have on there after seeing a friend with it, since I always used to love putting pins into a world map for all the places I had traveled. Now someone is enabling my dorky travel re-living to exist in cyberspace. Pretty cool, except I think it is sponsored by Trip Advisor or something and I can only imagine the kind of depressing spam that will result in by tomorrow. All the flight and hotel specials I cannot indulge in, delivered right to my inbox. woo hoo.
All right, I am back to my line of questioning, and the Olympics, these people are freaking incredible.

Shore Magazine cover

2008-07-28T16:49:00.000-07:00

It's in print! The Shore Magazine cover I shot a few weeks ago with Michael McKean at the Steppenwolf Theater. I also shot at L2O for Wine Spectator today and just finished a large production for my portfolio over the weekend, will post more about that one shortly. Thanks for visiting!