The Lost Waitress

great image, there is really something different with it, well done

that mask un-nerves me a little, but i cannot look away.

brilliant work Paul, well done

Man that is some kinky cherry Cola… luscious, naive, daring. What a combo.

Excellent, the mind of Paul Vanzella, a mysterious place to the rest of us mere mortals.
Just keep doing what you do paul, it is a visual feast.
Love the fluffy halo, but I suspect she may be a devil in disguise – hehehe

awesum work,wot a spunk!

This is such a different type of image Paul, very unique!

Cool image Paul…..

why do i always think cohen brothers when i see your work? i am expecting to see a guy holding a nail gun burst through the door any second. brilliant!

I love the setting just as much as the waitress, and the exposed breast just makes it zing!!!

if female blow up dolls could be sexy, im sure this would be. LOL>....c

reminds me of the flowerpot men here

Dennis Hopper is somewhere of screen shouting “Don’t fu#king look at me! “
David Symons gives it 4 stars. What did you think Margaret?

excellent!!

i’m feeling nervous.
I wouldn’t want to ask for an extra napkin…

Stunningly Brilliant image, once again, Paul !!! Magnificent main shaft and reflected lighting, creating an eerie atmosphere, perfect for the concept. Long sought after, child’s dreams and aspirations, being clung onto, but gone horribly astray due to circumstances beyond her control. Desperation will clutch at anything !!!

the light sources are amazing as is the sheen you have achieved on our waitress…. what does it for me is the quality of the background… it’s like a painting coming to life…. engaging us…...... bravo paul…......b

Yes this has a David Lynch feel Paul. Surreal, unnerving, strange but highly intoxicating and makes me want to see more of the story. Captivating in a most unusual way. Your images are always thought and emotionally provocative. Love it.

This is outrageously original Paul, love your mind.

Oh dear! :O

Brilliant photo! :))

OMG how bizarre is that mask.
very strange, yet interesting.
really like the continuity with the spotlights in this series, paul.
tis like a still from a horror flick.
it also kind of reminds me of the great divine in the john waters films and boy aren’t they hilarious! ;-) xox

Reality and unreality juxtaposed…. You do come up with intriguing images.
Your use of light is stopping. The lower light under the side table creates a reality the upper window light moving across the backdrop creates a sense of unreality…almost a Grimm’s fairytale look.

The mask wearing waitress is something other….that is up for interpretation….

Are we all in fact faceless?

Don’t know how you do it, but….Another uncompromising image, Paul.

You freak me out on a regular basis…..............no exception today….......... Waitress also ‘lost’ a dress strap…...... ; )) You know how good you are when it comes to your craft….....so I won’t crawl up your bum (love that saying). Suffice to say…...................... THIS ROCKS. Knock out model…..... ; )

wonderful ambiguity

Oh blimey !
I’m lost for words :D

Yes extraordinary image. Agree with others re context and lighting. What I love mostly I think is the colour palette – wonderful.

Amazing…Love this one

POS

Great work Paul. I find it very hard to stop looking at this image, interesting mix of elements. Love it.

good work paul

Amazing work.

i keep coming back to this one. fascinating. astonishing work on so many levels. a wonderful treat to view paul.

love it!!!!!!!!!

Beautiful work

I’ve looked at this a few times now.
And I’ve gotta tell ya Paul…I’m floored!!!

The lighting is exquisite. Not to mention the processing. But what makes this image sooo strong for me is the art direction. The set up and attention to detail is amazing!

True winner here!

All of the above and quite macabre- Like to hear your take on it

Brilliant execution & imagination!

Paul, I’ve been sitting in front of this for ages trying to get inside your amazing head and understand your message… like your showgirl, she’s so not where she wants to be. She wants to be serving drinks to high rollers and slapping away their probing hands. Her mask hides the sad reality on her face that understands why she ended up drinking half her fav customer’s coke.

Whatever prompted you to share this series with us intrigues me whether or not I’m seeing it right, and I’m as always totally caught up in your staging, choice of model, and your attention to detail. I swear I’ve been here nearly half an hour. Does that show you how compelling your stuff is? Or do I need to go on…??

OMG that lighting is just sensational!! Your use of colour and highlights is just sublime – your imagination is such fun!!

Love where you are taking this series :)

Paul Vanzella, you constantly amaze and excite us with your images! Enthralling location, delicious model, scary mask, absurd fluffy halo…...and of course, the light…..exquisite!

Crazy terrific Paul. Wonderfully inventive stuff. Like an old Hollywood production still a la Andy Warhol and… well… Paul Vanzella!

The mask…why does this disturb me so? Maybe I want to see her face to kow her better, but you will only allow me to see her as you do – and THAT is disturbing because she becomes somehow monstrous in the mask! And the pose, the tray, the drink, so cheery. Yet the setting – dark. Paul, how is it that so often you present the duality of everyone and everything is a single image? Your work is positively zen, and yet, it is So sexual. That, in itself, is a duality….......your mind is movie, waiting to be made.

Bizarre….enticing….scary…..compelling…...great low angle….great feel to the pic…..like it ….nice one…

fantastic..scary..original wow..wow..wow

You have a talent for taking the elements of female power and turning them into handicaps. But where in the past you’ve only diddled randomly, here you’ve tenaciously seized every tool available to direct that mysterious control that women have over men… and bluntedthem. No… no… blunt implies neutrality… You’ve inverted each of them to the degree that the entire magnet’s polarity is reversed.

Whoa! Here’s the opposite of a sexual tractor beam. Ingenious. I might not drink Coke for days.

To Lura Hartley – Re Masks this poem is awesome! Put up to read by my fiance Skik for everyone to realise just how our facades hide us! and how we change them for the image we wish to project to the people who project certain images to us.
I encore your comments here to Paul re his layering of interpretations.
Bravo to him and to your perceptions :O)
Chookas! ♥

Nailed it Paul!
I love the contrasts between dark and light you have made here. Church like lighting, the angelic costume the shimmer, the shoes, even your model’s hair is two toned.
It’s the references to the seedier side, the kind of dress, the camped up make up, the over glamourous colours in costume, the fake and fluffy halo. All so costumed, so theatrical. Perhaps the waitress also feels her own occupation sits in this list.

And then, there’s the mask. In itself theatrical. But see through.

I feel that the message underneath it all is behind it I hide who I really am, and yet I wish to be seen for who I really am and not what I perceive myself to be.

The coke and the breast speak to me about the role of nurture that often comes with service. To listen to sad sordid personal stories with pasted on smile. To ‘quench’ thirst with what does not quench in order to pull more custom. I think our waitress herself is thirsty and that is exactly why she feels lost.

This image brings to mind the newer series of Dr Who, and Pink Floyd’s The Wall it is like a surreal dream that I’m not sure is bad but leaves me feeling a little disconcerted.

I think there’s a bit of this woman in all of us. I love it.

I’m impressed with the creativity and reading these comments you’ve obviously impressed everyone else. It’s actually mesmerizing to look at, the location is brilliant as is the light shining in through the window and cracks but best of all the elements you’ve used. Would love to hear your interpretation on this one day Paul. regards

The lighting is fantastic…the angle and the treatment are both amazing. Wonderfully conceived and perfectly executed – Love it! And, Just in time for Halloween :)- very scary Paul. Love this series! – Don’t think I want to eat here though. :)

The lighting really sets the mood in this sinister scene. The waitress’s mask, and the revealing of her breast, provokes the mind onto a rollercoaster of thought… I wonder who she is serving! :-)

WOW! Youre awesome!

This series has me on the edge of my seat Paul…I freaking love your mind!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ok..so I have been looking at this for… since it went up actually..
The thing I find with it is this…
You have a voluptuous woman..Who can obviously hold her own…but is hiding from the reality that her life is pretty crap. Hence the mask. A mask of fear of what people really think of her..But yet she wants to be seen…She wants to be noticed and have people think she is beautiful, so she leaves a breast out..
The coke…Hmmm the coke…You could take that 2 ways..She looks at her life as either half full or half empty and I am betting on the latter… The Halo shows me that what people think of her isnt really who she is…This all ties in so well.
Your lighting of her is superb….You have given her an almost metallic look.
And yet my eyes slide around her to the amazing backdrop…Its like I cant concentrate on her for too long. Like she is there to be seen and not seen..If that makes sense.
the shafts of light are truly unbelievable..Not only do they pick up things that you wouldnt normally look at, they also give the place a dusty..hazy…divey feel.
My favourite point of light is where it hits the clear heel of her shoe. Its not something you would normally think about…But for some reason thats where I first find my eyes going. I am guessing she likes her shoes LOL..

Brilliant!!!

Such a smooth sheen to the entire image, very catchy and great style too!

very disturbing – I like it!

Extraordinary Paul, the light streaming through the window really adds another dimension and this work elevates photography into another sphere. You must be pretty pleased with the results;)

well, its all been said so all i can say is …

wow!!

OMG quite incredible Paul – yet again you’ve got your audience creating their own stories and interpretations! Love the bizarre, odd nature of this..makes it so compelling and intriguing. And again, such an awesome treatment – congrats!

you should call this picture: “The angel of 2008”. It is reality, sad reality when a beautiful body are ruined by overeating disorder and wonderful face have too much cosmetic that is hardly recognizable.

an unforgettable moment in time I bet,brilliant comp stunning model Paul where ever do you fined them.

The Light in this image is magnificent. What a mind! Loving your Work as always! STELLAR!

Wow!! This is fantastic work!! Love it!!

He called his captor Angel. He hadn’t always called her that but ever since he became addicted to the pink tablets she brought him he saw her differently. Once upon a time he had been an up and coming graphic designer, but since that automobile accident 6 months ago when the world turned upside down and he became Angels latest toy he saw himself differently.
Angel had scared him, hell she still scared him. Clearly she was insane but he could cope with that as long as she continued to share the medication. After all even the crazy ones need loving.

i love the fact that you see women of all shapes and sizes ,as a source of sexuality..we’re not all size zero skinny ,and you should be applauded for this..not sure who the model is,but she looks amazing

great shot

Wow this is cool. Unreal. What a waitress. Awesome lighting WOW

crazy fun!

dude thats amazing, has so much dark undertone in it. fantastic work.

The shades the mood the womanhood just goes on forever XXXXXX

dude thats gold excellent stuff

weird & wonderful!
love that mask :-)

one of your most surreal….
I expect there is something awful floating embryonic in the coke bottle….
sweet….

This is amazing, the processing is outstanding!

Whoa. I love this. Thanks for adding it to Imp :)