Hello Everyone!

Yes, I'm still here, however am a ways away from total recovery of all the catastrophic events that occurred over this last summer!

Never have I experienced such a "shift" with no pause...and I mean NO PAUSE.  Every single facet of my life has been effected.  It started with a flood at the house I was living in, only two weeks after school ended last May and it was one thing after another the entire summer.

I have moved and have been in the new house not even a month yet (I am in the commons area now).  Right when I was literally on my knees asking for help/assistance/guidance a Mystic Woman came to my rescue the very next day!  Once again, as I have always said,"there are powerful forces behind the MWS project."

My schedule at the University is particularly heavy this semester.  So, the Project Manager and I have decided that further shooting will be happening during holidays and summer months (hope to Goddess next summer is betta).  I am not online at home yet, but have access on campus.

I will be keeping you all up-to-date via this blog and facebook.  Be patient everyone...the powers at be have hit me with a huge 100 foot brick wall, letting me know once again, that I am not in control of this project.  I submit and surrender in order to serve.  The wait will be so worth it...this I know.

I will not be doing shoot schedules any longer.  I was trying to run this like a business and I have been "whipped into shape" now.  This is not a business, this is a movement and will have significant impact upon many (if I submit...and I do now).

Will call the MWS ladies individually to set up shoots and will notify everyone when they happen.

I hope you are all well!

Rebecca :|

Historical Photo Shoot with Laurie Cabot - The Most Famous Witch in the World

Listening to a story from Laurie

A very happy, yet anxious photographer and Ms. Laurie.

All is complete, now we head up to the studio!

All Behind the Scenes photos by Dawn Dorgan

On March 12, 2012, one of the most important shoots of my photography career took place with Salem's own Laurie Cabot, High Priestess of the Cabot Tradition.


*****Oooopsie forgot! Ms. Laurie wasn't in the studio 5 minutes before EVERY battery went completely dead!! This is a common occurance when spirits/spiritual energies are present (like when Ghost Hunters investigators' equipment/batteries die). Just had never experienced this happening with a LIVE person! Well, afterall it was LAURIE CABOT! :}*****


Needless to say, much preparation and coordination with numerous people took place months prior to this shoot date.  William, the Project Manager took off three days work and came in from NYC to assist with the shoot.  Mystic Woman, Dawn Dorgan took an afternoon off work to assist and provide transportation.  Several Professors went above and beyond the call of duty to make sure that we had complete access to the studio and that there would be no problems.


Laurie, her daughter Penny, and Dawn arrived at the University mid-afternoon.  We spent about 15 minutes in the lobby area going over the concept of the shoot and processing paperwork.  Afterwards, the whole crew headed up to the studio.  William and I had set everything up and had finalized the lighting design, tested all equipment, and set up the studio the day before the shoot.  This was a necessary plan as I knew that the lighting was going to be difficult and quite frankly I was not 100% sure I could even do it.  Candlelight/natural light sources in a studio is challenging to say the least.  However, with the assistance of the Project Manager and much effort we accomplished our mission for pre-sets and design on Sunday.  Boy oh boy am I glad we did too!


Laurie looked beautiful but fatigued.  She told me upon arrival that she was not feeling well and that she was concerned about the length of time it would take to do the shoot.  So, I knew that speed was going to be mandatory.  The entire shoot only lasted 20 to 25 minutes from beginning to "wrap."  I only used one lighting set up, one prop set up, and just two angles.  I was very concerned about Laurie and I could see her "fading" in just moments after we began.  It became very important and a priority to finish and get her safely on her way home.


Today, I came into the lab and started processing the photos.  Kim, one of the photography professors that is on the Portrait Selection Committee was here, thank goodness.  She was very impressed with the shoot and calmed my fears by taking really close looks at a few of the photos I was working on.  I learned yet again from Ms. Kim, she was telling me that all photographers go through the frustration and fear stages that we experience during a very short shoot.  Thanks Kim!!!!


I have posted two portraits on smugmug and there will be a few more uploaded over the course of the next couple of weeks.  


Many, many heartfelt thanks to William, Dawn, Laurie, Penny, and the Professor's for making sure this shoot happened.  A special thanks to Laurie...I know all too well the huge sacrifice it is to "show up" when you are hurting.  It ain't easy folks!


Laurie told me personally, a year ago, that I would be the last photographer to shoot her in the studio and believe me, she has been photographed by many accomplished photographers over the years.  
So on March 12, 2012 history was made, I did a studio shoot of the most famous witch in the world for the last time.  I feel honored and fortunate to have had this experience and this shoot will most certainly enhance the success of 
The Mystic Women of Salem project !
:}

Meeting with Mayor Kim Driscoll

On February 27, 2012  I met with Mayor Kim Driscoll at Salem City Hall.  Even though I was still a bit "out of sorts" due to Marcio's recent passing, I enjoyed our meeting regardless.   She was very interested in MWS project and wanted to know all about it.  A city council woman had mentioned the project to her and she had seen some of the pr materials around town.

I began by telling her about the layout/format of the book and what the introduction will say.  Of course some of you know that Jac's "words of wisdom" will be a part of the intro. (if you don't know the story, you will have to wait until the book comes out :}).  When I told her about Jac's life long observance of how Salem seems to "choose or repel" people...she clapped her hands and said, "oh my gosh, I have never heard it put so well!" The ending sentence,  "So come to Salem and see if Salem chooses you" seemed to delight our City's Mayor and she confessed that this is exactly what happened to her.  After graduating from Salem State, she just never left...Salem chose her for sure and I for one am happy she was chosen.  I do not know about the hot topics and issues of the City, as my entire life revolves in and around the University, that being a world of it's own.  However, it seems to me that Mayor Kim is a perfect fit for our City.

One of my main goals is to have this book in the tourist center, here in Salem....easily available to the thousands of tourists that descend upon our city at various times during the year.  Because of this meeting, I am sure that this goal will be met due to the contacts that Mayor Kim gave me.  She wants me to keep her updated as MWS grows and matures, especially the closer we get to publication release date(s).  She offered to link MWS with Destination Salem (a city run publication/pr tool) as we approach release.

After a full hour of jam packed conversation and information exchange, I can tell you all that the Mayor  was very supportive and an endless source of information and contacts, for me as a photographer and for  The Mystic Women of Salem.

Thanks Mayor Kim...it was a real pleasure!  :} 

SALEM STATE UNIVERSITY ENTERS MWS POSTER IN COMPETITION!





2011 MWS Poster

 


 Rose Cooke, Supervisor, Copy Shop, SSU and  Rebecca Fox, Photographer
"I was really  impressed when I saw the Mystic Women of Salem poster, because of the detail, high level of excellence, and visual beauty.  When the photographer returned to the Copy Shop I asked her if she would consider allowing the University to enter her poster in a national competition hosted by InPlant Graphics,"  stated Rose. 

Of course I was so excited and honored to even be considered by the University for participation in the contest... I JUMPED at the chance! 

 In 2006 Salem State Copy Center won 2 Gold awards in this competition.  One (created by an SSU student) in the non-offset calendar division and the second (in-house creation) in the poster/flyer division for the theater production of The Snow Queen.  So, the University has a history of participation and wins in this competition.  We should all be very proud and happy whether we win or not, I am certainly feeling honored, right now.

I have had numerous conversations with the MWS ladies about the technical aspect of their portraits, and believe me when I tell you this poster will be judged to the "inth" degree by the selected judges of this competition and it will be VERY technical (even down to a speck of dust can cause disqualification!).  Below is more information about the contest, their mission statement, the judges and more.  

Mission Statement:  Founded in 1964, the In-Plant Printing/Mailing Association is the only professional association dedicated exclusively to the needs of in-house corporate publishing, printing, and distribution professionals.

"The contest has a reputation as being one of the toughest contests to win in the printing business.  That's because the quality of in-plant printing is so high.  As a result, our judges have traditionally spent alot of time analyzing each printed piece.  Our panel of judges this year consists of:  Chris Anderson, Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators - Dr. James Sours, Department of Graphics and Imaging Technologies, Pittsburg State University - Mark McCarty, Missouri State Univsersity - Jerry Chisam, University of Kansas Medical Center - and Larry Clements, Redlands Community College.  One Best of Show winner will be selected from the winners in the offset categories and another Best of Shaw winner will be picked from the non-offset categories.  Winners' will be revealed at the awards dinner during IPMA's conference, taking place June 24-28 in Kansas City.  Judges will consider the degree of difficulty required to print a job, design and letter spacing;lines of text;fuzzy photos, holes/missing dots in solids possibily due to a speck of dust, spots and specks, ink coverage, mottling, centered images, any marks on page, color consistency and the darkness of toner." In-Plant contest information as stated on website. 

These are just a few of the judging criteria.

Winners will receive elegant plaques and trophies during the IPMA Awards Banquet in the summer of 2012. 

Here are just a few of the past winners -

Conoco Phillips, Boeing, USAA, Hitachi, Phillips Petroleum, Brigham Young Univsersity, University of Delaware and the University of Missouri. 

The contest is sponsored by the International Publishing Management Association and In-Plant.

I hope all the MWS ladies are as excited as the Team is, and I will certainly keep you all posted!  Wish us LUCK!
:}

Maria!

Some of Maria's shots are ready for viewing on the Smugmug site...click on the Gallery to your right and see an extraordinary woman, and extraordinary shots!

:}

Three New Mystic Women are Selected! Revised 1/2013

The Team and I are proud to announce four newly selected Mystic Women! 

We extend a heart felt WELCOME to:

Dawn Dorgan
Mulysa Lesser of Goodmojo Tattoos
Kris Gierksnis

The MWS Team is proud and honored to have you included and featured in the upcoming book - The Mystic Women of Salem!  Your snapshots and contact information will be added to The Mystic Women page shortly.  Also, in the next couple of days a short description of each of you will be posted on the Home page of this blog.  I wanted to get your "official welcome" posted asap...hence this post.

Thank you again and definitely become a follower of this blog so you are kept up-to-date with all things "Mystic"!
:}

Professor and Herbalist, the lovely Maria

Tomorrow I am shooting Mystic Woman, Maria!


I have designed, yet again, another complex lighting scheme and complex theme in general.  The shoot involves plants, herbs (fresh and dry), and a variety of Maria's favorite talismans, and things that she is particularly fond of.  Maria is an absolutely fascinating woman and I had the honor of visiting with her and her husband in her home last weekend.  This ALWAYS helps with the shoots, as I can see the woman in her environment and suggest things/props to bring to the shoot that would photograph particularly well.  


Mystic Woman, and photography enthusiast,  Dawn, is coming to assist in the studio with Maria's shoot.  I am so grateful to you Dawn!


We hope to have another magical, phenomenal, and beautiful shoot with Salem's very own...Maria!


:}