…..catch you on the flipside {Part II}
Following on from ‘Part I’ of my 2011 round up, here are some more highlights of my year……
As part of my training this year, I attended a course run by music photographer Tom Barnes. I feel like some courses are slightly sugar coated, and very ‘Team America’, and although you leave feeling exhilerated and ready to take on the world – which isn’t necessarily a bad thing – sometimes you just want to hear ‘the truth’. Tom’s course was refreshing because it felt truthful. There was no sugar coating, and he wasn’t Read more »
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Day 229: {The geek in me}
….truth be told, I have a bit of a ‘geek’ side to me…..(Shhhhhh! Don’t tell anyone). So a few months ago, when I discovered a flask that was made to look like a lens, I instantly wanted one.
At Christmas there was a present from Ian that hadn’t arrived yet, but I had no idea what it was. So today, when I returned from my shoot to find that my last pressie had arrived, I was a bit giddy. Then when I opened it to find this 24-105 lens flask inside, I was in geek heaven. Happy Christmas to me!
…..Christmas week round up
..Sooooooo….the run up to Christmas has been pretty busy, but just like everyone else, I’ve been waiting to wind down.
…..but it’s Christmas Eve and I’ve still got a few bits do to before I finally get to chill out – so I thought I would do a quick round up of the week!
Things I love from this week include:
My Starbucks Christmas tree decoration! (Of course!)
Home made protein smoothies after exercise:
Ian’s home made vegetarian sticky Read more »
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Day 228: Alive and Kicking
……Ian has brought my Gerbera Daisy back to life! Yay! High five’s all round!
I’m terrible at keeping plants. Ian however, seems to have developed a ‘green thumb’ this year. He made sure we stayed in fresh veg all through the year by tending to our new venture of growing our own.
….and when I thought my poor Gerbera was dead and gone, Ian didn’t give up and nursed it back to life.
Here’s the photo of what happened when I was ‘looking after’ it. Yikes.
Inspiration comes in many forms…….
I love graffiti.
….and by graffiti, I mean art, not ‘tagging’.
We found a street art project in Melbourne a couple of years ago which was pretty amazing; so when I got to see the old bus station in Blackpool a couple of weeks back I was pleasantly surprised.
I think this piece was my favourite…..
Day 227: Scale
I’m not a landscape photographer, but it’s still something I enjoy doing.
A few weeks back I headed over to Tatton Park for a Sunday afternoon stroll, and on the way back to the car, I noticed this couple walking through the tree’s. I loved the scale of the whole thing. They looked so tiny. I played around with it and thought it looked better in black and white. I think there’s something quite peaceful about it…..
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…..catch you on the flipside. {Part I}
As the countdown took place and the chimes of Big Ben kicked in, I had no idea what 2011 would hold for me. Ian and I had done our New Year tradition of going to our favourite Cantonese restaurant. (So popular in fact, that when we call to place an order, we don’t even need to give our name. I can’t decide if that’s good or bad)?! We sat and ate, while re-evaluating the previous year, and looked forward to the next. Making plans, and hoping we could make at least a few dreams come true…..
As a photographer, I need to market myself, continually promote myself and really put myself out there – which can be hard. ……and I knew that marketing myself would be my biggest obstacle. Jasmine Star describes herself as one step beyond a wall flower, she says she’s the ‘wall flower gardener’, and I can really relate to that. Whenever the word ‘networking’ crops up, I actually just want a hole in the ground to appear and then swallow me up. Whole. So when the first Manchester ‘Tweetup’ was arranged in March, I cringed. Even though I knew there would be a few people there who I had briefly met before, or chatted to through social networking, I still broke out into a cold sweat; but as I knew it would probably be good for me and my business, I called my friend Chrissy, and we arranged to go together.
…..and since that first ‘Tweetup’, I can honestly say I’ve met and worked with some really amazing people. In particular is Catherine Hughes of Ivy Clara Make-up and Styling. Not only did I meet a brilliant make-up artist, but she’s become a really good friend as well. I’ve worked with Catherine on a number of projects, and I know there will be many more to come!
From MUA’s to venue stylists, florists, bridal shops and wedding dress designers, I never dreamed at the beginning of the year, that I would be so lucky to work with so many top suppliers to the wedding industry. I’ve had the chance to work on some brilliant projects, and I don’t feel as ‘alone’ as I did at the beginning of the year. I was part of a big shoot back in November at Heaton House Farm, and seeing so many people come together to make it all possible, was one of the best feelings ever…..and at the end of the shoot I just wanted to run round and high five everyone!
Continually learning and progressing my skills, whether self study or going on courses is also something that I need to do on a regular basis. I’ve done a number of courses this year, but I think my favourite by far was a course I attended by Orange County wedding photographer Jessica Claire. Wow! It was so refreshing to hear how things are done ‘over the pond’. I’ve been a fan of Jessica’s work a for while now and to actually get to meet her and hear all about how she built her business was so interesting and really insightful. At the end of the day however, a fellow student asked me to take a photo of him with Jessica, and at that moment, it was like all my basic photography skills shut down! Composition, and even pressing buttons just went out of the window! I was taking a photo of Jessica Claire, this amazing photographer and I just went to pieces!!! I was completely in awe of her!
2011 was a pretty big year for me, and I still have more that I want to cover, so I’ll post Part II in a couple of days…..
…..but for now, I hope everyone is starting to wind down for Christmas 
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……a pretty good week.
What’s this I hear you cry? A Saturday post?! Oh yes indeedy!!
I thought I’d take a moment to look back over the past week, and some of my favourite things. As weeks go, it started out pretty well, with a number of enquiries. I love weeks that start like that!
Evening shopping with my friend Ste, which meant I also bought some new socks….I get far too excited over things like this! But they were super warm winter socks. Mmmm……toasty! On the days I work at home, I like to be as toasty as possible. Ian, on the other hand may as well put his desk in the back garden, as he has his office super cold. Brrrrr!
Everyone who knows me, know’s I’m really not a baby person. BUT my lovely friend Chrissy Mathew gave birth on Thursday morning and I am super happy for her and husband Pete. I haven’t managed to speak to her yet, but she text Thursday to let me know the news. I’m pretty sure when she’s home and settled, you’ll be Read more »
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Finding my feet…….
I think it’s safe to say that my ‘Day by Day’ project has definitely taken a back seat over the past few weeks. Sometimes I’ve forgotten and sometimes I’ve not had the chance.
So if I miss a day, sometimes I think I’ll take two the next day…..which really defeats the object of taking a ‘photo a day’. Then the days roll into weeks and I lose motivation to do it….
There is also the inspiration side of things as well. I really do admire photographers who come up with ideas, day after day…..and people like Tracey Barrow who do a self-portrait everyday – I simply have to tip my hat to them (I don’t wear a hat, but if I did, I would)! So for now, I’ve decided if I take a photo, that’s great; if I don’t have time to take one, I may just post up an old photo that either 1) I just like! 2) Inspires me or 3) Has never been posted before. I’ll probably keep numbering them as well…..and even though they won’t be consecutive days, it will still relate to the number of photo’s that have been posted.
I think I put too much pressure on myself sometimes; I think a lot of people in the ‘creative industry’ do…..but as the year draws to a close I’m finally starting to let myself wind down. Well, I say wind down, but what I really mean is, look back over the past year, evaluate everything, and start preparing for next year. …..and although I’ve had a pretty good year, I still feel like I’m finding my feet with a lot of things…and I still feel like there is so much to learn, and many different avenues to explore with my photography and my business.
I feel like I’m starting to get (a bit) more organised…and my ‘to do’ lists are starting to get cleared quicker and I’ve been making time to read as well. I love reading, but I never used to give myself that ‘down time’; I used to convince myself that I didn’t have time or I should always be doing something more important. But I’ve finally allowed myself to accept the fact that reading IS important for me. Whether it’s photography related or not, it’s all of a sudden become an indulgence! The first hour of my day starts with reading. Breakfast, brew and a book, followed by exercise. I then feel ready to start my day….
After reading a post by Promise Tangeman a couple of days ago, I also felt inspired to take a look at how I organise my ‘to do’ list (s). So now I have all my current projects broken down, and I also have my upcoming projects / tasks for the next four months on my wall. Oh yes…thats right people….FOUR whole months. I’m determined to start 2012 super organised. (Funnily enough, I also have those exact same boards – spooky)!
….so for now, I’m off to make another list…..and as for 2012….I’m hoping it’s the year I finally find my feet
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Feeling liberated…..
Although I’ve been feeling Christmassy for week or so now, as soon as I sat down and realised ‘Elf’ was on TV, that was it! That Christmas feeling kicked in big time!
I climbed into the loft to dig out the tree, yet once downstairs, I turned my back Read more »
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