Hello there!
Boy, I have been neglectful of my blog, haven't I? I am very sorry for that, I'm sure it is frustrating to come to a blog and never see anything new. So, I'll post a little of what I've been up to of late, and then I'll get to what I mean by "A new path".
1. Seniors
I don't really consider myself to be a portrait photographer, but I don't usually turn people down when they ask me to do them. I much prefer "art", but I don't mind getting to work in other styles once in a while.
I had the pleasure of working with 3 awesome seniors this spring. L-R = D'an, Laura, Jose. Great kids all with big bright futures ahead of them.
Now, for me dealing with portraits is kind of a double edged sword. I do enjoy getting to work outside my usual style, but on the other hand, I'm a little terrified of people. I've progressed beyond getting so nervous that I get sick before a shoot, but I'm still very uncomfortable meeting and talking to new people. Luckily, most everyone has been gracious and very pleasant to work with. Despite encouragement from friends and family, I've decided that I will not take on anymore portrait sessions. Not to say I absolutely WON'T do them anymore ever again, I just want to focus on other things for a while.
2. Brooke Shaden's workshop on CreativeLive.com. Brooke is an amazing conceptual photographer who does these really dark, whimsical, fairytale kind of fine art portraits. (her name is a link, go check her out!)
The workshop was a 3 day workshop and it really opened my eyes and my creative mind to a whole new world. Day 3 involved a long discussion on business, but started out with her asking us to define our goals. I did. And I asked myself what I wanted from photography. My answer was not that I wanted to make a business or be a "professional". I wanted to
create art. For myself. Yes, I would love to be taken on by a gallery or a have a show in a museum, or have my work published on a book cover or magazine, but it's not a primary goal for me. Right now- I just need to create what's in my head.
When I picked up my camera and started taking pictures, everyone said "
Whoo, you should be a professional!" I think every photographer hears that from their friends and family, and usually it's bull----. In my case it was no different, and I was as bad as any beginner. But I've learned (
am still learning!) and grown (
Still growing too!). Instead of just doing what everyone assumed I wanted, I'm going to do what I
actually want. I'm going to create art out of the visions in my head. It will not always be what people want to see, and sometimes it might make people angry or very sad, but if it's in there, it needs to come out.
So all of that has brought me to number three.
Creating art. (sorta)
I wanted to try something a little darker, maybe surreal (inspired by Brooke), and using only items at my disposal (i.e. tarp, tub, water, family) I made these:
No- I wasn't thinking to make them look dead. I've gotten a REALLY negative response from these because people thought they were supposed to be dead. In my head, they are waking from dreams. You know how sometimes, when you dream really deeply it sort of feels like you're swimming your way to the top to wake up? That's what these are about.
I'm not done with water photography, this was really fun to do.
Brooke is famous for her composites. That is, taking several pictures and merging them into one. When I saw her work and she explained a little of how she accomplished it, I couldn't wait to get started.
So, I took her fairytale theme a little bit. I used "Little Red Riding Hood" because I already had the basket and red silk. We spray painted some branches to give it a sort of "glowing in the moonlight" kind of look, and got this:
I'm not thrilled with it, but I did manage to composite a little. The cloak for one, her hair, and some branches sticking into the scene. I wish I would have made her look a little more scared and I hate that her hair ended up looking like it was snagged in branches. I was trying (and failing) to add motion. I WILL do this again, with more patience and a better understanding of what I need to shoot to get the final image I want.
And then onto this, which has a long story that is difficult for me to tell. It will have it's own post but I wanted to share it now.
And yesterday, I dragged a model, my mother and Eve out into the woods to crawl around in the river for me. We got this, and more, but so far I've only finished with this one. It will also have it's own post, just to tell you all about the adventure we had. :-)
Isn't Ellen gorgeous? Those eyes are "stop you in your tracks" kind of eyes. And how patient was she to crawl around in a dress and on rocks and muck just so I could get a picture?
So, my dears- That is what I've been doing. I hope to have much more to show you and tell you in the coming weeks. With summer being upon us and so many opportunities to be outside and let my imagination wander, the possibilities will be endless.
Peace and Love,
Tara
