Social Commmentary Folio

After two set backs and racking my brain as to who I was going to try and team up with next, the one person I didn't really think of was the one who's by my side every step of the way, everyday, in some way. So I teamed up with Zach and the 2nd love of his life (I think haha!) and documented the process of him building his car stereo boot installation leading up to Canberra's MEA ACT Sound Quality and SPL Finals. I think my thoughtful planning and idea of what I wanted to capture worked out fairly well. I spent a couple of long nights at BDL Car Stereo (Zachs workplace) documenting the time consuming construction and efforts he goes to, to make the presentation of his car "perfection".

Unfortunately I wasn't able to have spent as much time as I would have liked to documenting this process as I had work and study commitments of my own.

The day of the finals quickly crept up on us and I had a fair amount of ideas stacked up in my little mind. I shot from 830am - 7pm on that Sunday trying to cover the whole process Zach's car went through to be judged, Zach's emotion and goings on and then the presentation of the finals winners and the years overall awards.

Basically the car is entered into several categories

Show Class - where he is judged on the way the car is presented, the overall display of the car and the workmanship that Zach has proudly put into the car.

SPL - the sound pressure level reading of the cars overall loudness.

SQ - The sound quality of the car's stereo (clarity, speaker positioning, staging, bass levels etc.)

Fiber glassing and sanding his custom hand made sub box.

Dynamatting (sound proofing) done! Now time to tape off for more fiber glassing.

Airbag compressors in foreground, shot from where rear seats fold down.

Few minor tweaks and its in ready to be trimmed!

Show Class Judging

Final tune before being judged for SPL and SQ

SPL Meter

And there it is, one of the loudest decibel readings for the day

Zach with little sister in arms, showing off his pride and joy to fellow competitors and Canberra's car industry well known professionals.

Waiting anxiously, he kept touching his face...

And there it is ...Grand Champion 2009

(Yes thinking back on it I should have taken a wider shot, with everyone supporting Zach and his efforts - very hard to move around in the side of a small pub for an ideal shot location)

FINISHED (small) PRODUCT(s)

I feel these images all speak for themselves. I wanted my images to have a fun, cheeky, yet non offensive, professional and eye catching impact on my viewers. After all, SEX sells doesn't it?

I approached this assignment with an open mind, drawing ideas from within each individual box as it stood before me. I had gathered a large range of materials to compliment what each of the products range was offering. I kept the connection of shallow depth of field running through all images to really make the subject pop from the background, drawing the eye straight to the product but still having that bit of reference material present. I definitely battled through some days (but always pushed through), other days everything just fell into place. Overall I feel I achieved probably my highest quality folio to date, in the end having also gathered a large amount of individual experience along the way.

Background - Bubble wrap

Tingly Christmas craft cellophane'ish strips used to reference "Tingle".

Lit evenly with two soft boxes from either side of subject

Background - Bubble wrap, spotlighted with flash to try & match the "tingle" text glow. Tingly Christmas craft cellophane'ish strips underneath netted material used to reference "Tingle". Main flash front lit and slightly to the side of subject with reflector on the opposite side to achieve slight graduation and more of a 3D approach.

Background - Checkered material to accompany the car / race theme (referencing a checkered race flag). Subject accompanied by a car speedometer (referenced from packaging & "extended pleasure"). Both subjects placed on a mirror to achieve desired reflection.

Background - Blacked our studio and disco ball hung from retort stand. Long exposure to achieve light painting with a glow stick (referencing "glow in the dark"). Subject again placed on mirror to achieve reflection.

Background - Studded package padding referencing "studs" and the texture pictured on the box.

I used a differently shaped padding in the foreground still similar to what was used for the background, but I felt the shape of this one closer referenced "ribs" as it wasn't quite as pronounced as the shape of the padding I used in the background but more of a wave / ribbed texture.

Background - Floral material with a range of different blues

(blue referencing the brand and "world's no1 condom brand" sticker). The use of feathers is obviously referenced in the range promoted. Again similar to one of the "tingle" ranges, I spotlighted the background from behind the material and lit the front with a main flash & reflector. This image has had the two feathers in the background photoshopped in from other shots I had taken so that I could achieve the desired look I was going for as it was difficult to get the feathers to fall in their "perfect" positions.

I kept this one really simple with just the background referencing "flavours". When I went for a more complicated approach the image started to look a little too busy. The subject is simply just placed upon a piece of glass to achieve a slight reflection but also have the background make a subtle appearance through the transparent material to accompany the true background.

Presentation Methods - Intention & Rationale

From the start my inspiration for this final folio piece was my boyfriends little sister Eloise (featured in the images)

With her always dressing up & using her imagination, talking to imaginary friends and always keen to go an adventure she lead me to create a children's story that I feel I will be expanding on for a few years to come!

So with all of that in mind we set off to Floriade, Eloise dressed as a "FAIRY PRINCESS" NOT "just a fairy" in her words HAHA!

When we got there the thought came to mind that I could base the story along the lines of a "fairy princess" searching for her lost magical fairy dust. I felt that Floriade was the perfect setting to do so, being quite appropriate for what I was aiming for.

So basically the finnish product is Eloise searching for her lost magical fairy dust which the naughty gnomes had been hiding from her. In the end having found the magical fairy dust, it had given her back her magical fairy powers (transformed in the face paint image) so she was able to again do her magic and of help to all the creatures in her magical kingdom.

As I said I feel the story is incomplete in the sense of it being a children's "story book" so to speak and can defiantly be expanded on but at the same time I feel the images tend to tell a story on their own. Many different little stories can be created from the series on their own, depending on how the viewer reads the images themselves.

Folio Portraits

I was quite pleased with my results in regards to my plans for these portraits, as always there is room for improvement and expanding of ideas.

Shot at f7.1 @ 14sec ISO 100

Multiple Exposure

Here I aimed to work mainly with lighting the silk textures, Mel's features. Wanting to try and achieve a contemporary dance theme, I found this quite a challenge as whenever I attempted my multiple exposures the studio was never fully vacant resulting in not being able to achieve complete darkness and having to work with limited space. This meant a fair bit of post production burning in and adjustments were needed to be made. As far as the multiple positioning goes I also found this a challenge trying to work with both of my models in regards to avoiding overlapping of body parts and having them stay in frame with the limited space they had to work in to produce their moves. There is defiantly room for improvement here and now Ive experienced how to achieve these sorts of exposures, I aim to continue to expand on what I have to learn in this area.

Shot at f.4 @ 125 ISO 100

Head-waist, out of focus background

I went for a simple approach with this portrait. Touching on technique used in the previous semester with tungsten of course in this case I replaced the tungsten with flash as the purpose was to practice with studio flashes. I revisited the Rembrandt lighting technique and felt it suited the effect I was going for. I tried to avoid the flash being so harsh on the face with a large softbox on the flash and having it fire at a setting of 5.0. A reflector was used to soften the harsh shadows but still keeping the "Rembrandt triangle" on the cheek. For the background I used a setting of 6.0 and snooted the flash for a spotlight effect. My plans from the start were to have this as a black and white image as the background I chose (1970s style blanket from home) would contrast nicely and I feel Zach's fair complexion comes up nicely in a black and white image.

C@W parental feedback

After having seen the image of her son Jayme on exhibition at the Hyperdome, Rebecca (Jayme's Mother) had gone to the efforts of getting in touch with me in regards to purchasing a copy of the print for herself. Rebecca and myself have arranged for further viewing of other existing images taken whilst I was working with Jayme & the other children in my C@W area and I am awaiting her reply in regards to further purchases.

Im also in the process of contacting my C@W area manager to arrange for other parents to view and purchase photos of their children also.

A great positive in regards to getting my name out there and possibly gaining more work in the future!

3rd & Final Proposal for Social Commentary Folio

So after thinking about things and also having the plans fall through once again for me, Ive decided to avoid the RSPCA idea as its been done a fair bit in the past and also trying to organise plans with them appears to be a challenge.

Ive started to shoot my boyfriend Zach building his car stereo for Canberra's final MEA ACT Sound Quality and SPL Competition. After winning 7 trophies in total and a series of high point scores so far this year, it's looking promising he will be in the running for 2009 Grand Champion.

My plans are to document the process, effort and time he puts into the car in preparation leading up to the competition, the competition day itself and then hopefully him winning a big trophy!

Everyone and anyone who'd like to come check out the event and support Zach, Its being held at BDL Car Stereo Fyshwick THIS SUNDAY 25th Oct 10am

PHOTO PRAC - R44 Experience!

Tues 20.10.2009

HUGE THANKYOU goes out to Belinda and Christine

for making the whole experience possible, it was amazing!

A shot at Automotive...

As always comments and constructive criticism welcome...

Seminar/lecture - 15.10.2009

Todays seminar with Mercury Megaloudis 2008 Australian Photographer of the Year WEBSITE - http://www.mega.com.au/ws/was a true point of inspiration to me after also finding out this morning I had been approved for my firstmedia pass working for Street Machine at the Summernats Car Festival in Canberra (an event I had attended every year without fail since I was 6 years old) this was a dream I'd been chasing for a while.
Some strong points I took away from Mercury's lecture were- to meet new people and learn to understand them- if being judged, try and pick up on their interests and what they may like & work that into works being judged- Think and plan ahead- If fast production is possible it saves workload backing up- Think about Why and I a photographer- What do I aim to capture when I take a photograph- What do I need when going to take photographs- Getting out and pushing beyond my boundaries, moving out of my comfort zone and trying new things- Look > See > Capture- Aim High but set small goals- Create themes to work on- Bring out the honesty in an image > Keep the image honest- Keep building on portfolios - Draw from inspiration > Be inspired- Do your research and homework > Know who's images you're looking at > Get behind the technique- Don't get upset or angry > Come back harder the next time around > Have the last laugh! (Something I need to really take on!)- ALWAYS have a go > Having a go and not getting anywhere is not failing because YOU HAD A GO!- Have true personality > An ego won't get you very far- Keep an eye on trends > Stay individual- Achieve to create images people take with them to the grave > Unforgettable- When capturing a moment think about the impact it can have > heart and soul > its colors & detail > its content- Draw inspiration from artworks- Tell stories through your image > It's the key- Aim to master working with lighting > Use the right source of lighting- Working with colour harmony > Cold colours with hot colours & vice versa > look at the degree of difficulty- Stay positive > Stay creative > Be a dreamer- Sometimes unanswered questions are more important than answers- Always lead, don't follow > Stay single, groups don't work

Im glad I attended this seminar, disappointed I was the only 1st year there because it does straighten alot out in your head listening to the best, the most successful and very well known photographers share their experiances with you.
Another inspiration I drew from attending this event was being a young photographer starting out in amongst some very well known successful local photographers such as Kelly Tunney (who yesterday won Telstra Young Women's Business Award) and hearing what they have to ask and say, also knowing that they also have things to learn everyday and I can strive to be where they are today if not aim to be better.
Thankyou to all who made this seminar possible, it was great!

Wednesday 15th October CIT Photography Dept Reid Campus G Block Constitution Ave Reid. 1pm-3pm (room to be announced)

Make an award winning image that will make it to the top

Mercury Megaloudis 2008 Australian Photographer of the Year

has had his fair share of golds over the last 7 years. Learn what makes his imagery special, from the creative thought processes behind the camera to the clever use of PhotoShop to create images that consistently win international awards.

This seminar is about art and photography............

Mercury will discuss studio lighting techniques to capture stunning portraits that create warmth in their imagery and make your clients keen to buy these fantastic images. In a technically complex world of lighting and posing, Mercury will show us his simple solutions to the challenges we may face. Topics will include: getting your eye and brain "on the mark," how to judge your own work and what the judges are looking for.

Mercury has a passion for people and photography and anyone who has ever met and spoken to him will agree that his energy and enthusiasm is truly contagious. His portraits are uniquely different and combine a blend of contemporary style, personality and detail. He runs a high end business, Megagraphics Photography. His photographs speak form the heart, filled with emotion, joy and impact. His designer work and original ideas have gained him respect not only from his peers but with his emotional clients as well. He has judged, lectured and presented at conferences both nationally and internationally.

Small Product Folio

(Final)

(Further editing needed... Straightening & minor tidy)

(Final)

This task has been a lot harder than I initially thought it out to be.

I am quite pleased with my results so far and feel my creative ideas and ideas of lighting techniques have broadened with some constructive criticism and help from fellow photographers and Julian (thanks guys!). I have found Im also starting to get an eye for lighting situations and am relying less on light meter readings, which is also helping me get my head around my exposure understanding.

More constructive criticism would be great appreciated!!!

3 shots down - 3 to go... Fingers crossed things keep developing!

Presentation Methods - Creative Writing Collaboration

DREAMS

Lying there so still and quite

Eyes tightly closed

The room spinning so fast

My heart is racing

The fear and panic starts to build

The walls close in all around me

Their presence is suffocating

(Rachel Cuthbert)

Presentation Methods - Self Elected Story

Not having yet come up with text to my story, I had aimed to go with attempting to create a children's story. I went at the plan with an open mind, planning a fun day out with my partners little sister. I explored the idea of having the story based around a fairy princess that is in search of her magical fairy dust & this is my result...

Portable flash

Working with Jos and Dan we set ourselves apart from the rest & went with a suggestion of Dans, shooting into full sun with a technique called the "sandwich technique" that uses the sun as a third light source. Setup as shown below...

Thanks to all who jumped in front of the camera for us, it could not have been done without you!

2nd Proposal for Social Commentary Folio

Change of plans...

Leonie (the blind lady from my gym) is having some personal issues at this point in time and I have not yet been able to organise any times with her in regards to getting started with this assignment.

Time is running out...

So I have contacted the RSPCA. My plan is to document in a series of 6 or more photos, a story documenting how they go about caring for and helping all creatures, great and small. I offered to donate some images at the end as long as I am accredited as the photographer wherever they may be used. The response has been positive and they have said they'd love for me to jump on board. So hopefully I can get started next week!

Fingers crossed!!!

Tues 8.8.09 - BUNGENDORE & BRAIDWOOD

BUNGENDORE

BRAIDWOOD

Stephen Best - Macquarie Editions

(02) 4842 2976
0403 079 145

23 Elrington St, Braidwood NSW 2622

www.macquarieeditions.com.au

I enjoyed meeting Stephen Best. Joselyn & I got the privilege of going into his studio 1 on 1 with him and we were shown the many types of quality papers he has to offer. After viewing some of his printing techniques with different printers, inks and on some examples of different types and qualities of papers, I was amazed at some of the end results. I will defiantly consider dealing with Stephen in the future in regards to presentation and quality in my own finished works and folios.