Inspired by Art… Just got back to LA from a wonderfully inspiring stay at the Weston estate and the Wildcat Nude Photo Workshop led by Kim Weston and myself.  Last Thursday, when I first walked into Kim’s private studio and saw his paintings on the wall, I was feeling newly infused with inspiration and creativity. The gallery style studio reminded me of when I worked at an art gallery in LA and when I traveled through Europe stopping at every atelier I could find. I am so overwhelmed with love for art, artists, muses, fellow photographers, and the graciousness of everyone in our community. I am hard pressed to verbalize how grateful I am to lead a life filled with passion, art and beautiful people… so I will just leave it to my photographs to express it for me.

All photographs created at Wildcat Hill, Big Sur, CA August 29, 2010 by Christa Meola

I will be blogging the rest of my fav picks from the Workshop as well as share all of the news that has kept me so wonderfully busy this summer.

Stay tuned for more!

xx, Christa

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Left to Right: Photos by Ed Weston, Kim Weston, Christa Meola

I thought the experience on my birthday last year couldn’t be topped! Last August, I had the gift of photographing nudes with Kim Weston at Wildcat, the Weston family estate.  The Weston family’s contributions to fine art photography has been a longtime inspiration for me and has fueled my passion for art, photography, story-telling and the female figure.  So the entire weekend was deeply meaningful to me, and I blogged the pictures in Nudes No. 1, Nudes No. 2, Nudes No. 3, Nudes No. 4, and Nudes No. 5.  The spark ignited that weekend has grown as I continue to enjoy photographing nudes - my latest are posted here, the Viceroy Nudes.

But here’s the crazy exciting news… on August 27th, 28th, and 29th, Kim Weston and I will be co-leading a Nude Photography Workshop together!  At Wildcat.  My mission is to expose portrait photographers to the Weston legacy, fine art photography, and photographing the nude female form… as well as having a hell of a good time!  I’m telling you the Weston’s know how to host a workshop!  Photographing nudes all weekend on the Weston estate, steeped in history and tradition is a unique opportunity for any photographer.  Plus the fireside chats are not to be missed!  Needless to say, I’m so excited for this event and seats are going fast.  Limited to 12 photographers.  Register by contacting christa@christameola.com.

Details for Wildcat Nude:

Tradition at Wildcat
This special Wildcat Nude offers a unique opportunity for students to explore nude photography
alongside Kim Weston and Christa Meola. Participate in a weekend-long discussion about
shooting for both the fine art market and private commissions while learning about the
Weston family’s historic contributions to fine art photography.

Two Photographers, Two Approaches
Kim Weston and Christa Meola.

Two Full Evenings of Discussion
Meet and greet on Friday evening at Wildcat Hill will include an introduction to Christa and Kim’s
work and the Weston legacy.  On Saturday, guests will enjoy a family-style dinner in the Weston
home and a fireside discussion of photography as well as a Q&A.

Two Full Days Photographing Models
Participants will get the opportunity to photograph the nude figure for 2 consecutive days. This
allows plenty of time to get comfortable working with the figure models and gives you the
opportunity to photograph what you might have missed on the first day.

Topics Covered
Telling a story with your photographs
Working with models
Composition
Lighting
Showcasing your work
Getting started in the business
And more…

Models
We will have 4 models present and the class size is kept small, so we have an excellent model
to student ratio. Working in this way we have a maximum of time, space and privacy. If time
permits one-on-one time with models may be arranged.

Locations & Lighting
We will be shooting in multiple locations on the premises. The Weston estate offers
several areas indoors and outdoors, including Kim’s private studio.
All set-ups will be natural light.

What to bring
Participants are encouraged to bring a portfolio of their work for viewing. 5 to 7 finished prints
that have been matted and or presented for easy viewing. Laptop - For those participants
that are interested we like to view the work from Saturday on Sunday morning so please bring
a thumb drive along for easy transfer.

All Levels Welcome
This workshop is open to all levels of experience and any size camera, film or digital is great
for this workshop. Students should bring their own film and equipment and know how to
operate their cameras.

Workshop Fee
$695 per person
Lodging not included.

To Register
Contact christa@christameola.com or call 310.383.6494
Space is limited to 12 students.

Hope to see you there!

Christa :)

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Friday Night Nudes… These are a few of the final shots I took on the Weston Estate and a nearby forest in Big Sur, during a workshop with Ed Weston’s grandson, Kim.  I highly recommend the experience to everyone - pro and amateur, male and female, film and digital :)

I had so much fun shooting this whole series of Weston-inspired Nudes!  And I hope you enjoyed them too…

Here’s an opportunity to win a free print - for all of my awesome blog readers who continue to come back and leave some love :)  I’d love to hear which picture is your favorite from this series -  Nudes No. 1, Nudes No. 2, Nudes No. 3, Nudes No. 4, and Nudes No. 5.

Let me know in the comments below by next Friday, Oct. 2nd, and I will select someone at random for a free 8×10 print of your favorite image :)

xoxo,

Christa

**Updated to add** The snake is REAL, and it’s a 9 foot Albino Burmese Python weighing 25 pounds.  It feels like it’s way heavier though - I held it (albeit not while I was naked!).  Find out more info about Eugene the snake by clicking here.

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More Nudes from experimenting with Kim Weston at one of the Weston Workshops… Nature is very inspiring, and the lines of trunks, leaves, rocks, beaches etc. beg for bold composition… not to mention the beautiful lines of a curvaceous female form :)

Kim Weston was shooting this model right before me, and as he handed it off to me, he encouraged me to “cut the limbs off!” … so I tried :)  Usually, I’m not attracted to bizarre tense cold harsh images  – I tend to be attracted to voluptuous full of life positive happy fun images, but I went with it - and Kim’s suggestion - so I tried cutting off some limbs!…

I’m a Catholic girl, and I can get into images of Christ’s sacrifice…

Ok, enough of chopping limbs off… I’m going for the full body, in nature…

One last installment of Nudes from the Weston Workshop to come… :))

xoxo,

Christa

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Emotion, passion, vitality… I want to FEEL something when I create a photo, and when I look at a picture.  I strive for that with every shot.  Don’t know if I’m always successful, but if just one person is moved to laugh a little more, cry a little more, love a little more, jump, play, hug, dance, squeeeeeze someone a little more, then I’m happy :)

I promise to return to my regularly scheduled family programming soon ;)  just a few more nudes though, lol!  I’m hooked!

xoxo,

Christa

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Larva X is a model who looks very art deco, no? Here are a few more nudes for a Friday night :)  Posting more soon… xoxo, C

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Ed Weston and his grandson Kim Weston are two of my favorite photographers and a huge inspiration.  So when Michelle Magdalena (a talented fine art photographer) put together a workshop at the Weston Estate, I jumped right in!  Even better, it was over the course of a few days on my birthday weekend.  I had the absolute best time - I can’t think of a better way to celebrate than doing something creative that I love and am passionate about and spend time with fellow artists, muses, great people, and a photography icon.  I mean, I was walking around in my boots at the Weston estate, Wildcat, shooting nudes, where Ed Weston shot his famous nudes and where Kim shoots now - wow, it was surreal and one of the ultimate experiences of my lifetime, truly.

It was my first time photographing nudes, and inspired by Kim’s instruction, I challenged myself to shoot in new ways: underexposing, using props, and posing models…. as well as challenging myself in post: pushing contrast and no retouching!… glorious no retouching!!… to leave the female form in it’s perfectly imperfect beautiful state.  Here’s a peek at the first of the series… lots more to come :)

There are more images from other photographers who were at the workshop on this blog, here.

Let me know what you think of my first attempt… I love reading your comments!

xoxo,

Christa

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