I must update this more regularly. I keep meaning to, then I keep forgetting.
I have been playing with some self-portraits recently. I’ve never really tried self-portraits before, mainly because they always look terrible and cheesy. These look quite cool though:
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I’ve always wanted to be able to take a decent self-portrait. I have always failed.
However today, one shot out of 40 seemed to work. With a bit of tweaking in Photoshop I think I have a self-portrait I am happy with.
For now.
I have finally got round to doing some new photos - they’re not for sale yet (it’s too late at night to faff around with that sort of thing, maybe tomorrow)
Here’s a sneak preview of some of them.
Guitar Hero
And this one comes from a series I am doing for weddings.
Shotgun Wedding
I love this one. It’s a bit more dark, like the Death By Chocolate shot and it’s something I want to do more of. I thought of having the bride & groom dead too, but decided that was going a bit far and no one would want it. But to be honest, anyone that buys a picture like that to give as a wedding gift is a bit mentally ill.
I have a tiny polar bear model that I have yet to use. And an artist painting on a canvas. And a photographer. And a Muslim Sheik. And a mini police car.
In fact, come to think of it, I have more new little people than I have new ideas.
Cock.
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I have been suffering from what I can only descibe as “artists” block recently. I have had absolutely no inspiration whatsoever. Nothing. However, last week I ordered some new “little folk” models and will be doing some more photos soon.
This is the first of (hopefully) many. It’s called “Rock” Band, for obvious reasons:
Rock Band
It’s been altered in Photoshop to give it a sort of “washed out” look. Something different as I never really alter the look or feel of my photos. So I may be experimenting with that a bit more.
It’s not for sale on my site or any of my shops yet, mainly because I am a lazy bugger, but it will be soon.
Unlike my previous few posts, this is not an “Interview a Day in May” - I kind of ran out of people to interview. Oh well, at least I have something else interesting to blog about.
I just received a pack of 200 business cards from www.moo.com - that site is so very, very good. The cards look and feel absolutely wonderful. You can choose a different image for each card. But as I don’t have 200 little people photos, I went for around 10 of my favourite images. On the back, you can have pretty much any text layout you want.
Here they are:
Moo Cards - the epitome of awesome
In other news, I just sold my first prints to a customer in Germany. Never sold to anyone on mainland Europe before. I don’t think he’s German though as it’s well known that the Germans have no sense of humour and you’d need one of those to buy my prints. That’s not racist by the way, I’m pretty sure it’s been scientifically proven.
Also, in defence of the Germans, I have been watching The Red Baron today and it’s bloody good.
So, in summary: Moo cards are good and the Germans know how to fly planes.
More insights from me soon. Perhaps as cutting and deep as these, you can only hope.
Here comes another one, this time it’s all the way from America and features Gale Zucker:
1. When and why did you start in photography?
When I was 7, got my first camera and started making my sister pose for me. I liked it. Then when I started college, realized I still liked making photos and looking at old Life magazines more than what I was studying, so I switched to journalism school, thinking I’d o be a newspaper photographer. I’ve been freelancing for 20 years (working independently for all kinds of publications) . I was a regular stringer for The NY Times for a long time, then switched into magazine & commercial work . Now I just say I shoot real people in real places. I like telling stories with photos.
Photo art notecards - available to buy on Etsy.com
Angora goat kid photo art notecard, 5x7
Finally got a fellow UK photographer to take part in my “Interview a day in May” series. So here’s Louise:
I live in Kent which is in the UK, also known as the garden of England.
2. How did you start in photography?
Whilst doing my psychology degree I realised that I was just heading in the wrong direction with my life. I wanted to do something creative but had plucked for academia as it was the ’safer’ option. I spent my student loan on my SLR and lived off pennies for the next 3 months but it was worth it. I knew I had made the right decision straight away, I loved photography, I always have and can’t believe it took me so long to just go for it! Now is also the perfect time for me to put everything into making my Etsy shop work as my husband and I are expecting our first child next month so I will be spending lots of time at home.
3. What’s your favourite photo in your shop and why?
My favorite photo is my grass dew print, to me it feels like I have captured a miniature world. That’s another thing I love about photography, capturing moments that may have otherwise gone by unnoticed. I appreciate the beauty of nature and am in ore of it, I want to do it justice and feel in this photograph I have.
4. Where’s the best place you have ever taken a photo?
The best place would have to be Dungeness in Kent, it is such a strange place and looks like an alien landscape in parts, it certainly doesn’t feel like the UK. I also love the contradiction of Dungeness nuclear power station being situated in the middle of a thriving nature reserve, I think it highlights the fragility and balance of nature in a tangible way.
5. What camera/s do you use?
I use a Canon Eos 400d with a canon 55-250mm IS Lens. That lens is like my baby!
——-
Here’s a link to Louise’s shop on Etsy and below is my favourite from her shop:
4x6 original photography print- Crows - Available on Etsy.com - Click here
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It’s Friday and it’s the fifth of my interviews. They seem to be going well so far, people seem to like them and the blog is getting a lot more views than normal.
Today’s interview is with Andrea Despot another fellow photographer selling her stuff on Etsy.com like me. I don’t know whether or not she actually is a despot though.
I live in Martinsville, Virginia. It’s in the southern part, about 15 minutes from the North Carolina border.
Though it’s not for sale in my shop (as of yet), at the moment “Escapisms” is my favorite photograph.
Escapisms by Andrea Despot
I took it a couple of weekends ago when the weather was hot and sunny and in the 90s. I have a thing for big fields, fields of anything: wheat, grass, flowers. I’m not very good at describing why I love them so much, but they just make me so happy, I love the open space, the expanse. So this photograph conveys that. I also used a very very shallow depth of field which creates an interesting effect on where the focus is in the picture, which I’m really digging at the moment!
I have always been into art: drawing, painting, etc. ever since I was really young. I didn’t get into photography until my freshman year of high school (about 8 years ago). I don’t know why, but all of the sudden I just wanted to do photography. So I saved the money I made one summer baby-sitting and bought my first film SLR camera, a Nikon N65. I took pictures mostly of objects and of nature, I rarely ever took “snapshots” of family or friends. My eyes were always drawn toward things that didn’t move! So a passion grew for it and I went to The Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale and received my Associate of Science degree in Photography. I graduated about 2 years ago, am lucky enough to have a full-time job as a Photographer, thought not lucky enough to be at a place where we don’t receive much photography work. So I’m doing mostly freelance at the moment. But I wouldn’t want to do anything else. Photography just came very naturally into my life, it wasn’t
a sudden thing. It appeared and then quietly became what I knew I wanted as my career!
Now I use a Canon 30D. But I also have a slew of film cameras: a Nikon N65, a Holga, a Polaroid camera (nothing fancy), a Wester Chrome-Six which takes medium format (something my boyfriend found in an antique shop in Japan), a quadri-cam (I think it’s called!), and a little digital Canon PowerShot that I never use anymore, it’s seen it’s last days…
I haven’t been to very many exciting places to take pictures, someday I would love to go to Italy and Scotland and Egypt and basically anywhere outside of the continental U.S. Anyway, the best place I HAVE been would have to be Las Vegas, but my family vacationed there very early in my “photography days.” I wish I could go back with the technical knowledge that I have now! It would be way too fun!
——
You can view Andrea’s shop at: www.andreadespot.etsy.com or see her website and professional portfolio at: www.andreadespotphotography.com or see other photos on flickr at: www.flickr.com/photos/andreadespot
(That’s a lot of links)
Bye for now.
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Here comes another one. This time it’s Susan Knights - a fellow Etsy photographer….
1. Where in the world are you?
Northern and Southern Ohio, USA. I say both because my husband and I have our primary home in Northern Ohio, and we also have a farm in Southern Ohio. I get to see the best of both top and bottom and in between of this beautiful state whenever we travel back and forth. And it’s not called “Beautiful Ohio” for nothing!
2. What was the last thing you photographed and can we see it?
The exterior of my high school alma mater. I’m doing the photography for another school alum who lives in New York City who is designing the booklet for our ??th class reunion and needed the photos.
You can actually see one of the 120 photos I took on my Etsy site now:
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=24658716
3. What’s your favourite item in your shop and why?
The “Blissful Barn” photo: (http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=24589807)
The Blissful Barn - Click here to buy it on Etsy.com
I like the perspective looking up and the clean lines and shapes… it really makes me say “Ahhhh” and feel relaxed.
4. Why photography? Why not another “art”?
I’ve dabbled with photography for years and years, and I enjoy looking through the lens and using my eye to crop and set up a shot. This is especially satisfying with digital cameras because I can take hundreds of shots with slight variations, then decide which one reflects what I actually saw and felt when I took it, and what I want the viewer to see.
5. What would you like to photograph if you could choose anything, anyone, anywhere?
I was just talking about this: One day, I would love to go to Yellowknife in the Northwest Territory of Canada and capture the Northern Lights.
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Here’s the third of my interviews, I am quite getting the hang of this now.
This time it’s another photographer and this one is Jennifer Moore.
Here come the questions….
1. Where do you live?
I live in Montgomery Village, MD. It’s about 40 minutes from Washington, DC.
2. Show us your favourite photo and explain why you like it
Empty Chairs - Click here to purchase
This is a “happy” photo, and it was taken at a very happy time in my life. My boyfriend and I were traveling in celebration of our 6-month anniversary. It was a very nice weekend. Here it is, two years later, and we are as happy as ever! I also just really love the colors. The chairs look so inviting.
3. Where’s the best place on Earth you have ever taken a photo?
So far, Maryland’s Eastern Shore. I grew up in Maryland, and the Eastern Shore is a very special place, and in my opinion, underappreciated. I never realized how much I enjoyed nautical photography until I started taking nautical photos in 2007.
4. What would you really like to photograph?
I’m very interested in fashion photography and in fashion in general. I wanted to be a model when I was younger. Nowadays, I subscribe to a couple of fashion magazines, not just because I love the clothes and the stories, but for the photography. I love fashion photography done well. I would want to take a few classes before I attempted it, however.
5. What sort of camera do you use?
I recently upgraded to a Nikon D-60. My earlier photos, believe it or not, have been taken with a Canon Powershot. It’s an excellent camera, but now that I am offering my services as a photographer, I wanted something with more capabilities/expandability. I’m very happy with it, and I’m learning it quickly.
Jennifer also wanted to say that “In addition to photography, I am a writer/editor and a mixed media artist/crafter. All of my shops can be seen via my blog at http://dragnrags.blogspot.com “
——
All done! Painless as usual.
Here’s my favourite shot :
"On The Ground" - Click here to buy
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