HONOKAA — When Sarah Anderson and Michelle Hartman collaborated on their first “pin up girl” photo session just for fun in November 2014, they couldn’t have guessed where it would eventually lead. So pleased with the way the photos turned out, they decided to incorporate some of the images into travel posters evoking Honokaa’s plantation days and calling attention to the ongoing renewal of the town.
A tribute to classic Vargas and Elvgren pin up art from the 1940s and 50s, the poster featured local women and was an instant hit at Hartman’s shop, Big Island Grown, in downtown Honokaa. Recounting her dad’s job as a salesman for Snap-On Tools, and the ubiquitous pin up calendars that decorated their garage, Hartman suggested that a calendar would be a sexier vehicle for the pin up photos. They recruited friends and colleagues to get in on the fun, play dress up and rock the 50s look for each month.
With Anderson as photographer and Hartman costuming and styling — in a town full of vintage clothes, hometown pride and curious visitors — the result was a work of art that intrigued locals and visitors alike. The team worked quickly to develop the 2016 Pin Up Calendars in time for the new year — and they quickly sold out.
The popularity of the first calendar made it easy to recruit new models this year. Often the women themselves have suggested the theme for their shoots, held between last December and September of this year. One woman featured, who is a painter, was excited to portray an artist in the pin up style. Another woman, who competes on a roller derby team, was perfectly balanced posing on skates as a carhop. Complimentary props for each shoot were borrowed from the various shops that line Honokaa’s main street or unearthed from friends’ garages.
“It has been such fun working with local women to transform themselves into these iconic images. Many of them never dreamed of modeling; a photo shoot was something only rock stars and famous actresses could do,” said Hartman. “Yet when given the opportunity to strut their stuff, they all channeled their inner divas and made amazing pictures. We’d like to give everyone a chance at this sort of life-changing experience. Photo shoots should be for any woman who wants to feel beautiful, because we are all beautiful.”
What’s next for the creative duo?
“We’re actually going to launch a new photography business that is inspired by these shoots and the other fantasy shoots that we’ve been doing,” said Anderson. “We’re calling it Dreamshoots Hawaii, and the concept is to photograph people as they might imagine themselves when they are encouraged to dream.”
She said that providing a framework through costuming, make up, styling and photography helps to set the stage for a kind of fun and freeing personal transformation.
“So far, we have worked with some of our friends to create a peacock fairy, a woodland fairy, a huntress, an owl fairy and a Christmas elf,” said Anderson. “All of these were created working from ideas the subjects themselves brought to us and we developed with them. Creating an extraordinary context allows people to express themselves more fully than they might be willing in ‘normal life.’”
Info: Visit www.dreamshootshawaii.com or contact Sarah Anderson at 987-9076, Windline@mac.com or Michelle Hartman at 775-9777, big-islandgrown@hotmail.com