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MY WORLD IN FULL COLOR

Posts from the Palm Springs Category

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This month I visited Sunnylands Estate and Visitor center. It was a memorable day, touring the estate, which was the former home of Leonore and Walter Annenberg, and hanging out in incredible Visitor’s center and gardens.

The first three images are from the Visitor’s Center garden, which was designed by Landscape Architect James Burnett who, “used Vincent van Gogh’s Olive Trees of 1889 as inspiration for this masterpiece view of the Center’s unique gardens.

Burnett carefully crafted nine acres of desert, designing 1.25 miles of walking paths that meander through more than 70 species of native and arid-adapted plants from North and South America, Africa, and the Mediterranean area. The gardens were carefully conceived to appear different in every season with variations that create a memorable sensory experience.

The bottom 6 images were taken in the garden of the Sunnyland’s estate. The estate was designed by architect  A. Quincy Jones, and is a jewel box of Hollywood Regency architecture, filled with their original period furnishings, artwork and many historical artifacts from their private and public lives.
Sunnylands Visitor's Center, copyright Diana Koenigsberg 2016sunny-cactus-horizontalcactus-pondagam_poolsunnylands_v3a4863sunny-chandeliersquiggle-sculpture_v3a4842_v3a4838_reventrance_v3a4816

15.8_cadmium.orange-9366_V3A984015.8_cadmium.orange-2252 15.8_cadmium.orange-97091) Yellow dream, Los Angeles, 2) Curb, Palm Springs Architecture Design Center, 3) Palo Verdes, Cosanti Parking lot, 4) Gastrobus flowers

Earlier this month I did a really fun shoot. It involved two things I love, Rainbows and Roller Skating. A little background on me. I grew up in Los Angeles,  during the 70’s and 80’s and did my share of roller disco. Up and down the block, in the drive way, on the boardwalk in Venice Beach, you get the picture, if not there’s one right here.

My sister and I had awful skates, and we walked to school in the snow…no we didn’t. We made up dance routine for ridiculous fake commercials. It was the time of Xanadu, Roller Boogie, Rainbows and Muppets. Then there were the clothes. It seemed to be the first wave of designer jeans, ( I think this is the second wave, or maybe the third )? Anyhow, it was all about the colored ones like Dittos, and Jordache, and the fancy denim like  Sassoon Jeans, and the real fancy chemin de fer line. Well that was right around the time I really began paying attention to clothes and what everyone was wearing, needless to say it was an important time in my life for visuals that helped shape my sensibility and awareness of fashion, music and style.  Any how I had the fever for skating…

Cut to last December I saw a show at the Palm Springs Museum of Art, and this Judy Chicago piece really jumped out at me. I started doing research online for roller skating imagery and found these amazing images from the SF Chronicle, from years ago, and I got inspired to create an image of clothing in rainbow colors on models roller skating.

Rainbow PIcket, by Judy Chicago

Rainbow PIcket, by Judy Chicago

skate_line618x499

Skaters, SF Chronicle

Skaters, SF Chronicle

Went on a trip to the  Moonlight Roller Rink for real inspiration, where I met Marcus, who came to the shoot to skate and teach the models some moves.

marcus.final

Jolene and Marcus, Copyright 2013

Here some of the photographs from the shoot. It was great! I hope you enjoy them. Happy Belated New Year!!! Diana

Many thanks to the following people who helped with the shoot:

Models: Jolene Anderson, Sarah Brewer, Jessica Brittain

Makeup: Geoffrey Rodriguez, Hair: Boyd

Wardrobe: Jennifer Levy

Set Design: Kendall Faeth

On Set Art Direction : Dee DeLara

Gaffer: Gal Harpaz

Retouching Magic: Gloss Post-production

Digital Capture: Dimitri Newman

Sarah does Arabesque, copyright Diana Koenigsberg 2013

Sarah does Arabesque, copyright Diana Koenigsberg 2013

Rainbow skaters, copyright Diana Koenigsberg 2013

Rainbow skaters, copyright Diana Koenigsberg 2013

1. Sweet Cutlass – Burbank, 2. White Wall 3.  Caprice Classic Wagon – Palm Springs, 4. Scientology Building – Hollywood