Inspire, Create, Be YOU!

Another week on Inspire, Create, Be YOU! Getting to know our fellow artists one week at a time. This week is someone who is an inspiration to me on a daily basis. her work is super emotive, moody, real and gritty. Her work pulls you in making you want more, more, more. She processing mostly b&w which makes her work even more emotive. Please grab a cup of coffee, sit back and read a bit about Niki of Niki Boon Photography.

1.    What do you think the most important element is in your personal style? (example. Light, creativeness, perspective, story, emotion, texture, etc. What do you shoot for in your work? And what makes your work YOU?)

I believe that mood is a big part of my personal style… I tend to look for shadows a lot , I shoot for them and edit for them… that tends to lend my work towards a very dark and moody look…I tend to lean towards a more documentary approach with my personal work… that is partly because of my personal style , but also because my kids are mostly completely over me and my camera and so asking for anything ‘posed’ is largely out of the question (must work on making those bribes a little more appealing)

2.    What makes you tick? What keeps you inspired and pushing to be a better artist?

My kids inspire me…. daily… they are largely free range here at home 24/7 and are always intriguing me with their imaginations and activities. I am also inspired by our environment where we live … we are lucky enough to be surrounded by beautiful rivers, bush and wild rugged coastline… I find vast windswept wild beaches hugely inspiring. I’m also a massive fan of films … especially the quirky character based stories.

3.    Is there anything specific that helped push you towards your beautiful and unique style? And if yes, what was it?

A lot of artists I have been inspired by have helped me realize my natural bent towards more dark and moody as well as documentary images. Artists such as Sally Mann, Anders Petersen. Just that permission to go there with my natural bent towards dark and moody I guess.

4.    What is the one thing you would tell others that are trying to break away from their present shooting style to start forming their own unique work and create from their heart?

Shoot a lot and shoot every day … eventually you will run out of different or original things to shoot if you are used to shooting the same things the same way … and you will be forced to do things differently… you might not always like what you shoot this way … but it will open you mind to other options , and it will lead you somewhere on the road to discovery of who you are artistically, the more you shoot the more you will see some sort of pattern of theme in your work. Also looking at other artists, not just photographers , but sculpter's, painters, filmmakers etc… take note of what you are naturally drawn too.  It is a pathway and journey of discovery that I am still at the very beginning of myself… I have come to expect many many hurdles. 

5.    We love to shout out to others artists here so if there was one artist who really inspired you to be the best artist you can be and really shoot for you, who would that artist be?

I have done an online course with Deb Schwedhelm through Bloom … and whilst it wasn’t about techniques or gear and how to use it… it was a whole heap about who you are as an artist and that for me started me looking at my photos as a form of ‘art’ and how learning about who I am as a person has a direct impact on what I produce with a camera… I looked at things differently after that… again.. I am only very much a beginner in this journey… my discoveries are still so shallow … but I am excited to see where it all takes me.
Also another online course that really provoked a big shift in me and my art was one run my Michelle Gardella… just a magical experience learning through her… she helped me to ‘make it happen and make it yours, because anything less than that is honestly a waste of time and creative energy. And nobody has time for that.’

6.    We love to see how hard people have worked with then and now's. And inspire other artists and beginners and show them that we all started somewhere. Can you give me a before and after of your very first work to your now work? And tell us a bit about your journey. How long have you been doing photography? When you started what did you want to shoot as opposed to what you shoot now? Most of us end up doing absolutely nothing we thought we would. Example, I wanted to shoot newborn's and weddings with a light, dreamy, whimsical feel. My work now is nothing like that. I shoot fine art and lifestyle with a very moody, emotive and gritty feel. How has your style and outlook changed?

I have been taking photos since I traveled many years ago.. I spent 4 years traveling and working around the world, and whilst in the midst of a very dreary Scottish winter I discovered film photography and the darkroom… to me this was pure magic.. and so started an obsession and a passion that has ebbed and flowed since then. Initially I guess my focus was street photography.. I was fascinated by all the different cultures I was exposed to in my travels… then my photography took a hiatus on returning to NZ as I focused on my career instead… but it was revived with my as my children grew. My focus is largely on my children and their childhood… documented their innocence and wonder with the world as they discover in their own way how it all works… and I guess that hasn’t really changed, my approach has altered, and I guess that is often due to recent inspiration from other artists at the time or deciding to trial a new lens for a time… my processing has become a lot stronger and considerably darker over the years though. I have recently started up a family documentary photography business.. but that is still in its beginning phases.

7.    Can you give one thought on how to stay fresh, inspired and moving forward? What helps you?

 It’s tricky one for me right now… I’m going through a bit of a slow spot… but a change in scenery always helps me, and I know I am always freshened up by a wild piece of coastline, or windswept open hilltops or anything remote, so even if that doesn’t result in mind-blowing images my mind is always better for having made the trip.
Reading inspiring interviews by artists I admire… novels recommended by others … movies ..I am a BIG movie lover.. and even if they don’t result in magically getting me to take better images they always get me out of my own head for long enough to get a fresh look at the world.

8.    We all want to work on something or change something within our work or joinery. Anything you are working to be better towards?

I would love to study more documentary photographers and their work.. and apply more of this to my work, both in my personal and client work. But at the same time I also want to have an element of fine art also.. particularly to my personal work… so more study in that area too.

9.    What are your goals for the next year or two? Getting published, building or find a studio, traveling with your shoots, specific shoot you are trying to pull together? What are you up to?

I am really crap at goals, and planning is my biggest downfall. A pipeline dream would be to one day get published… maybe? I have an idea for a portrait project… and one on that curious age between 10-13 yrs… I also have my wee business that I really should be working on setting up… and I guess I should probably work on my planning and goal setting skills too … sigh… 

10.    We are huge on encouraging here. Can you please pick one photographer that is just starting out that is super talented, inspiring with not a big following that is trying to get their name out or that YOU think deserves to be seen and known. There are so many out there. Let's give them a little shout out.

One is so hard… so so many, crazy amount of holy crap awesome artists out there. I have three that come to mind straight away (sorry I’ve never been particularly good at sticking to the rules)
... I have loved Nikhol Estares work since I first saw it. I love her documentary work, her portrait work and self portraits too.
Sharon Covert.. her self portraits are deep and soulful and so so beautiful.. her images of her daughter just magical… love her art so much.
Berit Alits .. I fell in love with her fine art portraits a few months ago… they are so soulful and moving, and she now has some brilliant documentary family work too.

I hope you enjoyed Niki's work and interview as much as we did. Please, as always go show the featured artist some love. Thank you. Until next time, XOXO! ~Amber 

Shadows

Week 3 in creative love is SHADOWS! I run a Facebook group and every 2 weeks I have a theme with a tutorial and we all go out and shoot for that theme and tutorial. I have a winner at the end of each theme (2 weeks.) For those that are reading this not knowing what it is for. One of my favorite things. Shadows are so fun to play with. They allow you to get creative, artistic and just have fun. They allow you to see that there is so much more to an image than just taking a picture of your subject. Photography is an art and its fun to get artistic with your images. Shadows are EVERYWHERE. Just look for them. Where the light and dark meet, dappled lighting from trees, shadows from your subject on the ground, shadows, shadows everywhere. 

Like I said above, Photography is an art, Get creative with it. Getting creative will allow you to stand out, be inspired and stay fresh. Here are a few examples of how I use shadows on a daily basis. 

Shadows from the blind's in our windows... SO FUN!

The shadowing from the leaves in the trees above us. Super fun to play with. 

 

Shadows from my subject. Very fun to watch for and play with. Watch for them to fall on buildings too. 

Where light meets dark. In the shadows.

There are so many things you can do with shadows. These are just a few examples. So let's get creative, have some fun and go out and shoot some shadows. I can't wait to see what you all come up with this week. Thank you. Until next time, XOXO! ~Amber

Inspire, Create, Be YOU

Another week of Inspire. Create, Be YOU. This week we are reading about the lovely Amy of Amy Lucinda Photography. Amy's work is inspiring, emotive and full of light. She uses light so beautifully and dramatically. Please take a few minutes to read Amy's interview.

1. What do you think the most important element is in your personal style? (example. Light, creativeness, perspective, story, emotion, texture, etc. What do you shoot for in your work? And what makes your work YOU?)

I couldn’t have answered this a couple of months ago, but I’ve been studying visual expression so I’m a little bit more aware of my style! I think the most important ones for me are story and light. If I see some beautiful light, I wait for a moment to unfold to capture it. Amazing light can make even the most mundane moments appear beautiful. What we consider to be mundane today might be the sweetest memory once our children are grown up!

2. What makes you tick? What keeps you inspired and pushing to be a better artist?

Capturing my sons’ childhood is my biggest inspiration and I am determined to fill photo books for them to look back on their happy-go-lucky early years. There are days/weeks where I have a mind block and all my creativity goes out of the window, and I think about taking a break. But then I talk to other photographers who are feeling the same and I realize that it’s all part of the journey 

3. Is there anything specific that helped push you towards your beautiful and unique style? And if yes, what was it?

Well I’m flattered that you think I have a style because it’s something that I’ve found hard to recognize and have confidence in! Things that have pushed me to find my style … the beautiful, inspiring work that I see every time I open Flickr, FB or IG, and also learning from amazing photographers in the community. I love visiting galleries and taking ideas home with me.

4.  What is the one thing you would tell others that are trying to break away from their present shooting style to start forming their own unique work and create from their heart?

Be inspired by reading, music, travel. Study artists, old and new. Take lots of images! 

5. We love to shout out to others artists here so if there was one artist who really inspired you to be the best artist you can be and really shoot for you, who would that artist be?

Oh wow, it doesn’t seem fair to mention only one as I’ve met/learned from so many amazing artists on my journey! I have to mention Meagan Dwyer, who is fabulous because she is always on fire!! She captures so many amazing images of her family every single day and is massively supportive to so many artists. She has a big heart! Can I also mention someone who I haven’t really ‘met’ but who has inspired me over the last year to try new things, create from the heart, and shoot for me … The Blissful Maven (Candice Zugich). I think my hubby is happy that she’s inspired me to rediscover my femininity ;) !!

6. We love to see how hard people have worked with then and now's. And inspire other artists and beginners and show them that we all started somewhere. Can you give me a before and after of your very first work to your now work? (Please put in a before and after template if you can, thank you) and tell us a bit about your journey. How long have you been doing photography? When you started what did you want to shoot as opposed to what you shoot now? Most of us end up doing absolutely nothing we thought we would. Example, I wanted to shoot newborns and weddings with a light, dreamy, whimsical feel. My work now is nothing like that. I shoot fine art and lifestyle with a very moody, emotive and gritty feel. How has your style and outlook changed?

I’ve always loved snapping moments since I was a little girl, but I really started to become serious about it when I had my first son. I initially wanted to become a light, colorful, posey family portrait photographer, but I had two very messy, very adventurous sons and so that didn’t really happen ;) Now I’m all about the mood and story, and trying to capture a feeling (and really just any frame I can get because they move so fast!). 

7.  Can you give one thought on how to stay fresh, inspired and moving forward? What helps you?

I visit galleries and follow a range of artists. I also like to try different genres and I love a bit of street photography. I recently visited a different city and left feeling disappointed that I hadn’t got any ‘good’ pictures. But when I got home and uploaded them, there were some of my favorite ever images staring at me! Funny how the artistic brain works ;) 

 

8. We all want to work on something or change something within our work or joinery. Anything you are working to be better towards?

I will always need to get better at using light. I think I’ve come a long way in the last year, but I know that the images/artists I think are magnificent are the ones that use light in the most amazing way!

9. What are your goals for the next year or two? Getting published, building or find a studio, traveling with your shoots, specific shoot you are trying to pull together? What are you up to?

I’ve already achieved a goal that I set at the start of the year … to be in an exhibition. That was fun, and a bit of a proud moment! I’d love to be published, but I haven’t made any steps towards that yet. A major goal is just to get some images printed! My poor boys see me snapping so often and yet there are only two pictures up on the wall! I’m indecisive.

10. We are huge on encouraging here. Can you please pick one photographer that is just starting out that is super talented, inspiring with not a big following that is trying to get their name out or that YOU think deserves to be seen and known. There are so many out there. Let's give them a little shout out.

I’d love to give a shout out to the fabulous Tiffany of Tiffany Erb Photography. She’s not starting out, but I’d love to see her work getting a bit more love because she is amazing! She captures her family’s everyday from such a unique perspective, and she sees the beauty and magic in things that many people would miss. She really does shoot from the heart.

I hope you enjoyed Amy's interview as much as I did. Please go check out her page and show her some love. Link above. Thank you. Until next time, XOXO ~Amber

Winner and top 9 {Texture}

Thank you all for another great week. I loved all the texture images. I am a huge lover of texture in my images. Beth did a great job choosing. 

Each week there will be one winning image and a top 9 feature. The winning image will grace our cover photo for the week until the next weeks winner is chosen. Let's see who Beth Chose for winning image.

Winning image...

Two boys one world

"I chose this image as the winner for so many reasons. Composition, leading lines, use of light....everything comes together leading me straight down to the texture of the grass. I can practically feel the grass between my toes. So good." ~Beth 

 

Top 9 in no particular order...

 

 Just a guy who's into photography

 Di Main Photography

 DTB Photography

 Joni Burtt Photography

 Holly Nicole Photography

 KgPhotography

 Stephanie Stachowiak Photography

 Jen Dzen Photography

 

2B Seen Photography 

 

Congrats all. Thank you to Beth Urban Photography  for guest judging this week. Please join us for the new theme {A day to remember} with guest judge Amy Lucinda Photography. 

Thank you. Until next time, XOXO! ~Amber

Inspire, Create, be YOU...Week 2

Week 2 on Inspire, Create, Be YOU! So excited to be doing these. I absolutely love reading a bit about artists that I follow and that inspire me. I think a huge part of what we do is networking and getting to know fellow photographers. Its a big part of why I love what I do. I love meeting others and learning more about why they are here and how they started and what they have planned. 

This weeks interview/feature is someone that I found about a year ago maybe. I just loved the emotion in her work, the realness and the tones she produces. Passion uses from her work and you can clearly see she loves what she does. To me its so obvious when artists love what they do because you can see it shine through their work. I hope you enjoy these as much as I do. Without further adu, lets get to know Beth Urban of Beth Urban Photography.

1. What do you think the most important element is in your personal style? (example. Light, creativeness, perspective, story, emotion, texture, etc. What do you shoot for in your work? And what makes your work YOU?)

Hmmm, this is such a hard question to answer!!  I’ve never been great at defining my style but two things that always have me grabbing for my camera are dramatic light and capturing memories.  I shoot for memories, emotion, and light and try to see art in every day happenings.

2. What makes you tick? What keeps you inspired and pushing to be a better artist?

Photography is my escape, my place to get lost.  I love documenting the day to day events of my children’s lives and saving memories.  I’m inspired by so many things: my children, nature, past memories, remembered dreams, old family photos, things that remind me of childhood, movies, music, the list goes on…

3. Is there anything specific that helped push you towards your beautiful and unique style? And if yes, what was it?

In the beginning I was just focused on capturing memories, but after learning to shoot in manual and learning about light my style matured.

4.  What is the one thing you would tell others that are trying to break away from their present shooting style to start forming their own unique work and create from their heart?

Don’t think too much, don’t plan too much….just let your subjects and surroundings inspire you :)

5. We love to shout out to others artists here so if there was one artist who really inspired you to be the best artist you can be and really shoot for you, who would that artist be?

It’s actually my neighbor growing up…. Bruce Kelly.  He lived in the other half of our 200 year old, two family home with his wife and family.  I have so many amazing images of my childhood thanks to him.

6. We love to see how hard people have worked with then and now's. And inspire other artists and beginners and show them that we all started somewhere. Can you give me a before and after of your very first work to your now work? And tell us a bit about your journey. How long have you been doing photography? When you started what did you want to shoot as opposed to what you shoot now? Most of us end up doing absolutely nothing we thought we would. Example, I wanted to shoot newborns and weddings with a light, dreamy, whimsical feel. My work now is nothing like that. I shoot fine art and lifestyle with a very moody, emotive and gritty feel. How has your style and outlook changed?

I was always carrying around a camera as a kid and can still remember how exciting it was to pick up that little white plastic folder of pictures from the local camera shop. In college I took a b+w film class (couldn’t find any of those images to share!) but really became passionate about photography after my daughter was born in 2007. I purchased a DSLR and took a few classes at Mass College of Art in Boston.  I was happy with my rebel and kit lens shooting on Program until 2012 when I learned to shoot in manual.  When I started my style was more documentary which I still love, but now I also love fine art, dramatic light and freelensing.

7.  Can you give one thought on how to stay fresh, inspired and moving forward? What helps you? 

Getting out of the house and going on a ‘photo walk’ with my 8 year old always inspires me. I love spending time when it’s just the two of us and capturing her creative ideas.  It took me a while to realize that my best images don’t come from my vision but from allowing things to happen naturally.

8. We all want to work on something or change something within our work or journey. Anything you are working to be better towards?

I’ve struggled with consistency in my editing/ spending too much time getting images to look the way I want.  I just recently took an editing workshop with Roxanne Bryant and it has made a huge difference for me. The way she breaks down color theory and how colors relate to each other is truly eye opening….

 

9. What are your goals for the next year or two? Getting published, building or find a studio, traveling with your shoots, specific shoot you are trying to pull together? What are you up to?

My little ones are pretty demanding right now but I would love to have my work published, that is my one photography goal for this year!

10. We are huge on encouraging here. Can you please pick one photographer that is just starting out that is super talented, inspiring with not a big following that is trying to get their name out or that YOU think deserves to be seen and known. There are so many out there. Let's give them a little shout out. 

Katie Burns Photography She just recently started her photography page on Facebook and has a natural eye.  I really enjoy her work, check it out

I hope you enjoyed reading about Beth and looking at her amazing, inspiring work as much as we did. Please go show her page some love as well as her shout out artist. Thank you. Until next time, XOXO! ~Amber

Creative crops

In my photography support group this weeks challenge is "creative crops." Let's face is, shooting the every day cookie cutter images will and do get boring, FAST. You must push yourself and try new things to stay fresh and inspired. Creative crops is a great way to give your images an artistic, creative twist. Not only will it keep you from getting bored but your viewers like to see different things as well. I am huge on creating from your heart and breaking the "rules." But you must first know the rules before you should break them accordingly. I think its very important to know the technical aspect of photography as well as the creative side. Knowing rules of thirds and composition is critical in making a great photo. But breaking them is a must in my eyes. I love getting creative and trying new things and stepping outside of the so called "boundaries."


A quick run down of how you should compose your images. I am sure you have heard the term "rule of thirds." Am I correct? Well, what is it some may say. Quite simply, imagine breaking your image down into thirds (vertically and horizontally) so there are 9 parts. As you see below.

As you can see where I circled in red are the points where you want the focus of your photo to be. So in other words. Where do you want your viewers eyes to go to? You want to put those parts of your image on one of these 4 points. You typically don't ever want your image smack dab in the middle. But like my top image here You can see its center focused but its on the top line, so it isn't smack dab in the middle. now that you have a quick breakdown of how images "should" be composed. Lets get into some creative comps shall we. 

Here are some images I composed a bit differently. 

Getting creative with your crops makes your images more artistic and well, creative. It will make you feel fresh and inspired the more you step outside your comfort zone and do you own thing. It will also make you unique and interesting. I would love if everyone actually shot FOR the challenge rather tha use old images. These tutorials and challenges are to get us all out there shooting and stepping outside our comfort zones. I can't wait to see what you all come up with for this challenge. You all rocked out the dramatic light challenge. As always, create from your heart. Thank you! Until next time, XOXO! Amber