A little bit about Mallory Holley

G’day!  Thanks for stopping by.  My name is Mallory Holley and I am an Aussie photographer, blogger and speed queen. 

My name carries a unique homage to the automotive world. My loving parents named me after ‘Mallory Ignitions’ and I inherited a last name coincidentally spelt alike another renowned car part manufacturer, ‘Holley Carburettors’.

It was my father who particularly influenced my love of all forms of horsepower. Many nights as a little girl, all bathed and ready for bed, I would sneak out into the garage with my Daddy. I’d always find myself mesmerized by a dusty treasure hidden in the very far corner.

That treasure was the very first model Holden, a 48-215, or more commonly known as the ‘FX’. She was such a beauty that, through the dust, cobwebs and spiders that covered her, I was ever so in love.  That love grew as I grew, and evolved into everything that makes me today.

I love classic and muscle cars, hotrods, ratrods, motorbikes and trucks. However, it’s the elegance of finned Cadillacs, the power of Corvettes, and the charm of early model Holdens that I am most captivated by. Since I grew up being driven in either a Ford F250 ute or some beautiful Landaus, those vehicles will forever hold a special place in my heart too.

Working alongside my Dad, I delight in the art of restoring cars and trucks, leading to an ever-growing collection of projects. Unsurprisingly, I drive a few classic Holdens and Chevys.  Chrome will always get you home!

You’ll nearly always find me in a pair of cowgirl boots, however if I’m not in the workshop, I enjoy dressing like a retro barbie doll in wiggle dresses or swinging skirts, corsets, bright red lipstick and seamed stockings. I love fashion from the 1940s through to Y2K, makeup and hoarding all things vintage in general.

I certainly live, breathe, wear, drive, write about and photograph the things that I love from bygone eras. My passions underlie what I recreate in my art.  I have always loved being creative in my painting, writing or even in the way I dress, however photography has always been my favourite medium.

I have had a camera in my hands since I can remember! In fact, when I was a child, I’d save up all my pocket money to pay for film (and developing) for my little 35mm Kodak that besides being reusable, had pretty much as many functions as a disposable film camera.  I would then dress up the dogs, cavies, rabbits, chickens or ponies in whatever I found as a suitable fit.  I would sometimes even apply their makeup, usually with coloured zinc cream, style their hair and create little glamour shoots. Often my mother would find the odd few photos on her film rolls here and there, when I had mischievously ‘borrowed’ her camera.  She had this fancy Canon, which was usually deemed sacred, yet it was much more exciting and appealing to use than my own.

I am a lot older than that now and offer a much more professional service, I
assure you!  Although I often photograph animals, I don’t usually dress them up in Barbie clothes or items raided from my Mum’s linen closet anymore.

These days,  I enjoy helping others to look and feel beautiful and proving that anyone can be a pinup model, no matter what age they are, or what number is written on the label in their dress. I also photograph babies, children, couples and promote businesses with commercial photography.

I greatly admire Bunny Yeager, Betty Page, Marilyn Monroe and pin-up art created by Gil Elvgren and Pearl Frush, which inspire a lot of my work.  

Although I graduated from university with a Bachelor of Laws (with honours), I had a taste of many amazing photography electives within my degree.  

I never imagined that taking a bunch of self portraits for a studio photography assignment would lead me into a career that encompassed something that was completely different from what I thought I’d do for anything more than a hobby or what I set out to do, but here I am.  You cannot plan life, so you might as well live it and do what you love!

So with my love for capturing memories in the form of unique, often vintage inspired photographs, I decided to live my dream.  It was then that Mallory Holley Studios was born.

Although I specialise in vintage inspired photography for speed queens and greasers! But that’s not all I do… 😉

I also love to share my lifestyle, including my love for pinups, old-skool cars and everything vintage on my High Heels & Whitewall Wheels blog which I started back in 2011.  You can read about my blog HERE and even get a FREE SUBSCRIPTION to it, if you like!

My most recent accomplishment has been launching my very own YouTube channel, where I hope to bring my blog to a whole new level with video. I am immensely grateful for everyone who has subscribed to my channel and helped it to grow.

Through whatever my camera captures, I hope to inspire and encourage others. XXXX