A lot of insanity went on at Casa de Synth in 2007. I'm trying to pull it all back together for 2008. I learned a lot, mostly by making a ton of mistakes and letting life get me down. So some basic news and updates:

-I am largely without internet access right now; I've become a web hobo, using the computers of family and friends to access the web because I don't have service at the home base right now. So if you email me and I don't get right back to you, I'm not ignoring you, I promise.

-the contact forms on the site have been taken down; they have been very flukey, leading me to not get a lot of correspondence from people, which caused a lot of problems. Also lately they've become victim to spammers in a big way, and while i love gay porn and enlarging my member as much as the next person, I don't really want to be getting it through my website. so the contact forms have been pulled until I can get those issues sorted out. in the meantime, I can be reached directly via my email address, syntheticshadows AT gmail DOT com. see first note regarding response time.

-i will be redesigning the site as time and internet access allow. I feel the current layout and functionality are not as awesome as they could be, so that will be addressed in the coming months. one new feature in particular that i'm planning will be a setup so that my clients can purchase prints for themselves, instead of having to order them through me. I get all my printing done via Fotki, and I've been quite happy with the quality of their work, so i don't feel that I need to be an intermediate quality control step anymore.

-I'm catching up on all the editing that my life got in the way of; not having constant access to the internet has been helpful in this regard because it allows me fewer distractions from work. I intend to have everything done and sent by the end of the month, so I can start my spring shooting season with an empty queue.

keep an eye out for further developments!

Studio 5 South, Synthetic Shadows, and Hyde's Perfect Drug Studios are joining forces to bring the Philadelphia area the best halloween party-slash-meet and greet-slash-live music-slash-costume party ever! The event is FREE at a private home, so come in costume and have some fun!

Details can be found here, on the Model Mayhem thread ! 

Information from James Jackson:

"Studio 5 South in association with Perfect-Drug.org will be hosting a spooky and saucy meet and greet on Saturday October 27th from dusk (4:30 PM) till Dawn (er... well... close...)

Your hosts: Cassandra of the Dark... Mr. HyDE... and the man with the raven eyes... along with the crew of the M&GT

Dress in your most freakish, fiendish, frightening, or fantastic frock... bring your ghouls, your ghosts, and your gimps (or just your business cards and portfolios)... and come and chow down on some delicious young flesh (er... I mean... come meet some models, photographers, and stylists).  Bring your most frightening cuisine... and bring your own brand of enbalming fluid (I go for a nice Scotch myself)...

The Meet and Greet Team are coming up with some wild and crazy ideas for this one, and if anyone can donate some time to set dressing/proping/painting/art directing we are open to it... just send me an email and I'll discuss what you've got.

Come one come all... come models and get some dark imagery for your port... come photographers and get as close to feeding that escort to the chipper as you'll ever get outside of going to jail... come makeup artists and ply your wares on some deadly designs... come fashion stylists and show them all how to make the afterlife look good."

 Hyde had the following to say on the matter:

"The house is big. The house is badass. The house is minutes from public transportation.

So..Here's what's on tap:  We have a bar, a pool table, a lounge, an entire backyard with firepit, we'll have music(both DJ'd and potentially live). EVERYONE shows up in costume. I don't care how basic it is. You have to come in costume. BRING YOUR FRIENDS. Even if they aren't models, or just may WANT to be models. I don't care. This is more party than meet and greet, but it's definitely BOTH.

Halloween is my holiday, Kids. It's my Christmas. It's my freakin' National Day of Celebration. So we're gonna celebrate it, get drinking, have candy, etc. All that and more.  This house is pretty cool in general, so I expect some shooting to be going on. If you want a model naked(and they're willing) cool...but keep it in the house. We don't want the cops called. Otherwise, anything freakin' goes.

Some stuff previously mentioned:

This is a free event. No cash necessary.

This is definitely BYOB. We may have some stuff, but you're better off bringing what you want, or bring stuff to share. Cases of beer? Always welcome. f

We should have candy on tap(Being as it's halloween) but more is ALWAYS welcome. BRING CANDY.

Bring yourselves.

Bring your friends.

Again, October the 27th. If you need any more info, don't hesitate to contact me."

Azhia and Synthetic Shadows are taking their show on the road!

Thanks to the enthusiastic responses to the Philadelphia area Raq The Camera events for local belly dancers and musicians and a gracious hostessing offer by Mia Naja, the combination of our styling and photography skills will be available for two days in the Maryland/Washington DC region!

James Jackson and I are hosting a fundraising shoot at his Philadelphia Studio, Studio 5 South, on  July 27th, 2007 to raise money for Philip Warner of Lithium Picnic's legal fund. He is presently in litigation with Suicide Girls in the state of Oregon. I've made mention of this before, but if you're local to Philly and interested in shooting, modeling, contributing talent, styling, fashion, assistance, equipment, food, catering, or anything you can think of to help, EVERY contribution is appreciated!

Check the link below for more information on the shoot, including a list of attendees, details, dates, location, and information on WHY we are hosting this get-together!

DAMN THE MAN, SAVE LITHIUM PICNIC

 Photographers can contact James to get involved, Models can contact me, and anyone else interested in getting involved can contact either of us.