Mustang Days is held each year in the Fall at out local airport. Isn’t it always nice to attend an event less than five minutes from home? My first time sitting upon an airplane is photographed above!

The planes land and take off all day long. You’ve not seen so many grown men gazing up at the sky with faces, smiles and hearts of wee boys. The child comes out in lots of folks around such excitement, planes so near and personal.

Excitement is not limited to the air. Mustang cars as well as military land vehicles are on display as well. This 1941 Jeep is owned by Walt’s War Wagons boasting a fleet of 16 historic military vehicles, I say this is more than a hobby for these owners.

This Indian motorcycle, also WWII era, was manufactured then promptly shipped to New Zealand for the war effort. She made it back stateside after living much of her life as a modified civilian bike. A local gentleman got his hands on her to restore her to full vintage glory, now that’s passion.

Perhaps the most exciting, and certainly the largest military machinery we encountered was this B-25 Bomber, Tondelayo. Can you imagine riding in this firing pit at the nose? Two guns and exposed at all angles to the views, but also to the enemy in the case of historical servicemen. Want to know for real what it is like in there? For $475 you can lift off into the sky, crawl in and live it! Personally I get motion sick and will not be signing up for that thrill of a life anytime soon, though I fully support anyone who does.

Don’t you just want to cozy up close to those sexy propeller blades? Danger!

Careful, not too close now. These old planes spring leaks in random gushes. Never know when you may be splattered being that close.

After World War II about twenty percent of the women in WAC or WAAC remained in service. I could be wrong, I am going off memory there. However, I do know that in June 1948, coincidentally the same year as my car, a bill passed which made the Women’s Army Corps separate from the regular Army until 1978. Can you imagine? Women being in a totally separate army? Which is more fraught with political debate? Women serving in a separate Army,or serving alongside men in the same one? We know how that question ends, and historically I am sure there was a third option of no women serving at all. Have you seen recent archeological finds indicating that Viking women traveled and battled alongside Viking men in battle? Have you got it in you?

Know that I stand in front of and with whom? You’ll have to click on Shane’s site to see the bigger picture. What’s a war without enemies? I am posing with “the enemy”, now based out of San Jose, whose three-seat plane holds a pilot, navigator, and gunner. Triple threat, Yikes!

Most of the planes we enjoyed were actually 1950s era aircraft designed for post-war duty. My grandfather worked on such planes aboard aircraft carriers USS Saipan and USS Midway during the Korean War.

If you’ve not been to an airshow, I highly recommend it. Owners of these aircraft are interesting, to say the least, and the variety of air craft on display and in operation could make you pee your pants.

Speakeasy Photos
MUAH: Danyelle “The Hair Maverick” Johnson

Mustang Days at Nut Tree Airport in Vacaville is tomorrow, and that marks the one year anniversary Shane and I decided to pursue Pinup publicly. Tomorrow also marks the two year anniversary of my noticing that such communities exist. Discover what you love and are passionate about, and pursue it! Much joy is to be had in the journey, and side stops along the way may lead to even more adventures previously unimaginable. We have met so many interesting and lovely people, sharing a connection to art or history or Americana culture.

The hobby, this blog, and pursuit of pinup is a thrilling ride. Nearly a year in the making, however, the journey has left the bank broke. We love doing this, but want to bring in some funds on return in order to keep taking photos and funding our shoots. Shane and I have decided a first step toward helping this hobby pay for itself is to offer prints for sale to the public. Nearly 600 images have been published to this blog. We have comprised a gallery of top images available for purchase on all from paper to our favorite, metal! Please do tell if there’s an image you want to purchase but is not in the gallery and we will add it. Also, share our work and talk about what we are doing! We love this and I would very much like to continue. The next two weeks I have a full calendar of posts to publish, but come November I will be slowing back to one or two posts per week. A slow-down in change of pace may be just the answer. From our hearts to yours, thank you for sharing in this delightful journey. May it be long from over!

Embarrassingly enough, I donned this number with the dress piece on backward last time we shot it. Got it on straight this time! Authentic vintage from the estate of my historic body clone.

Speakeasy Photos
MUA: Alyssa Plough
Hair: Self

Request to create boudoir images, which Shane and I have NOT preciously dabbled, led to Monday night practice. Fresh out of the shower, hair air dried and face washed with zero makeup, we figured no one would ever see this first round. See, we haven’t read up on this style of photography just yet. Unlearned we thought to try by trial and error. I’d say we did well for a flippant practice run. Shane also got to experiment with different development techniques in Lightroom. We recently joined Model Mayhem, and most of the images on the site are “sexy” bedroom photos. We figure must be a requirement to have such a thing in the port. So why not? Anybody can do this really. Feels a bit watered down for my blog, but thought to clue you in on our journey with a fun break from our usual work. We have so much we never reveal…

Low-key fun in the sun day featuring a signature Vallejo breeze making the whole thing rather pleasant indeed. The Vallejo Elks Lodge made a gracious host with a lovely uncommon place to sit and as far as car shows go, this one was most comfortable. We met some characters! Sport, the gentleman who owns this 1953 Kaiser Deluxe, shared that he found this girl on eBay for $610 closing bid out of Kansas. We all agree to enjoy the way she has rusted, and the pin-stripping he added is simple beauty capturing my heart for favored car of the day. Sport says of his choice to grass the floorboard: “I like to feel the grass between my toes when I drive.” Brilliant!

Shane broke his camera at a waterfall shoot some weeks ago, you may or may not one day see those images on this blog, so we snapped a few images with a little Sony. Excuse the quality while the real camera is at the shop.



Back to rust! The gentleman who owns this truck and hood ornament tells me he pulled this gun out of his back field when clearing a fence. He thought it a fortunate find and had to mount it to his project car. We marvel at the history of the gun and why ever it was once buried. I’ve got to adore the personality true artists incorporate into whatever projects they set sight upon. This is my favorite story of the day.




Matt Martin and Trevor Holmes made the trek down from Grass Valley to join this easy day. What a treat to roll down the road in caravan with Matt as well as my dad and his truck. Cruising is not nearly as pleasurable as the face time we enjoyed chatting with these friends for whom I have developed heart-felt affection.

Speakeasy Photos
MUAH: Self

Did you notice something on my skin in the last post I published? That’s not something to be flaked off, and I did not get a tattoo. That is paint! Applied by the artist Trevor Holmes. Once upon a time, Trevor supported himself with his body paint art. He has ten years of experience, and all I can say to more encounters is a resounding yes, please! He has also been painting hot rods on canvas for fifteen years, among other canvas works for your viewing pleasure @HDAIRBRUSH. You may find shoes featuring Trevor’s spin on classic pinup girl sparrows. Trevor can often be found at local Northern California car events, check out the Pinstriper’s booth next time you attend show. Trevor and his seven and a half year old son are a team and have a clothing line, Pushrods & Pedal Cars. The clothing displays Trevor’s artwork. Regarding his son, Trevor declares “He’s my right hand man. He’s the real boss. He tells me what to paint.” Soon women’s clothing will also be available via Pushrods & Pedal Cars.

We met Trevor at the cemetery shoot we enjoyed with Matt some weeks ago. More images and stories from that day are coming at you this Fall/Winter! Trevor helped behind-the-scenes, showed us his work, and proved a formidable artist with whom to enjoy a flow of ideas. Trevor is a pleasure to work with and otherwise have around. Keep your eye out for more of his work soon to be released right here by yours truly. This will not be the last you hear of Trevor Holmes via The Pinup Pursuit.

Speakeasy Photos
MUAH: Danyelle “The Hair Maverick” Johnson
Artist Trevor Holmes

Discovering new adventures with new friends, our latest shoot took us to the hills of Grass Valley and this piece of train! We certainly would like to return to the property and shoot more on this scene, plus many more including a glorious waterfall! Keep your mouse poised to click back over and enjoy the images!

Speakeasy Photos
MUAH: Danyelle “The Hair Maverick” Johnson
Body art by Trevor Holmes

This is what happens to boys who misbehave. They end up in the trunk of their own car, even a rare one such as this 1955 Hudson Wasp. What to do next?

Speakeasy Photos
MUAH: Danyelle “The Hair Maverick” Johnson
Model: Matt Martin

Fall has arrived in California. Mornings and evenings are darker. Nights are cooler, as well as some days. We are enjoying the breeze this week as well as the pleasantry afforded by it to enjoy the outdoors.

I am partial to green. This dress is a reproduction. I think Gigi’s jade jewelry goes lovely as an accompaniment. For new readers, Gigi is Shane’s grandmother who passed away about ten months before The Pinup Pursuit really launched. She was a stylish lady and I inherited some cherished pieces from her collection.

Speakeasy Photos
MUAH: Danyelle “The Hair Maverick” Johnson

Alright, something I haven’t talked about and been meaning to discuss. I first released images from this beach series and received favorable feedback regarding my makeup. I applied it myself, which was a huge confidence breakthrough with regards to photography. A fun little secret I’m sure Gravy won’t mind me sharing is that the day of this shoot, I applied his makeup as well, some foundation and a bit of contouring. The only reason I felt okay doing that is because I was playing with a new toy. We invested to acquire an air brush. That’s correct, our faces as you see them in these images were air brushed hours previous. I even air brushed my cheek color, eye shadow, and eyebrows. The notion stemmed out of my makeup incident at Midnight Mass. Motivated me to learn to do it myself. I am still learning, and botch it regularly. So goes the saying, if you don’t get on the horse then you’ll never learn to ride.

Speakeasy Photos
Hair: Danyelle “The Hair Maverick” Johnson
Model: David “Gravy” Castillo
Authentic vintage swimwear procured online.

Speakeasy Photos
Hair: Danyelle “The Hair Maverick” Johnson
Model: David “Gravy” Castillo
Authentic vintage swimwear procured online.