What a week

It has been a great week... well that is my feeling as I sit here sipping my cup of Earl Grey on a Friday morning. So let's have a think, why am I thinking it has been a great week.

 

Firstly I was out and about with my camera shooting things this week - this always fills me with joy. Portrait, Architectural and Event Photography and a fabulous photo restoration were in the mix. Having work to do means invoices are being raised and that always makes me happy.

The beautiful Fiona

A rather splendid equestrian property in South Leicestershire gets the star treatment

Rain stops nothing

I have been speaking to my accountant to make sure I understand how my income tax will be affected by having become a Landlord at the beginning of the year. Seems all is in hand, I understand all that I need to do, what to look out for and I also cleared up a couple of things I didn't know about. Now I don't have to worry about this and I can concentrate on pushing my business forward. This really makes me happy. 

 

I started going to a new networking group this week and met some really rather lovely people who, after only that first meeting, are asking me to work with them. This makes me happy.

 

I also met up with people I networked with last year. We had all lost touch when the group closed so we planned to meet for a curry and it was great to catch up. I had missed them. It wasn't long, I think the poppadum and chutney's had been cleared away, before work was being passed around the table. Old networking habits never die. This made me happy. 

 

I have talked through a plan I have to rationalise parts of my business. Hearing myself say the words, rather than just having the thoughts rumbling around my head, has really helped and has made me realise it is the correct thing to do. There are parts of the business that are costing money but not bringing in any money. I have to say this is a little like asking a member of staff to leave - but I think needs must. So over the next few months I am going to be making the changes. I shall keep you informed. Sad as this is, it does make me happy.

 

On a personal note: I bought myself a rather large amount of wool this week, mostly purple, to add to my stash and have started working on a project with it. This makes me happy.

 

In summary: I think I can now see why this has been a good week and why I'm feeling happy whilst sipping my Earl Grey.

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Feedback

"You made the whole process so easy and enjoyable: like a long soak in a hot bath."

Not sure I can improve on that!

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Leg has been sorted

Took my product table leg to the engineer to show him the slight issue I had with it. He explained the mechanics of what had happened and corrected it and now it's all fixed I have paid him. This weekend I plan to set it all up and have another session experimenting with ideas I have. I have one piece of kit that I need to try out and once I have decided on that I will be ready.

At my networking meetings this week I mentioned that it, and I, were now (almost) ready to produce studio quality product shots in your home/office. A mobile product shoot studio quality table. Product shots mobile studio. Think all the words are there just not in the correct order. Now if I'm going to make this my USP I need the words sorting. All part of the re branding. The result of my annoucement at my meetings is that I have two bookings for product shots between now and March.

I have set myself some targets with the mobile studio:

1. Set up product table/lights/camera and set up flashes as Master/Slave units - I know this sounds obvious but I need to be able to do these things quickly, so that they become second nature. This is all new kit and each piece has its quirks and difficulties. But I will need to be able to do this correctly even whilst someone is talking to me. Practice, and when you think you've got it practice again.
2. Experiment with three lights to see how best to achieve the results I want with them - different objects require different treatments. Glass for example is best lit from below so all its beauty is visible, solid objects will be silhouettes if lit the same way.

I have all day to experiment and all the kit laid out before me.

 Images to follow

Reflection on my targets:

1. A recent sports photography shoot saw me putting away and setting up the Bowens lighting kit five times in one three hour session. I can, hand on heart, now say I have no issues with setting up and sorting out the Bowens! See practice makes sense. Repetition repetition repetition.
2. I want to be able to have in the back of my head, three different set-ups for the three different types of products that I will be presented with. That those set-ups will offer a solution for each and then give me the chance to add something else and create what my clients require.

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Elephant Man

Actors: John Hurt, Anthony Hopkins, Hanna Gordon, John Gielgud, Anne Bancroft, Michael Elphick.

Director: David Lynch

First time I've seen this film. Tremendous. Of course I know the story, but I had never watched the whole film.

What surprised me was that it was filmed in the early 1980s - it has a much older feel to it. I find that most 'historic' films say something about the time they are filmed. Either by a reference to a current issue, or a hairstyle, a fashion - something. This film did not do that. A very pleasant change.

Set in Victorian London around 1880s David Lynch was lucky to find that London docklands still looked pretty much the same as it had a century earlier. It seems it was perfectly timed as most of the locations were cleared for the dockland regeneration shortly after filming was complete.

Glad I didn't see it back in 80s, pleased to have waited. Back in the 80s it would have frightened me, I was a bit of a scaredy-cat back then.

Reflection:

After watching the extras on the DVD, and hearing the interview John Hurt gave, it struck me there are similarities between this and Jaws (which I watched over the Christmas break). John was discussing with the make-up, artist about how he should look as John Merrick, and saying "take your time, take your time - don't get me ready too soon." He didn't think the viewer should see what John Merrick looks like until much later in the film. This was the same for the reveal on the shark in Jaws. It is not until you are a long way into the film do you see the shark. The suspense gives the film more power. Partly this was due to the shark not working correctly once it was put into salt water. But even though this was a technical issue it meant the film was shot around not seeing the threat and, like the Elephant Man, the build up to the reveal and the suspense that builds up in the viewer are what makes these films work and has made them the tremendous successes that they are.

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Business

After a busy week giving presentations, networking, catching up with people after the Christmas break and only having 2 hours sleep last night (no idea why - so I just carried on working) - I have now set up 7 job bags of work to do between now and beginning of March.

Seven job bags - Nice

This is tremendous and it confirms to me that I made all the correct choices back in 2008. As my degree course draws to a close I will have lots of work to achieve for that - but my clients will come first. The degree has opened doors, given me confidence and equipped me with techniques and skills to deliver excellent quality service for my clients.

I plan to re brand my company with the help of the gifted, and very talented, Redroo Creatives during the spring and I will relaunch the new look business with their help as I graduate in June.

In the meantime I am getting out there meeting client briefs and exceeding them, continuing networking, developing my offer, developing my skills and marketing my company.

One last thing ...

I am in the market for a Business Mentor. I see it as a back scratching exchange so if you know anyone that needs some updated photography (personal or business) then I'll be happy to chat to them to see if we can help each other.

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Windows

Opened my blind this morning, looked out my window and look what greeted me:

Sunrise, Moira

Just another gorgeous sunrise image - but what it signifies to me is that I now have the time to stop and see things like this and to capture them to share with others. You have no idea how much this means to me, I have been striving for this for the last decade and more seriously for the last 4 years. Finally it is all coming together.

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Strobe Flash techniques

First attempt:

Whilst I have been experimenting with lighting and flash I thought I would try a technique I have read about - strobe flash. This involves setting the flash to strobe a desired number of times a second whilst the camera is set to a long exposure. This means that you will be able to capture a moving object as it progresses across the frame all in one shot.

• First issue is that the flash has to be attached to the camera - you cannot do this with the flash off-camera.

• Second issue is you need a dark background so that the object is captured in the strobe of the flash moving across that dark background.

• Third issue is to choose a moving object that will behave the way you want it to. For example move in a straight line across the image.

Well this was lots of fun. Here is the best of my first attempt:

You can just about make out the chattering teeth as they progress across the towel

A failure I know - but failure is welcome because then I can put it right. If you want to see complete failure then this is the very first attempt when I had got everything wrong!

You can perhaps see the chattering teeth to the left?

Reflection:

I think it might work better out in the dark at night and to use a person who will walk exactly where I say. The background was far too light and therefore resulted in it being over-exposed. The wind up toy ended up just winding me up because it would not travel in a straight line. Made me laugh though. Will try this out at weekend when I will have people over who will be happy to be bossed about! Friends eh? They are brilliant.

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Legs need a tweak

Set up the product table and discovered a very slight issue with one of its new legs. I will pop and see the engineer next week to get it sorted - but in the meantime it was quite a success.

Takes a while to set everything up as the table needs putting together, the cold light needs putting together, the flash soft box needed putting together, the ETTL lead needs connecting to the flash and camera and the camera needs attaching to the tripod. Phew.

Here we have the table on its legs, the cold light and the camera on tripod

This is the image that set-up captured - it needs some light behind the subject

Once it was all set up it was surprisingly interesting to experiment with the lights in different positions in relation to the products. 

With the flash light placed behind the table

I think it was too far away as there is still bands of colour and vingette visible

Glass needs to be lit completely differently to solid objects and so I spent quite a while experimenting with what worked best. Tried a few shots with other objects. Although I had not quite got the technique correct I did find this amusing:

Still need to do a lot of work to get this right - but it's getting there

Now all I need is some real products and a real brief to try it out properly. Will set it all up again on Saturday and this time I will try with two flashes and the cold light just to push the envelope a bit further (to mis-quote Chuck Yeager).

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Restoration

This is another lovely part of my work. Restoring people's precious treasured images. Have been given two photographs to sort out.

As you can see one needs tidying up to remove the creases and tears and the other I need to try and bring back the detail.

This is going to be lots of fun.

Noticed in the image on the left that the gentleman in the centre is holding a rabbit - which I had not noticed on the original. I love the backdrop cloth on the image on the right which only became apparent when I was getting up close and personal with it and repairing it. I think I have over done the contrast on the image with the two people so will revisit that.

Reflection:
Realised I haven't put on my website how much I charge for this service. I need to include that I can scan 35mm negatives (colour and black and white) and 35mm slides along with photographs in any state of repair. Must sort that out.

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Private Eye

Day down in London on Wednesday - and no not for Christmas shopping - do people not know me! I detest shopping so much that even though I'm going down the dress sizes because of all the exercise I'm doing at the moment I have no desire to go shopping for new clothes. I will just add more holes on my belt. Anyway back to London ...... a grey day but the Shard looked interesting and already the top of it is in the clouds:

Popped into V&A to see the Private Eye exhibition - very amusing. Had to remortgage the house in order to buy two cups of tea and a slice of cake, but the cafe is a gorgeous place to sit.

Over to Tate Modern to see a number of exhibitions including:

Photography: New Documentary Forms:

Mitch Epstein, Luc Delahaye, Guy Tillim, Akram Zaatari and Boris Mikhailov

Mitch Epstein

Of all the photographers work on display I think I preferred Mitch's work - not just because it was the first one I looked at and I am inherently lazy! - but because he had a good idea, he researched it, he got people interested, he took his time completing it and he has got recognition at the end of it - oh to be so lucky.

Arte Povera

In the late 1960s artists began to experiment with using old, everyday materials. They were after all impoverished students. As I have learned recently at a lecture given by Erik Knudsen - Poverty can bred better work - so I was excited to see this exhibition. Some of the work was quite dull and other pieces very imaginative. Not only did they explore using poor materials but they also explored changing physical states. The piece about masturbation was - hum - interesting! I particularly loved this piece - which reminded me of my friends work.

Cubism, Futurism, Vorticism:

I got to see a Picasso and a Braque side by side - lovely.

Reminded myself just how much information I get from the Art timeline. It is painted across the entire wall of the Tate charting and marking the time of each Art movement and who was involved in it. I need to get my copy back up in the gallery dining room.

Silver birch trees outside the Tate Modern:

Had tea overlooking the Thames and St Paul's, watching the tide go out and watching people.

Then to the Odeon at Marble Arch to watch new Sherlock film. Home at 2am and totally done in.

Reflection:
For a long time the Tate only ever exhibited photographs that were taken by artists who use photography - like Cindy Sherman and Richard Prince - but what is clear now is that they are changing their policy on acquisitions and exhibiting photographer's photographs. I believe this has a lot to do with the the new appointment of their first-ever curator of photography - Simon Baker. This can only be good for photographers and I am pleased to have read that he asks photographers how they want their work to be displayed and this was clear to me when I saw the room containing Boris Mikhailov's Red and At Dusk projects.

This has finally answered a question which was raised in my head after reading 'Sausages and Food' by Keith Arnatt 1982 where he explored and examined whether we are artists or photographers and questioned why the Tate did not currate any photography exhibitions. He was certain that the Tate would change their policy at some point - seems it took another 25 years.  

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Changes

It's a year since I had my beloved horse put down. I should have done it sooner but I couldn't bear it but when the time came I knew and she told me.

Not a day goes by that I don't think of her and remember all the silly little things. Sitting on her back was the most comfortable place to be in the world. I loved seeing the frost on the cobwebs along the country lanes this time of year.

I have to confess that I haven't missed the mucking out, but I have missed the companionship I had with her. I still shed a tear each time I go into the loft and I see her saddle, grooming kit and rugs (which are currently being used to lag sensitive water pipes).

I miss her nudging me so hard in the shoulder that it hurts, the smell of her, the sound of her whinny when I arrived, the thud of her hoof as she stamped her feet in impatience, the feel of the leather, the thrill when jumping, the tingle in my fingers and the funny faces she would pull when I offered her an apple, the way she swished her tail when I groomed her, the obedience, the acceptance and shying at daffodils in March - and so many other things.

Me and Ellie

Miss her so much.

The best view in the world

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Digging through the archives

Had to look through my archives for some images I captured when I first had my camera. I need them to help me illustrate a point about film and digital cameras in a talk I'm giving.

Wow what a trip down memory lane that was.

Anstey 1980

Photos of me with spots and ripped jeans - what a state I was - and yet I thought I was so cool! Photos of some favourite people that whilst I hadn't forgotten about them I had forgotten about these images. One in particular made me realise why I fancied them all that time ago (can't show that one - people will get upset) and another that made me realise why my sister keeps saying what she does about him.

Anstey 1980

Memory lane I do love you at times. Really made me smile at the end of a very long day. And I found my attempt at a William Egglestone - this was taken in the early 80s:

Edale 1980

 

 

Cambridge 1990

 

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Books Books Books

Yesterday I ordered three books.

One for a client made for her parents to celebrate their 40th wedding anniversary.

Copy of the one I made for my mum earlier this year. I can't keep using her copy to show people. So I have ordered my own copy.

And finally, blurb were offering a new product - a notebook. A notebook which contains your images every 6 pages or so. I thought I would have a look at them 6 x 9 inches sounds a good size for a notebook. Then if I like them I can think about ordering more for gifts to clients and also offer it as a product I can create for people.

I love creating things. I should have been planning and preparing a presentation and an essay but creativity comes first in my book.

Oh see what I did there!

Tee hee

Reflection:
My website does not contain information about the fact that I can create photo books for people nor how much this might cost them. Spent half an hour updating my website to link to the Joan book I created for my mum (above). I also added prices based on the book I created for the 40th Wedding Anniversary (above).

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Turner Prize 2011

Learnt something new today. Not only do you need to be under 50 to be considered for the Turner Prize but that the judging is done on the exhibitions of the artists work over the previous year.

It has been running since 1984. This year, for the first time, it was held away from the Tate in London, at the Baltic in Gateshead. It has been such a success and boosted visitors to the area that they are going to hold it away from London every other year - starting in Derry in 2013.

Previous winners that I am aware of are Tracey Emmin 99 (who actually was only ever nominated and never won). Damien Hurst in 1995 and nominated in 92. Wolfgang Tillmans in 2000 - the only photographer to win. Grayson Perry in 2003 one of my favourite artists and I will be seeing his latest exhibition the 'tomb of the unknown craftsman' at the British Museum on 21st December and use my Art Pass. Anish Kapoor in 91 whose work I enjoy seeing and have seen two of his exhibitions over the last year.

This years' winner - Martin Boyce is 42 and from Glasgow. Some say he was the safe choice because they were nervous about being away from London.

A younger Martin Boyce

He is good and his work is very nice. He is experimenting  with his work - just like everyone else does - but it's not obscure, it's not cutting edge. It is art as we know it rather than a new development in contemporary art, which surely has to be the point of the Turner prize.

My favourite piece was the 'Air Vent'
Image courtesy of Guardian.co.uk from Channel 4 recording

Do you have to suffer for your art or can anyone do it? If you haven't suffered has it been worth it? After all when Picasso's work started to get noticed critics were heard to say: "Why a child of 6 could do that".  

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Footnote:

The Turner Prize celebrates new developments in contemporary art and awards a prize each year (except 1990 when the sponsor went bankrupt). The prize is currently in excess of £40,000.

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One Day Three Galleries

On a day trip to London one should never plan to do too much because there is never enough time. Three galleries in one trip sounded like a lot as we would be looking at four different exhibitions - but we were game.

NPG:

First stop NPG - no nothing to do with Prince and the New Power Generation - get on.... But the National Portrait Gallery to see the finalists of the Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize. Red head with red guinea pig was the winner - better known as 'Harriet and Gentleman Jack' by Jooney Woodward. Up close and personal this is a stunning shot. There were two other portraits that caught my eye. One was the boy in shower 'Oliver' by Kelvin Murray and 'Happy at 100' by Karsten Thormaehlen. Before looking at the exhibition I went and had a look at my favourite portrait Johann Christian Bach by Thomas Gainsborough. It is a lovely painting.

Harriet and Gentleman Jack, 2010 - Jooney Woodward

Happy at 100, 2011 - Karsten Thormaehlen 

Oliver, 2011 - Kelvin Murray

Johann Christian Bach, 1735-1782 - Thomas Gainsborough c 1776 Oil on Canvas

Lunch:

Next was time for lunch which we enjoyed in an Italian around the back of the National Gallery. Then after watching Charlie Chaplin, Batman and a unicyclist entertain the crowd in Trafalgar Square (and also try to work out which rooftop they shot the reluctant bomber from in Spooks) we set off across the Thames to the South Bank and the Hayward Gallery.

Charlie Chaplin begging for money

The sun was making weird things happen to the Thames

Hayward Gallery:

Here the shows by George Condo 'Mental States' and Pipilotti Rist 'Eyeball Massage' were enjoyed. I had seen the interview Alistair Sookes had with George Condo on the Culture Show about this exhibition so it was rather startling to see this work for real. It is frankly disturbing, funny and challenging in equal measure. I don't like the demonic glee associated with the portraits he has created over the last decade - but I love his abstract work from the 80/90s. My favourites were 'Nothing is Important' 1985, 'Pink and Orange Abstraction' 1997 and 'Expanding Canvas' 1985.

Pink and Orange Abstraction, 1997 - George Condo
Image curteosy of www.pbs.org

Pipilotti is an artist who enjoys moving images and playing with how we view those pieces. It was all very entertaining, interesting and challenging. I loved the way the huge space was broken up into smaller spaces with the use of voile hanging from the ceiling. This separated her earlier work from the current work. My favourite was the small projection on the floor as a spot of light this drew the crowds because of the way it was viewed. Clever artist.

Heads waiting to go into the Hayward Gallery

Somerset House:

A stroll over Waterloo Bridge looking for the Shard and we were at Somerset House.

We were not entirely sure which building was which

The Dazed and Confused exhibition 'Making it up as we go along' is what we had come to see and very interesting it was. Intriguing portraits and some great ideas.

Dazed and Confused Show

Spent a lovely 15 mins watching the ice skaters and if I can work out how to download the video off my Flip and onto here I will show you it.

And then the journey home.

The jewel that is London at night

Conclusion: you can do 3 galleries in one trip and not feel worn out at the end of it.

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PostModern

V&A exhibition on Postmodernism caught my eye - I have mentioned before that I fancied going. Not sure what to expect and was pleasantly surprised. At one point walking around it though I didn't really understand what I was looking at and then I got very melancholy as I was seeing things that I have at home presented and exhibited in a museum. But you do have to love Peter Saville and Barney Bubbles graphics.

I treated myself to a gift:

I forgot to take a notebook with me and you are certainly not allowed to take photographs in these special exhibitions so I wrote on the only thing I had available and that was the ticket stubs. In a way I believe I was being ironic and postmodern.

I will need to work out my little scribbling are saying and write them up. From memory they were pointers to artists, books, works of art, ideas for a fashion shoot based on an image by Cindy Sherman. This is what visiting an exhibition is all about - to get ideas, to seek inspiration and to get fired up to create more work.

Think it worked.

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