I've been bad about posting on the blog when I've uploaded new stuff lately, so here is the belated post about Sanitarium, presented by The Libertine Asylum and hosted by Chamber in the Bolt Underground. The event went really well! I had a great time. Most of you have already seen all of them, but in case you haven't:

My photos from the event are here.

The photos from my wonderful assistant Jane can be found here. (Ignore my obvious drunkenness in that set.)

I've posted images from the Harry Potter meetup! It was really fun seeing some new faces, and great hanging out with the familiar ones. Too bad some of us accidentally got to the theatre late and saw a different showing! *sad face*

To see the whole set, go to my flickr account here. To see all of the Minnesota Rufflebutts meetups, they can be found here.


Shameless self-promotion: If you have an event that needs a professional photographer to cover, please check out the newly redesigned Photosynthetique.com and see if my services are what you are looking for!

I know a lot of you ladies out there have drooled over the awesome little hats that you see many of the people in my pictures wearing. Did you know that nearly all of them were made by the same person? That's right, the incredibly talented Megan Bishop of Apatico! What's more, she's having a very special sale right now that you absolutely have to take advantage of because this is about as affordable as custom-made fancy hats like these are going to get!

The details right from Megan are:

How it works: Pick a color or color combination, a style (mini pillbox, tricorn, or top hat), and throw me a little direction.

Example: "I'd like a red pillbox hat with black trimming. I'd like it to be kind of retro but not goth."

I'll try my best to work in all requests, but the prices are low in return for a little creative freedom on my part. If you'd like an entirely custom-made hat down to the letter, this offer won't be for you. This is like the Japanese lucky pack of hats - you aren't entirely sure what you're going to get. But I can promise you it will be amazing and crafted to the highest of standards, made with only the best materials.

If this works for you, I'd love to make you a beautiful hat!

Payments accepted:
Google Checkout (I will send you an invoice)
International Money Order
Personal Check (US only, payment must clear before shipment)
Cash (local pickup only)

Turnaround: 2-3 weeks, these are sewn entirely by hand!

Shipping: Priority is $10 US, $20 international. Other methods may be available. Hats are lightweight but they require quite a bit of cushion and packing material to keep them safe in shipment, so the boxes are large enough that shipping is a bit pricey. Please keep this in mind. It's still a fantastic deal!

If you can't buy a hat but still wanna help promote the sale, please post this in as many places as you can. Thank you so much!!

Megan
www.apatico.net

I was at "D-Day: Minus 1" to take photos for the designer Velluto Nero, but as long as I was there I thought it would be fun to take some photos of the other three designers at the event (hopefully they don't mind!). The first designer of the night was Interchangeable Parts, who I understand is new to the scene. I was very impressed with how nicely put together her show was and she had chosen some really great models. I look forward to more of her shows in the future!

To see the entire set of photos from Interchangeable Parts' show, go to my flickr stream.

This is a day late, but I've finished the images for Velluto Nero's line at "D-Day: Minus 1". Velvet was gracious enough to request my services for her show, and I was more than happy to not only help local fashion get broader exposure, but also to get the chance to take photos of some very interesting clothing. :)

To see the entire photo set, please visit my flickr set!

As always, if you are a local designer or model and you would like to have a professional photographer on hand to capture your events or to create catalog images, contact Drayke Larson at drayke@photosynthetique.com to make arrangements! I love supporting local fashion and have special rates for student designers.

Mahkato Wacipi

This weekend was the the 36th Annual Mahkato Wacipi, more commonly know as a Pow-wow, held every year just outside Mankato, MN. I wasn't able to make it for the full weekend, like much of my family did, but Inara, Mum, Marlys and I made the trip down there on Saturday. It was a lot of fun! Not only did we get to enjoy the dancing and great music (wacipi means "they dance"), but we got see many of our relatives, some of whom had come from quite some distance away!

Inara did really well, considering how many strangers were around (and how many family members were crowded around her that she barely remembered), and I think she enjoyed it. By the end of the day she was really getting into the drums. She'd make such a good jingle-dress dancer!

Below you'll see my aunt Jeanine (Grandma NeNe to Inara, as aunts and uncles are known as grandparents in Lakota culture) in her traditional dress. To see more of her, the whole family, and many of the participants of the Wacipi, go here.

Unfortunately, I arrived to the Meetup quite late, so there were only a few stragglers(/drunks) still there. They entertained me by pretending not to care as I blasted high powered flashes in their faces in the low light outside Herkimer's Bar in Uptown Minneapolis. Afterwards, several of us migrated over to Bryant Lake Bowl on Lake St. I drank a tad too much, and neckro's bike shorted out the electronics in the back of my car so I no longer have turn signals, brake lights or reverse lights. Fun times!

Last Wednesday I got the chance to hang out with the always lovely Heather of Scoundrelle's Keep. She was showing off one of her many wonderful creations with this outfit, managing to look delightfully gothic lolita/steampunk, while still keeping it practical. She was lots of fun to hang out with and is very photogenic! If only it hadn't been so windy and cold, I think there would have been lots more images taken! Oh well, I guess that means she and I will have to get together again some other time for another shoot! :)

To see the whole set, go here.

To take a look at Heather's amazing work, go here.

Wednesday night, I had the honour of photographing legendary local comedy music act "Possible Oscar"! Bud Sharpe and Marshall Stanton (AKA Jared and John) were tons of fun to work with, and they had some pretty funny ideas. The AT-AT walker was a nice touch!

From the bio on their website:
"Possible Oscar is a Minneapolis, MN based comedy music act that specializes in original and parody songs. The band formed in 2005 with former members of the atomic rock band The Nick Atoms with the intention of exploring a creative direction that began in The Nick Atoms’ waning days. Their musical topics range from video games to nerd love, with stops at comic books and notable Hollywood movie sound effects. They also enjoy wearing T-shirts with their band name on them."

Go to their website to hear some of their hilarious songs. (I've said this before, but seriously, "At the Con" is stuck in my head constantly!)

To see all of the photos that I took of Possible Oscar, go here!

Update 8/22/08!

Response was a little overwhelming, so as of today (less than a day after I posted the information), I am booked completely for the next several weeks. If I've already contacted you, you're on the list. If you're still interested in headshots or any other photo project, please feel free to email me and we can make arrangements for you.

I really appreciate the positive response to this promotion and you can expect to see photos to start popping up here and there over the next few weeks. Thanks everyone!

-Drayke
612-703-5125
drayke@photosynthetique.com
http://photosynthetique.com

I've nearly finished all of the images from Kakkoi|Con 2008. The only ones remaining are from the Ball Joint Doll event on Sunday, and those should be done and uploaded tonight. What a fun weekend! I had a great time and I am really looking forward to next year, knowing now what I need to change to make things even bigger and better! Special thanks to Ryan and Samm for making me the official Con photographer and giving me this amazing opportunity!

Enjoy!

The whole set is here.

Check out this great set of images from my photo shoot with Holly L. as Poison Ivy. She's going to be entering it into a costume contest (I won't say which, just to be safe), and I'd say that she has a pretty good chance. Not only did she create an awesome cosplay, but her natural attributes and beauty really set off the whole image. Always a great model, she made this one really easy!

Holly is absolutely one of my favourite people to work with, so do me a solid and send all of your "good luck" vibes in her direction and let's hope she wins!

Click the image to see the whole set!

If you're looking for creative wedding photography in the Minnesota region, look no further than Weddings by Drayke. I have plenty of openings yet for the fall and winter seasons of 2008, and am now booking for 2009. I'd love to help make your special day last a lifetime!

Drayke Larson
Photographer - Photosynthetique Imaging
612-703-5125
drayke@photosynthetique.com

The Cannon River

IMGP4528
Originally uploaded by Photosynthetique

I'm in a bit of a lull between assignments, and I've realized that it feels weird when I don't have a mess of photos to edit. That will change soon enough, as Kakkoi|Con is coming up in less than two weeks. I'm sure that I'll long for these days then!

Maybe I'll go take some night photos tonight, just to keep my mind limber.