Photographers Anne Clay and Arthur Levi Rainville Team Up to Publish Vintage Hollywood Portrait Book

May 6, 2009 - PRLog -- What started out as a Massachusetts photographer’s dream is now coming to fruition in North Carolina. Arthur Levi Rainville, a fine art portraitist and multi-media photographer who lives in Boston, collaborated with photographer Anne Clay to photograph 22 Apex women who posed as vintage Hollywood portrait subjects April 18-22 for a book Rainville and Clay plan to publish on the subject. Vintage hair and makeup services were provided by Cheri Kinney’s Hair, Body & Sole Salon and Spa, and Makeup Artist Ashley Bromirski of Radiant Beauty.

Clay and Rainville will also embark on a circuit training tour covering a wide range of photography subjects, in addition to the vintage Hollywood portraits of women. “Part of our training is working on Hollywood portraits and glamour photos of women,” Clay says. “We’ll be training photographers nationwide and using the 22 women in Apex as examples in our book on this subject.”

Some of the images will be unveiled in Clay’s portrait line collection titled “Over the Moon” at a special Red Carpet Gala Friday, May 15 from 6:30 to 8 p.m. at the Apex Chamber of Commerce on Salem Street. The event is free and open to the public. Special pricing will be offered that night only to anyone who would like to schedule his or her own “Over the Moon” Hollywood portrait session. Clay will donate $50 from each session booked that night to cancer research. Following the gala, the images will be displayed at Hair Body and Sole Salon and Spa for the remainder of May.

Rainville has more than 40 years of experience as a photographer and is a renowned teacher for organizations such as the Professional Photographers of America (PPA) and Wedding and Portrait Photographers International (WPPI). Clay, also a member of PPA, as well as Professional Photographers of North Carolina (PPNC) and Photographer’s Society of the Triangle (PST), has been photographing professionally for three years in the Triangle and operates a boutique studio in Historic Downtown Apex.

Rainville and Clay taught classes last month called “20 Hours to Change Your Life.” They will continue teaching classes around the country and hope to photograph additional women for their vintage Hollywood book while on the circuit.

“We should be done with all of the photos and information for the book by winter 2009, and the book should be in bookstores nationwide sometime during the later half of 2010,” Clay says. “It was an incredible experience. The women looked amazing! Cheri and her gang did a phenomenal job with the hair, and Ashley and Heather did an extraordinary job with the makeup. Without the proper support the images would not have looked as authentic. We have hundreds of amazing images from that weekend.”

Many of the Apex women wore period-appropriate attire and dressed as Hollywood stars like Marilyn Monroe, Joan Crawford, Betty Davis and Lucille Ball.

“I filled in some of the gaps with vintage clothing that I picked up at an antique mall,” Clay said. “We had feathers, furs, pearls, vintage hats and some great props. My historic studio worked great as a backdrop for the images. Clothing and props were also loaned to us by My Girlfriend’s Closet. Lois and her staff were very supportive.”

The Red Carpet event will serve as a prelude to the Apex Ball being held at the Halle Cultural Arts Center Gallery Sunday, May 17. A portrait session and 16-by-20-inch portrait from Clay’s “Over the Moon” collection will be auctioned off at the Apex Ball. Hair Body and Sole Salon and Spa will also donate a vintage hair and makeup session. You can purchase tickets through May 14 online at http://www.apexball.org.

For more information, visit http://www.anneclay.com or http://hairbodyandsolespa.com, or contact the Apex Chamber of Commerce at (919) 362-6456.