Snap Shots Podcast Interview
I was contacted a few weeks back by Wes Moss from Wesley Moss Media to see if I was interested in being interviewed for his Podcast "Snap Shots". Having been a podcast listener for some time, I was keen to be interviewed and see what the experience was like. I really enjoyed the discussion with Wes but I wasn't ready for the pace at the start and it took me a little while to get into the rhythm. Wes is a great interviewer and I enjoyed the opportunity to talk about my photographic work. Wes managed to get me thinking about aspects of my work that I have not necessarily considered and it does help to distil ideas. All in all it was a great bit of fun. In the podcast we discuss my work, my inspiration and my creative process but mainly it is centred on why I do what I do.
You can listen the podcast via this link here
Australian Photography Mag Portrait Photographer of the year 2018
As some of you will remember, I have entered the Australian Photography Mag Photographer of the Year competition for the last four years. Two years ago I placed 6th and last year 3rd in the People and Portrait section. Each time I made a personal commitment to push a bit harder and learn from my mistakes. I listened to the feedback provided and planned for the next series. I quickly learned that shooting a series of images that work cohesively together is not as easy as producing a single piece of work.
For the 2018 competition, I planned the shoot from the beginning and brought in collaborator Meagan O'Keefe who is a gifted dressmaker to deliver extra detail to the project. I was notified last week that I have been awarded the Photographer of the Year in the People and Portrait section!!!! The magazine should be out in newsagents from now on so grab a copy and take a look. Even more exciting for me is my image being on the front cover of the magazine. A huge honour given the rest of the images in the other sections. I am feeling pretty chuffed to say the least!
The concept for this series “The School” was inspired by my family history. The building these images are set in is the school that my Grandmother attended in the 1920’s in North West Victoria. Now abandoned and derelict, the building has so much personal history for me that I wanted to include it in my photographic work.
The colours and textures in the building are so unique and interesting providing a great visual backdrop for this series. The various architectural aspects of the building such as the door frames, windows and floorboards all provided me with the ability to focus the viewer’s attention on the subject. The challenge in producing this series was finding different locations within the small building that would offer visually unique images which would come together to form a cohesive group. Ultimately this series is one that took many hours of planning and execution but one that I am immensely proud of.
So now I can check off two long time goals - front cover plus photographer of the year all in on hit. And now for a new challenge...
Low Key
I have recently been pushing the shadows a little harder than I usually do. Normally I would focus on getting light into the eyes but recently I have become more interested in letting the brain work out that there are actually eyes in those shadows. It has taught me more about posing as a result. Getting a strong enough pose is really important in delivering a strong image when there is not the common feature of eyes present. This image was captured using one light with a beauty dish and grid to achieve the nice strong shadow with little falloff to my background. Definitely something I will have a little extra time with in the future projects coming up.
Focusing on core interest delivers stronger results
I have been playing around the edges for a while, content to have the direction set for me. Further to my last post (yes it was a while ago) I think I am starting to see some traction in this new endeavour. Using the mantra "turn your head in the direction you intend to travel" I have focused my work and targeted projects. I have used what I have learnt in terms of lighting and editing to progress my work to the desired level. The key last component was to work with individuals who could get me to the required level. In the below image, I have definitely achieved what I was trying to deliver. The location is the school in which my grandmother went to school at the end of the 1920's. I wanted an image that would be aligned to that genre. This was achieved through working with Meagan O'Keefe who has the most amazing collection of self made Victorian costumes. Her work is simply amazing. This for me was the icing on the cake and made the project so very seamless. This will be my future direction as I work to incorporate my skills into the creative vision I am working towards.
New direction?
Recently I have been considering my direction photographically. Bear with me here – it shouldn’t be as bad as you think.
Most of my current studio work comes about because of a lead from a model wishing to work with me. Now sometimes I have had the idea first and direct the entire shoot but mostly it tends to be driven by the model (or stylist, or MUA and hair stylist) coming with an idea and then I assess it to see if it will add benefit to my portfolio. But what does this mean for my own learning. Well often it makes me consider how I am going to shoot and in addition, how I will ultimately edit the images. Sometimes this is enough and I am definitely learning organically through this process – but is it enough? This is the question I am now asking and thinking about where I go next. More and more, I am thinking about specifically targeting projects rather than seeing what comes up. The problem with this type of projects is that it requires more work for me up front. More planning, more preparation and more production. I’ve spent time building a capability with my photography and editing so I think it is almost time to test that investment. “Turn your head into the direction you intend to travel.”
