666PHOTOGRAPHY

666 Photography is an Austin, Texas based company that specializes in retro/vintage photography. Their props are handmade, their backdrops are handpainted, and if they can't find the perfect costume, they make it! The awe-inspiring staged playful pop creations collected here feature such fantasy elements as modern women recast as High-Baroque Madonnas; amazing 1940s hair styles, dried-flower corsets, pin-up girls riding carousels, circus glamour, and ironic recreations of Weimar Germany cabaret and decadent 1920s Berlin. The visual invention is stunning. Often inspired by icons of female beauty and power ranging from mermaids to Mucha, these unique photographic visions have attracted such fans as Courtney Love. Collected here, they become a riot of astounding creativity and color.

Gayle Patridge of the legendary 666 Photography studio in Austin, Texas recently sat down with us for an interview on art, small business ownership, and Dolly Parton. Here’s what she had to say:

I received my Bachelors in Fine Arts from the University of Texas Austin and fell in love with photography then. When I graduated, however, I put the camera down and got a “grown up job”. When I picked the camera back up, years later, I was doing a lot of swing dancing and all of my friends embraced the rockabilly trend. Since I was first photographing friends, I naturally landed in the pinup genre. My friends already had the wardrobe and look, and it was a natural fit. My true loves are actually older than the 50’s, and eventually I started pulling away a bit from pinup only shoots and including my love of theater design, costume design, and painting. This is where the 666 high concepts started to emerge.

When did you begin shooting pin-up? Tell us about your first shoot.

I have been shooting pinup for about 7 years. I can’t remember my first shoot, but I would bet it was a friend of mine. There have been so many shoots over the years, they are starting to be a blur!

more: http://pincurlmag.com/666-studio-may-2009

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About the 666 Photography: Virgin Queens and High-Camp Divas