Listen to some inspirational music here.
And why do I do the things I do?
My name is Michelle and I love art & photography which is why I do what I do. It all started out with a tiny little point and shoot camera, a scanner and a mouldy old box of coloured slides... story of my life really as I've been haunted by boxes and boxes of mouldy old coloured slides ever since, not that I'm complaining mind you as I believe preserving our past is vitally important if we want to plan for our future and it gives me great pleasure to see the happy faces of people whose special photographic images I have helped to restore or of those I have created fantastic photo art images for. Imagination is everything and I believe we all need to have that special place we can retreat to in our mind to indulge in a few daydreams and fantasies. I will update this little personal page of mine here periodically as I discover new insights or little gems of information to share with you all, or if I feel the need to have a good rant.
Christmas holiday notice
Mon 12 Dec 2011
Yay it's almost Christmas and that means I get a small holiday so I'm letting you all know that I'll be away from the 17th of December 2011 to about the 5th of January 2012 sitting on a beach with a cocktail in hand. I hope you all enjoy the holidays too, see you all next year with more exciting art and new products to dazzle and delight.
Yay it's almost Christmas and that means I get a small holiday so I'm letting you all know that I'll be away from the 17th of December 2011 to about the 5th of January 2012 sitting on a beach with a cocktail in hand. I hope you all enjoy the holidays too, see you all next year with more exciting art and new products to dazzle and delight.
Streamlining the website
Fri 7 Oct 2011
I'm currently updating bits & pieces of this website and trying to make it more functional and easy to use so if you happen to come across a broken link, spelling mistake or other odd phenomenon please let me know ASAP and I'll sort it out :)
Also on another note apparently I've been doing "Inferred Photography *not* Infrared Photography for the last six months LOL, sometimes I think I couldn't spell my way out of a peanut bag "sigh".
Also on another note apparently I've been doing "Inferred Photography *not* Infrared Photography for the last six months LOL, sometimes I think I couldn't spell my way out of a peanut bag "sigh".
North Queensland Spiritual festival
Wed 29 Sept 2011
So the North Queensland Spiritual Festival has come and gone once again, here are some super awesome photos of my stall and some of the goodies I had on display :)
So the North Queensland Spiritual Festival has come and gone once again, here are some super awesome photos of my stall and some of the goodies I had on display :)
Second ever North Queensland Spiritual Expo
Tue 20 Sept 2011
It's all set to be another fantastic event this weekend with the second ever NQSF due to take place this Sat & Sun at the "Proserpine Entertainment Centre". To celebrate this great event I'll be launching a brand new product my "canvas art scrolls" at my stall during the festival, be sure to check it out. I'm really excited about the event and hopefully it goes as well if not better as the last one went.
Current favourite quote
All elephants are grey, but not all grey things are elephants.....
North Queensland Spiritual Festival
Mon 18 Apr 2011
The very first ever North Queensland spiritual festival was a complete success with over 700 people passing through the doors over the two day event, it really put a sparkle and shine back into the little town of Proserpine and greater community and a good time was had by all in the bright, colourful and creatively charged environment. I will definitely be back next time... by then it will be even bigger and better.
 My stall of treasures at the NQSF | 
|
Re-vamped Jewellery
Fri 15 Apr 2011
I call the first batch of jewellery I was going to release last year a complete and utter FAILURE!!!! Failure to launch is what occurred due to very expensive setting resin which failed in an epic fashion to actually set??? So I am pleased to say that after shelving the project for almost 12 months that a miracle has occurred.... I actually found a product that does exactly what it says it would, should and could do. So my dream of launching my jewellery line is finally coming true, I've made about 30 pendants and earrings in varying designs and they all look absolutely AMAZING!!! Way, way better than I even imagined, I can't wait to share them with you all, hopefully I will have them online soon.... stay tuned for updates.
The Morrigan Haunting
Wed 12 Jan 2011
Greetings once again and welcome to a bright (and very wet new year), many of you who watch this website for all the new goodies I regularly bring online may start to notice a few repeats happening in the form of a certain crimson goddess named Morrigan so I thought I may offer an explanation of sorts... She's driving me nuts!
I just can't seem to put this particular artwork away and call it done, it keeps telling me it's not done yet, tweak me a bit more, paint some more detail in here..... every time I try to sleep at night it keeps calling me out of bed to consort with it. So here is a little history on "Morrigan".
Morrigan (pr. mor-ee-gan) Ireland, Whales, Britain Morrigan - with royal torque, two spears, celtic sword, shield and cape. Celtic Goddess in the tradition of the Celtic warrior, she is skyclad, Her skin covered in tattoos. In Celtic Mythology, to uncover the tattoos was to activate the magic they contained, giving the warrior strength, courage, ferocity and good fortune in battle. Also given as MorRoighain (mor-ree-an), Morrigu (mor-i-goo), and later as Morgan. ‘Great Queen’ or ‘Phantom Queen’ The name ‘Great Queen’ makes the most sense as the word for great, even in the modern Irish language is Mor, and the modern Irish word for queen is banrion (ban-ree-an). Along with Her sisters, Macha and Badb, forms a triple aspect Goddess of war. Many people, upon seeing this, may decide to write Her off as unworthy of their attention, “Because She is associated with war, grief, mutilation, shapeshifting, She is not a contact to be encouraged But there is far more to this Goddess than is readily apparent.
She appears in both the Mythological Cycle and the Ulster Cycle (of the old Irish tales) particularly in the Cattle Raid of Cooley, which is very heavily battle oriented. Memories or her survive in modern Celtic folklore as the Washer of the Ford (Ford as in river or stream), who is seen as a weeping woman washing blood stained shrouds at a ford in the river. We know that the ancient Celts held warriors in high esteem and that to die in battle was an honourable thing. In many tribal cultures, it was even desirable, for the Vikings it assured ascension to Valhalla, for many Native American Tribes, it also guaranteed entrance into their versions of paradise. For other cultures, to die bravely in battle could even turn the slain warrior into a God. There are many stories of Celtic warriors receiving an omen of their impending death in battle, but it never swayed them from their course. It wasn’t that they ignored the warning, simply that sometimes “a man’s gotta do what a man’s gotta do”. They would simply prepare themselves and put their affairs in order. See the tales of King Conchabar of Ulster).
It was Morrigan, who attempted , unsuccessfully, to seduce the hero Cu Chulainn. She tried to avenge the snub by impeding him at the most critical times of life and death struggles. After being defeated, she turned to his aid. appearing as Nemain and causing his enemies to die of terror and heartbreak. She also showed Herself to High King Cormac just before he was killed in battle. Yet she also raised the water, enabling the king and his entire army to walk across the very river in which she was seen prophetically scouring the blood from his armor. In the Arthurian legends, as Morgan le Fey (Morgan of the Fairies), She was accused of trying to kill Her royal half brother. She is later, however, among three queens who bear him off to Avalon to be cured of his wounds. Her skill as a healer is also mentioned by Chretian de Troyes. That there were three queens in the tale further helps to identify Morgan le Fey as the triple Morrigan.
Morrigan reigned over the battlefield, helping with Her magic, but did not join in the battles directly. In Her dark aspect She is associated with ravens or crows. She is the Goddess of rivers, lakes and fresh water. It may have been to Her that the weapons often found at the bottom of lakes and bogs were offered as sacrifice. Fate and prophesy are two of Her more favorable aspects. She is said to be patroness of priestesses and witches, evidenced by Her association with ravens, crows, fairies, magic, fate and prophesy. When studying deities of ancient pantheons, it is necessary to also study the culture and lifestyle of the people that first worshipped them. These people lived a very different life than we do today. Their ideas and beliefs about humanity, the universe, life, death and sexuality were of an entirely different paradigm than what most of us in western civilisation grew up with. As pagans, we often give great lip-service to being open-minded, but as soon as some of us come across ideas that deeply challenge the core beliefs of our upbringing, they are rejected wholesale. Prime examples of this are beliefs about death, evil, nudity and sexuality.
When confronted with Gods or Goddesses of death or war, many assume them to be sinister or evil. Once again, look at the origin and the people who worshipped them. Death is not sinister or evil. Death is an important part of the wheel of life. War is a reality of human history, and possibly even human nature. These deities provide comfort, wisdom and guidance through the harsh realities of life and it’s mysteries. To reject part of the mystery is to weaken it. To reject part of the wheel of life may leave you lost, alone and very afraid. Life and nature are not always gentle and nurturing, they can be very cruel and very harsh. We take power in understanding all aspects of the world we live in. Get to know deities like Morrigan, She may be of great help when life gets cruel and harsh.
Greetings once again and welcome to a bright (and very wet new year), many of you who watch this website for all the new goodies I regularly bring online may start to notice a few repeats happening in the form of a certain crimson goddess named Morrigan so I thought I may offer an explanation of sorts... She's driving me nuts!
I just can't seem to put this particular artwork away and call it done, it keeps telling me it's not done yet, tweak me a bit more, paint some more detail in here..... every time I try to sleep at night it keeps calling me out of bed to consort with it. So here is a little history on "Morrigan".
Morrigan (pr. mor-ee-gan) Ireland, Whales, Britain Morrigan - with royal torque, two spears, celtic sword, shield and cape. Celtic Goddess in the tradition of the Celtic warrior, she is skyclad, Her skin covered in tattoos. In Celtic Mythology, to uncover the tattoos was to activate the magic they contained, giving the warrior strength, courage, ferocity and good fortune in battle. Also given as MorRoighain (mor-ree-an), Morrigu (mor-i-goo), and later as Morgan. ‘Great Queen’ or ‘Phantom Queen’ The name ‘Great Queen’ makes the most sense as the word for great, even in the modern Irish language is Mor, and the modern Irish word for queen is banrion (ban-ree-an). Along with Her sisters, Macha and Badb, forms a triple aspect Goddess of war. Many people, upon seeing this, may decide to write Her off as unworthy of their attention, “Because She is associated with war, grief, mutilation, shapeshifting, She is not a contact to be encouraged But there is far more to this Goddess than is readily apparent.
She appears in both the Mythological Cycle and the Ulster Cycle (of the old Irish tales) particularly in the Cattle Raid of Cooley, which is very heavily battle oriented. Memories or her survive in modern Celtic folklore as the Washer of the Ford (Ford as in river or stream), who is seen as a weeping woman washing blood stained shrouds at a ford in the river. We know that the ancient Celts held warriors in high esteem and that to die in battle was an honourable thing. In many tribal cultures, it was even desirable, for the Vikings it assured ascension to Valhalla, for many Native American Tribes, it also guaranteed entrance into their versions of paradise. For other cultures, to die bravely in battle could even turn the slain warrior into a God. There are many stories of Celtic warriors receiving an omen of their impending death in battle, but it never swayed them from their course. It wasn’t that they ignored the warning, simply that sometimes “a man’s gotta do what a man’s gotta do”. They would simply prepare themselves and put their affairs in order. See the tales of King Conchabar of Ulster).
It was Morrigan, who attempted , unsuccessfully, to seduce the hero Cu Chulainn. She tried to avenge the snub by impeding him at the most critical times of life and death struggles. After being defeated, she turned to his aid. appearing as Nemain and causing his enemies to die of terror and heartbreak. She also showed Herself to High King Cormac just before he was killed in battle. Yet she also raised the water, enabling the king and his entire army to walk across the very river in which she was seen prophetically scouring the blood from his armor. In the Arthurian legends, as Morgan le Fey (Morgan of the Fairies), She was accused of trying to kill Her royal half brother. She is later, however, among three queens who bear him off to Avalon to be cured of his wounds. Her skill as a healer is also mentioned by Chretian de Troyes. That there were three queens in the tale further helps to identify Morgan le Fey as the triple Morrigan.
Morrigan reigned over the battlefield, helping with Her magic, but did not join in the battles directly. In Her dark aspect She is associated with ravens or crows. She is the Goddess of rivers, lakes and fresh water. It may have been to Her that the weapons often found at the bottom of lakes and bogs were offered as sacrifice. Fate and prophesy are two of Her more favorable aspects. She is said to be patroness of priestesses and witches, evidenced by Her association with ravens, crows, fairies, magic, fate and prophesy. When studying deities of ancient pantheons, it is necessary to also study the culture and lifestyle of the people that first worshipped them. These people lived a very different life than we do today. Their ideas and beliefs about humanity, the universe, life, death and sexuality were of an entirely different paradigm than what most of us in western civilisation grew up with. As pagans, we often give great lip-service to being open-minded, but as soon as some of us come across ideas that deeply challenge the core beliefs of our upbringing, they are rejected wholesale. Prime examples of this are beliefs about death, evil, nudity and sexuality.
When confronted with Gods or Goddesses of death or war, many assume them to be sinister or evil. Once again, look at the origin and the people who worshipped them. Death is not sinister or evil. Death is an important part of the wheel of life. War is a reality of human history, and possibly even human nature. These deities provide comfort, wisdom and guidance through the harsh realities of life and it’s mysteries. To reject part of the mystery is to weaken it. To reject part of the wheel of life may leave you lost, alone and very afraid. Life and nature are not always gentle and nurturing, they can be very cruel and very harsh. We take power in understanding all aspects of the world we live in. Get to know deities like Morrigan, She may be of great help when life gets cruel and harsh.
Octember
Tue 5 Oct 2010
Welcome to the new month of "Octember".... yes that's right "Octember" which is what you get if you tear the page off your calendar incorrectly and half of it stays behind, it's leading up to that wacky time of year where everybody goes loony anyhow so I've decided to go with it, this month henceforth shall be known as OCTEMBER....
Welcome to the new month of "Octember".... yes that's right "Octember" which is what you get if you tear the page off your calendar incorrectly and half of it stays behind, it's leading up to that wacky time of year where everybody goes loony anyhow so I've decided to go with it, this month henceforth shall be known as OCTEMBER....
I begin to question my sanity
Thurs 13 May 2010
I have discovered a way to make a 7 day week into an 8 day week.... stay awake for two days straight, you can accomplish mountain loads of work but your sanity begins to quickly deteriorate. I seem to work 8 day weeks allot these days so I begin to ask myself... maybe your trying to do too much, to which the driving ambition in my head replies "but there is so much to accomplish and so many new things to try, I can't stop now" so therefore I blame the little voice in my mind which makes me strive to try new things and find new techniques when I announce that I'm going into the jewellery making business... Yep you heard it right, apparently I'm just insane enough to pile more work on top of what I'm already buried under, but I'm really excited about the new product line because all of your favourite artworks can now be worn as beautiful jewellery. At the moment I am just doing pendants and Gothic style chokers but I have plans to maybe do some bracelets and rings ect... we'll see what happens in the future and I'll see if I can invent a 9 day week LOL.
I have discovered a way to make a 7 day week into an 8 day week.... stay awake for two days straight, you can accomplish mountain loads of work but your sanity begins to quickly deteriorate. I seem to work 8 day weeks allot these days so I begin to ask myself... maybe your trying to do too much, to which the driving ambition in my head replies "but there is so much to accomplish and so many new things to try, I can't stop now" so therefore I blame the little voice in my mind which makes me strive to try new things and find new techniques when I announce that I'm going into the jewellery making business... Yep you heard it right, apparently I'm just insane enough to pile more work on top of what I'm already buried under, but I'm really excited about the new product line because all of your favourite artworks can now be worn as beautiful jewellery. At the moment I am just doing pendants and Gothic style chokers but I have plans to maybe do some bracelets and rings ect... we'll see what happens in the future and I'll see if I can invent a 9 day week LOL.
Sun 25 Oct 2009 Tinsel & Watermelons
A question I get asked allot is how did you do that... usually in response to the artworks in my "Fantasy" gallery. The honest answer is I'm not really sure, my artwork has a life all of it's own, I always start with the vaguest of ideas in my head and I just let the magic flow out the end of my stylus pen, usually the end result has only the slightest hint of my original idea left in it. The key is finding elements that complement each other, a certain staircase, archway, texture and all the elements combine into something unique & wonderful. I currently use allot of stock images in my artwork but as I develop a nice little collection of my own I will be using more of my own base stock.
So what's a stock image I hear you ask? Stock refers to images that were shot by other people and put onto certain websites for sale or sometimes for free if your very lucky, advertising companies use stock images allot and they are very useful if you don't own a camera good enough, or if like me you lack the time to track down a model get her costume and make-up sorted, set up the studio and photograph her for an hour or so just so you can get the one photograph for your artwork, trust me it's really hard work and very expensive most professional models command about $200 or more an hour so things can get awfully expensive very quickly, which is why I do the modelling in quite allot of my own artworks.... (I swear it's not because I'm vain) I just know exactly what look I'm going for so I can just stick the camera on timer strike the pose and have it down pat in less than three takes, it's easier than trying to explain to someone else why they are wearing Christmas tinsel, a bed sheet and standing on one leg wile holding a watermelon and trying to look serene and blissful LOL.
A question I get asked allot is how did you do that... usually in response to the artworks in my "Fantasy" gallery. The honest answer is I'm not really sure, my artwork has a life all of it's own, I always start with the vaguest of ideas in my head and I just let the magic flow out the end of my stylus pen, usually the end result has only the slightest hint of my original idea left in it. The key is finding elements that complement each other, a certain staircase, archway, texture and all the elements combine into something unique & wonderful. I currently use allot of stock images in my artwork but as I develop a nice little collection of my own I will be using more of my own base stock.
So what's a stock image I hear you ask? Stock refers to images that were shot by other people and put onto certain websites for sale or sometimes for free if your very lucky, advertising companies use stock images allot and they are very useful if you don't own a camera good enough, or if like me you lack the time to track down a model get her costume and make-up sorted, set up the studio and photograph her for an hour or so just so you can get the one photograph for your artwork, trust me it's really hard work and very expensive most professional models command about $200 or more an hour so things can get awfully expensive very quickly, which is why I do the modelling in quite allot of my own artworks.... (I swear it's not because I'm vain) I just know exactly what look I'm going for so I can just stick the camera on timer strike the pose and have it down pat in less than three takes, it's easier than trying to explain to someone else why they are wearing Christmas tinsel, a bed sheet and standing on one leg wile holding a watermelon and trying to look serene and blissful LOL.
Sun 25 Oct 2009 (again) Digital Design, The Natural Progression
I decided wile I was on the subject I would continue on with my previous thread and explain what happened when I hit the limits of photography, the limiting wall if you will.... I started out as a very ordinary photographer, I wandered around taking happy snaps of this and that like most people do from time to time and people told me that the photographs ware quite good, but I was never satisfied... I couldn't seem to capture the moment, no mater how hard I tried the magic just wasn't there when I looked at my images. I've since discovered that I an very sensitive to colour and am able to distinguish the tiniest variation in colour shades I also at the time didn't understand the essence of light and how to use light both visible and non visible properly, this was the first realisation of what was wrong with my photographs, the colours were off, there was no density no clarity and poor contrast I was looking through the camera without actually seeing the potential of what was before me (although looking back I really don't know what I expected from a cheap point & shoot camera).
I upgraded to a "pro-sumer" (not quite a pro) digital SLR camera and was instantly thrilled with the colour and image quality and still am as I even still use that camera on occasion when I'm not using my pro camera as it does wonders for blues and turquoise shades. Now armed with camera capable of producing high quality images I started teaching myself how to bring out the best in everything I pointed my lens at and how to read the light and correctly judge exposures, now my photography was getting quite good but again I still wasn't fully satisfied. Sometimes dust got onto my sensor (one of the pitfalls of owning an SLR, curse you dust) and was visible on the shot, all but ruining the photograph, and sometimes people got in the way or a bug or bird flew through the shot or power lines, there was always something messing up my favourite shots and it seamed like they would never be fixable and at the time they weren't until the most amazing photographic revolution ever conceived came along Photoshop in 1997 it revolutionised the world, looking back to version one (which I still have here somewhere??? it's like a collectors relic now) it's amazing to see how much the program has evolved and the amazing features it now contains, I've been working with Photoshop in some form or another since it's first release in 1997 and now consider myself a highly advanced user of the program.
The realm of all photographic possibilities is now open to me and I've been using all the skills I've learned to break through into the realm of digital design, I can take a simple photograph and make it into something wonderful I can be a bird soaring through the skies, a fish in the deep oceans, turn day into night turn a buildings lights on or off remove distracting elements from my image, remove dust on an image or even repair an original photograph torn into pieces, It's like being the god of photography and commanding pixels to obey you. If you ever get a chance to see me work you may think what I'm doing is easy but you must remember that I've been working on my skills for almost 11 years now and I'm only 28 so I have dedicated a substantial portion of my life to learning everything I can about photography and Photoshop so I make it look easy but if you are unfamiliar with the program it can be very confusing, I still feel I've only scratched the surface in places still. I'm currently using Photoshop CS4 and am loving the new more refined features available, it's less like using a sledgehammer now and more like using a more delicate carvers mallet and the subtly is improving my work immensely. I can now push the boundaries of reality further and further into the distance.
I decided wile I was on the subject I would continue on with my previous thread and explain what happened when I hit the limits of photography, the limiting wall if you will.... I started out as a very ordinary photographer, I wandered around taking happy snaps of this and that like most people do from time to time and people told me that the photographs ware quite good, but I was never satisfied... I couldn't seem to capture the moment, no mater how hard I tried the magic just wasn't there when I looked at my images. I've since discovered that I an very sensitive to colour and am able to distinguish the tiniest variation in colour shades I also at the time didn't understand the essence of light and how to use light both visible and non visible properly, this was the first realisation of what was wrong with my photographs, the colours were off, there was no density no clarity and poor contrast I was looking through the camera without actually seeing the potential of what was before me (although looking back I really don't know what I expected from a cheap point & shoot camera).
I upgraded to a "pro-sumer" (not quite a pro) digital SLR camera and was instantly thrilled with the colour and image quality and still am as I even still use that camera on occasion when I'm not using my pro camera as it does wonders for blues and turquoise shades. Now armed with camera capable of producing high quality images I started teaching myself how to bring out the best in everything I pointed my lens at and how to read the light and correctly judge exposures, now my photography was getting quite good but again I still wasn't fully satisfied. Sometimes dust got onto my sensor (one of the pitfalls of owning an SLR, curse you dust) and was visible on the shot, all but ruining the photograph, and sometimes people got in the way or a bug or bird flew through the shot or power lines, there was always something messing up my favourite shots and it seamed like they would never be fixable and at the time they weren't until the most amazing photographic revolution ever conceived came along Photoshop in 1997 it revolutionised the world, looking back to version one (which I still have here somewhere??? it's like a collectors relic now) it's amazing to see how much the program has evolved and the amazing features it now contains, I've been working with Photoshop in some form or another since it's first release in 1997 and now consider myself a highly advanced user of the program.
The realm of all photographic possibilities is now open to me and I've been using all the skills I've learned to break through into the realm of digital design, I can take a simple photograph and make it into something wonderful I can be a bird soaring through the skies, a fish in the deep oceans, turn day into night turn a buildings lights on or off remove distracting elements from my image, remove dust on an image or even repair an original photograph torn into pieces, It's like being the god of photography and commanding pixels to obey you. If you ever get a chance to see me work you may think what I'm doing is easy but you must remember that I've been working on my skills for almost 11 years now and I'm only 28 so I have dedicated a substantial portion of my life to learning everything I can about photography and Photoshop so I make it look easy but if you are unfamiliar with the program it can be very confusing, I still feel I've only scratched the surface in places still. I'm currently using Photoshop CS4 and am loving the new more refined features available, it's less like using a sledgehammer now and more like using a more delicate carvers mallet and the subtly is improving my work immensely. I can now push the boundaries of reality further and further into the distance.
Mon 26 Oct 2009 Photography, Am I just An Idiot With A Camera
Another point I wanted to bring up is about my photography, there seams to be some concern that because of my Photoshop mania I fiddle with ever single photo I put into my galleries, this is actually not true, I make sure there is no dust on the image and I correct the exposure if it's needed then I re-size the image ready for the online galleries here on this website or for printing purposes. All of this except for the dust removal (if needed) is exactly the same process that has been in use for hundreds of years in a chemical film darkroom, I'm doing the same things that can be done in the darkroom only in a more environmentally friendly and faster way.
Photoshop uses no harmful chemicals unlike the darkroom process which uses "Silver halide, triethanolamine, sulphate & Alkanolamines of varying types" and a few other possible chemicals depending on the type of photography outcome you wish to achieve. I am allergic to quite a few of these chemicals (as I discovered during a creative photography darkroom course) so making my prints in a darkroom the traditional way is out of the question for me and dumping these chemicals like many backyard hobbyists do rubs me the wrong way, Id rather not poison the earth and sensitive wildlife just to enjoy my creative hobby. Also because I'm now selling my photography to the world it's very important that no matter what size the image or how many copies are printed they will all be exactly the same every time they are printed.
Wile I do fiddle with some of my photography it is clearly marked, for example the "Special Editions" gallery is full of images in out of this world colours and shades which is why they are called special editions.... they have been pushed through the wall of photography onto the other side and have become artworks in their own right to stand proudly and declare to the world that being different from what's considered normal can be a very good thing. So I ask you to please hold your judgement and open your eyes to the possibilities of a photograph being more than just a photograph and consider which is really more noble, taking a photograph on my digital camera then rushing to to Big W or Harvey Norman to get poor quality 15c prints and declaring that I'm a clever and amazing photographer or investing thousands of dollars on the best equipment I can afford and thousands more hours to gently nurture shape and bring out an images best features to create something truly special, any idiot can take a nice photo... but there is more to the story than just pressing the shutter release button on my camera.
Another point I wanted to bring up is about my photography, there seams to be some concern that because of my Photoshop mania I fiddle with ever single photo I put into my galleries, this is actually not true, I make sure there is no dust on the image and I correct the exposure if it's needed then I re-size the image ready for the online galleries here on this website or for printing purposes. All of this except for the dust removal (if needed) is exactly the same process that has been in use for hundreds of years in a chemical film darkroom, I'm doing the same things that can be done in the darkroom only in a more environmentally friendly and faster way.
Photoshop uses no harmful chemicals unlike the darkroom process which uses "Silver halide, triethanolamine, sulphate & Alkanolamines of varying types" and a few other possible chemicals depending on the type of photography outcome you wish to achieve. I am allergic to quite a few of these chemicals (as I discovered during a creative photography darkroom course) so making my prints in a darkroom the traditional way is out of the question for me and dumping these chemicals like many backyard hobbyists do rubs me the wrong way, Id rather not poison the earth and sensitive wildlife just to enjoy my creative hobby. Also because I'm now selling my photography to the world it's very important that no matter what size the image or how many copies are printed they will all be exactly the same every time they are printed.
Wile I do fiddle with some of my photography it is clearly marked, for example the "Special Editions" gallery is full of images in out of this world colours and shades which is why they are called special editions.... they have been pushed through the wall of photography onto the other side and have become artworks in their own right to stand proudly and declare to the world that being different from what's considered normal can be a very good thing. So I ask you to please hold your judgement and open your eyes to the possibilities of a photograph being more than just a photograph and consider which is really more noble, taking a photograph on my digital camera then rushing to to Big W or Harvey Norman to get poor quality 15c prints and declaring that I'm a clever and amazing photographer or investing thousands of dollars on the best equipment I can afford and thousands more hours to gently nurture shape and bring out an images best features to create something truly special, any idiot can take a nice photo... but there is more to the story than just pressing the shutter release button on my camera.
Fri 13 Nov 2009 My Favourite Inspirations
I thought I would share some of my favourite photography styles with you all, these are all wet processes that were developed using chemical based darkroom photography.
My first favourite is the Cyanotype printing process it gives a blue print, and was invented in 1842, it is a wet chemical process using two main ingredient Ammonium Iron Citrate (green) and Potassium Ferricynanide, when these two chemicals are mixed together they create a blue dye otherwise knows as Prussian blue depending on the chemical concentrations it can take anywhere from 15 min to a few hours to develop a print, prints are produced by brushing a suitable medium base such as absorbent fabric or papers with the liquid iron solution, placing a large negative or object such as plant leaves or flowers on the papers surface and placing in the sun or under a UV light until a full photographic reaction occurs and the print is revealed the exposed areas turn bright blue and the unexposed areas stay white or cream. Another interesting fact is that this is where the term "Blue Print" comes from as building plans and other inventions were drawn up using this process for hundreds of years until dry printing paper came along.
Split tone photography is amazing on black and white prints and colour also, it's as the name suggests where you split the tonality of the image by tinting the shadow parts of the image one tone.... say green, and the highlights of the image another tone like magenta or any colour combination you can imagine, this can give an ordinary black and white print some amazing features such as possible hidden detail that may not have been obvious in a monotone print and gives any image a truly artistic and creative edge.
HDRI or High Dynamic Range Imaging, (otherwise knows as just plain old HDR) is a new process compared to what we have covered so far, and has only been around since digital photography began, it involves using a tripod and taking three consecutive images at different exposures an over exposed a correct exposure and an under exposed image, usually three stops is enough to capture the entire range, these three images are then combined into one image. When I talk about "range" I'm talking about the amount of information in am image, for instance we have our brains to compensate for light and darkness, highlight and shadows and even on the brightest day when your out in the sun you can still see all the details in the shade or vice versa. But a camera can't..... even the best camera in the world cant do what our eyes can it will either underexpose the shadows to get correct exposure in the highlights leaving the darker areas almost black with no detail or blow out the highlights causing a white out and complete loss of highlight detail, by combining the three exposures all the information is retained both in the highlights, mid-tones, and shadows.
My first favourite is the Cyanotype printing process it gives a blue print, and was invented in 1842, it is a wet chemical process using two main ingredient Ammonium Iron Citrate (green) and Potassium Ferricynanide, when these two chemicals are mixed together they create a blue dye otherwise knows as Prussian blue depending on the chemical concentrations it can take anywhere from 15 min to a few hours to develop a print, prints are produced by brushing a suitable medium base such as absorbent fabric or papers with the liquid iron solution, placing a large negative or object such as plant leaves or flowers on the papers surface and placing in the sun or under a UV light until a full photographic reaction occurs and the print is revealed the exposed areas turn bright blue and the unexposed areas stay white or cream. Another interesting fact is that this is where the term "Blue Print" comes from as building plans and other inventions were drawn up using this process for hundreds of years until dry printing paper came along.
Split tone photography is amazing on black and white prints and colour also, it's as the name suggests where you split the tonality of the image by tinting the shadow parts of the image one tone.... say green, and the highlights of the image another tone like magenta or any colour combination you can imagine, this can give an ordinary black and white print some amazing features such as possible hidden detail that may not have been obvious in a monotone print and gives any image a truly artistic and creative edge.
HDRI or High Dynamic Range Imaging, (otherwise knows as just plain old HDR) is a new process compared to what we have covered so far, and has only been around since digital photography began, it involves using a tripod and taking three consecutive images at different exposures an over exposed a correct exposure and an under exposed image, usually three stops is enough to capture the entire range, these three images are then combined into one image. When I talk about "range" I'm talking about the amount of information in am image, for instance we have our brains to compensate for light and darkness, highlight and shadows and even on the brightest day when your out in the sun you can still see all the details in the shade or vice versa. But a camera can't..... even the best camera in the world cant do what our eyes can it will either underexpose the shadows to get correct exposure in the highlights leaving the darker areas almost black with no detail or blow out the highlights causing a white out and complete loss of highlight detail, by combining the three exposures all the information is retained both in the highlights, mid-tones, and shadows.
