Welcome to Real Stories
We’re thrilled to introduce Real Stories, a new series celebrating the women behind the portraits at Lone Star Pin-up.
Over the years, we’ve photographed thousands of women, and while you may have seen their portraits, you rarely get to hear the stories behind them. Real Stories is our chance to change that by sharing, in our clients’ own words, what inspired their sessions, what the experience meant to them, and why certain photographs have stayed with them long after their day at the studio.
Meet Candra Van Voorhis
For our very first Real Story, we’re going back more than a decade to where Candra’s story with Lone Star Pin-up began. Her first session with us was in 2013, inspired by far more than simply a love of 1940s style. She wanted to create something that brought together her own military service, her grandfather’s service during World War II, and the incredible artwork that once gave military aircraft names, personalities, and a little bit of glamour.
That first session was only the beginning. Candra has returned to the studio several times over the years, creating plenty of memorable portraits along the way. But when we asked her to choose a favorite, one image stood out. Once you know the story behind it, it’s easy to understand why.
It Started With a Love of WWII Nose Art
Candra has long been fascinated by nostalgia, particularly the colorful nose art painted on military aircraft during World War II.
“My inspiration for doing a WWII military-style pin-up shoot with Lone Star Pin-up came from my love of nostalgia and, especially, the incredible nose art painted on military aircraft during World War II.”
During WWII, aircrews often personalized their aircraft with names and artwork. The subjects ranged from cartoons and animals to lucky symbols and, of course, the pin-up girls that became one of the era’s most recognizable forms of nose art. It brought a little individuality to machines built for a very serious purpose, something Candra beautifully described in her own submission.
“Those aircraft were more than machines. Aircrews gave them personalities, painting pin-up girls on their fuselages and giving their planes memorable names like Heaven’s Above. In the midst of war, that artwork brought a little beauty, humor, personality and perhaps even a reminder of home to the men who flew them.”
For a vintage-loving military woman, there’s already plenty there to inspire a portrait. But for Candra, the connection went much deeper.
More Than a Vintage Photograph
Candra’s story with Lone Star Pin-up began in 2013, but the story behind her favorite portrait reaches back much further.
“The finished photograph therefore means more to me than recreating a vintage look. It is a small tribute to my grandfather and The Flying Dutchman, to the men and women of the WWII generation, and to the military heritage that connects his service to my own.”
We love beautiful photographs around here. Obviously! But the photographs that become truly special are often the ones that mean something beyond what you can see in the frame. They might remind you of a particular chapter of your life, celebrate someone you love, reconnect you with a part of yourself, or carry a little piece of your family’s history forward.
For Candra, one WWII military pin-up portrait managed to do all of that. And she said it better than we ever could:
“Sometimes a photograph can be more than a photograph. It can become a small bridge between generations, a reminder of where we came from, the people who came before us, and the stories we choose to carry forward.”
More than a decade after we created that portrait, we love knowing that it still holds so much meaning for Candra. What began as an idea inspired by WWII nose art became a tribute to her grandfather, a celebration of her own military service, and a photograph connecting two generations of her family’s history.
We couldn’t think of a more fitting story to share as our very first Real Story. Thank you, Candra, for trusting us with your portraits over the years, and for letting us share the beautiful story behind this one.
