This photos was shot by my father with an SLR CANON QL FTB analog vintage 1972 Made in Japan camera, on film.
This was shot the day after one of my proms. Either 1996-1998. Frankly I can't specifically remember because I went to 3 proms in high school. I LOVE this camera. And, I actually own it now because my father gave it to me. :)
My parents are the "Baby Boomers" generation, and I am Generation X, near the end, but not the actual end. It was common that maybe of the kids my age in high school were either smokers, stoners, or shroom eaters. Even tho' I had smoked some weed, cigarettes and tobacco were not my thing. I hate them! I wasn't really big on smoking weed, even tho' I had smoked it from about age 16-17 here and there because it was so common. It was so common that visiting a friend often involved smoking a joint with their mom, aunt, grandmother, or neighbors. And, even one of my bosses was a stoner. But, you could get into big trouble if you were 18 or older, and it bothered my work performance, so I just stayed away from it in general, unless I was in pain.
However, my POISON OF CHOICE as a teenager was COCA-COLA.
You might laugh, or find it laughable that Coca-Cola was a major issue for me, but I'm very serious about how much it was. I was addicted to Coca-Cola. And, I emphasize that, because it really was an addiction... Many hard drug addicts laugh in my face about it.
But, to this day, if I am around sodas, whether they are sugared, or sugar-free, and I cannot stop myself from consuming it, greedily.
Colas contain phosphates, and types of preservatives which can ONLY be digested with the molecule of calcium in your body, so if you haven't consumed any calcium, which I often didn't, your body must remove the molecules from your bones, and will cause you to have acidosis, and many other degenerative diseases. So, I have limited my intake of this beverage to holidays, or special circumstances only. And, if I knowingly consume some, I make sure it doesn't contain High Fructose Corn Syrup which also contains mercury, and also try to avoid Aspartame which is an excito toxin, and causes nerve damage, and brain damage which will show in old age.
The Platform shoes I had were purchased at ROSS, in Moorsetown New Jersey in the mid-late 1990s. I was VERY MUCH into Eurodance Rave/Ravers like in the Dance-club & European scenes at the time. I LOVE techno still to this day!
The upper arm bracelet I purchased at Virgina Beach on some board walk place (mid 90s).
And, I believe I got the anklet at a Board Walk in New Jersey... maybe Cape May, or Wild Wood (mid 90s).
The satin blouse I am wearing was 1 of many which I had, which were VERY POPULAR at the time, and semi-resembled clothing from the 1970s. This one had buttons carved out of seashells. Eco-fashion was very "in".
This style of portraits/photography was something my father taught me. I also use it in my artwork. My love & interest in technology is from my father. (Electrician, inventor, handyman) My father ALSO loves gardening, plants, and had several large ones which could put anyone else's gardens to shame in just one glance even on his worst amount of effort...
If you can tell, I'm NOT WEARING ANY MAKEUP. Even tho' I had, easily about at least TWO BOXES full of makeup, often stuff given to me by relatives, my mom, my mom's friends, and stuff I also bought, I often HATED wearing it. It would bother me, bother my face, bother my eyes, bother my skin, and make me break-out. I didn't know I was allergic to many of the ingredients... I just thought that's what makeup does to you... at the time, anyway.
When I was a teenager, I HATED skirts or dresses, and preferred pants. Tho' I wore gowns to Prom, and was picky about it. Even tho' I recall shooting these photos the day after Prom, I can tell that I've obviously had a shower, because I wore makeup & did my hair (with hairspray *yuck*) for Prom.
These Peonies (the flowers) are a VERY OLD heirloom variety in my Neighbors' yard (Mr. & Mrs. Blue) whom where in their 80s or 90s, and very old. To the right (my left) was actually a large section of this yard that was given to my father for use as his own garden. And, from the vantage point of where my father is shooting this frame, if you were to turn around was another yard, owned by another neighbor where my father ALSO gardened jointly with another neighbor, Peggy.
Behind me, which you can barely see, is the chicken coop, yes with chickens. And, behind that was more gardens by my father (our yard), and pour pool, and probably at the time this was shot, we also had a beautiful pig named Dot.
Even tho' our pigs & chickens were "free range" & "organic", we just called it "homesteading" or "home gardening". We did, however, feed the animals "feed" such as types of corn from sacks.
The live stock were treated very well, got sunlight, a night-light, fresh water, and a wide variety of food. Everything from grass, to grubs in the soil, and all of our leftovers which they LOVED! They also ate whatever we couldn't eat, or give away (because we always had so much) from the gardens. And, if you let the animals out, to run free, the neighbors loved it because they would fertilize the soil. When the sun went down, the animals all knew to go back into their home, and we would close the gates, and lock the doors to keep out foxes, coyotes, owls, and hawks.
